Hasta La Gadget!

What’s been shared today is a note sent to internal contacts and crew-members before an official announcement is made to the greater public, here noting that free wi-fi is about to be a reality on JetBlue flights. The most important piece of this puzzle for JetBlue appears to be the fact that customers choose airlines based on the fact that they do have wi-fi, and that basically every solution out there right now is undeniably slow compared to what they’ve got in store. The Free bit is also a big deal: even though they do mention that it might be limited to a timeframe before they’ve got 30 total planes running with the technology, free is always good.

The following note comes from a source providing The Verge with what appears to be a situation that’s rather positive for JetBlue’s future. This JetBlue representative mentions ground-to-air service Gogo and satellite-based services like Row 44 or Panasonic as competitors. Their contention is that no matter what services people are using at the moment out there in the field, they’re always slow – too slow, at least, to compete with the service JetBlue is about to offer.

NOTE: This deal was first spoken about in April of 2011 – looks like it’s the real deal!

JetBlue notes that they’ll be working with LiveTV partnering with ViaSat, and the results thus far – testing, that is – have been great. It’s noted that ViaSat staff members have been able to load 10 webpages through JetBlue’s new satellite service in 1 minute, 18 seconds. The competition, they say, took over 8 minutes to work out the same task. JetBlue also notes that they’ve got a lovley Ka-band satellite up in space right this minute, ready for action, ready to connect with flights at altitude.

I’m writing to you from London, where I’m about to reveal some of the details of our Wi-Fi product to the World Low Cost Airlines Conference. I want to make sure you hear it first, of course, so please read on!

Currently, Wi-Fi on board is a competitive advantage. Customers, especially those traveling for business, with everything else being equal, will choose the airline that offers connectivity, even if the service is spotty or expensive.

Understanding how important inflight connectivity is to Customers forces airlines that don’t have Wi-Fi to get in the game, quickly. Airlines can choose ground-to-air services, like Gogo, or satellite-based services like Row 44 or Panasonic. Although the technology is different, the Customer experience is very similar – s l o w.

According to a recent FlightView survey, only a small percentage of Customers are satisfied with the Wi-Fi service models currently offered in-flight and at airports.

The challenge for us was building a Wi-Fi product that broke this slow, frustrating and ultimately unsatisfactory mold. We wanted to find a way to deliver faster and less expensive service that would result in greater satisfaction. With LiveTV partnering with ViaSat, I think we found the sweet spot.

Our Wi-Fi will be lightning fast. In a series of tests, ViaSat’s staff was able to load 10 web pages through our satellite service in an average of 1 minute, 18 seconds! The second-fastest service, commonly deployed by our competitors, took as long as 8 minutes, 42 seconds! Customers are going to know that JetBlue’s Wi-Fi is faster – word will definitely get around.

But to make sure Customers appreciate the difference, we also decided to make the baseline connectivity free, at least until the first 30 aircraft are equipped with our service. If the speed doesn’t get them talking, the free part should!

The difference is in the technology. The Ka-band satellite we launched last October is the latest generation, with capacity equal to 100 last-generation Ku-band satellites. It’s smarter, newer, cheaper and better than anything on the market today for commercial aviation. This technology had only been available to government and private aviation, in fact. We plan to make JetBlue the very first commercial airline to offer this product on board, at altitude.

Our first foray into connectivity, with BetaBlue in 2007, was a great learning experience and I don’t regret it for one minute. It wasn’t easy for anyone to endure the questions and demands for good Wi-Fi from our Customers, but it was the right decision. LiveTV will begin installing ViaSat on our aircraft in the first quarter of 2013 – so stay tuned for more information as it rolls out. I know it will be worth the wait.

The first launch of this wireless product will be pushed in the first quarter of 2013 and will be launching for free. This free launch will include baseline connectivity and will be good to go “at least until the first 30 aircraft are equipped.” Get in quick and download away up in the air! Have a peek at the email appearing this week (above), and stick around for the final real confirmation of this service soon.

JetBlue promises free wi-fi onboard soon is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Making an electric car isn’t exactly easy, but the realm of things it’s not as difficult as space flight. Musk and his company has also recently made impressive strides in private spacecraft with the Dragon capsule docking with the ISS. Musk has recently made it known that he’s also planning a supersonic, electric powered hovering jet plane.

I’m no aeronautical engineer, but that sounds even more difficult than creating a spacecraft. The announcement came when Musk was talking about some of his plans for the future. He stated that he was considering whether it would make sense to create a parent corporation to own stock, presumably in an aircraft manufacturing company. The comment was made to the automotive website Jalopnik and Musk admitted that he wasn’t sure if it was feasible or sensible, that he was only considering it at this time.

It’s worth noting that aircraft able to take off and land vertically are difficult to maintain and create. There are only a few jet aircraft currently capable of taking off and landing vertically and all of them are military aircraft. The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has a version that will land vertically but requires a short runway to take off. That aircraft has been plagued with failures in critical components supporting vertical landings.

One true vertical landing and vertical takeoff jet is the Harrier, still being used by both British and American militaries to this day. However, that aircraft isn’t considered supersonic. Battery packs would have to, very long way to be able to power an aircraft exclusively. Presumably, Musk is likely talking about some sort of hybrid aircraft. It will be interesting to see if Musk moves on with his plans for an aircraft.

[via The Register]

Elon Musk is planning a supersonic electric-powered hovering jet is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re a member of that mildly crazy tribe who want to build and actually fly their own airplane, MakerPlane has a new way of enabling your obsession. The open source aviation organization will allow you to download its plans and schematics for free, then build your plane’s parts using CNC (computer numerically controlled) mills and 3D printers. If you don’t have one of those lying around, you’ll be able to go to a “makerspace” replete with all the necessary tools to get your wings whipped up, instead. As for keeping the blue side up, open source avionics software will also be included, allowing bold dabblers to create digital flight instruments and displays. For now, the group is working on its first set of plans, led by an aeronautical engineer volunteer, and hopes to have that design (shown above) flying in time for the Oshkosh airshow in 2014. While you’re waiting, start looking for trusting souls brave enough to fly in a small plane you built yourself.

Filed under: Transportation

MakerPlane lets you build an experimental aircraft with digital printers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The third test flight of the Air Force’s hypersonic X-51A Waverider aircraft has failed, the Los Angeles Times reports. The X-51A was launched over the Pacific Ocean yesterday, and the Air Force was hoping that it would reach mach 6 and keep flying for five minutes afterward, but unfortunately that never happened. Instead, a problem was discovered with one of the aircraft’s control fins only 15 seconds into the flight, causing the Waverider to lose control and crash into the ocean.

This is the second Waverider test flight to end in failure. During the first test of the aircraft in 2010, everything went according to plan, but in another test last year, a flaw caused the engines to shut down prematurely, which in turn sent the aircraft into the ocean. Now there’s only one X-51A left, and the LA Times says that the Air Force hasn’t decided when this last Waverider will fly.

During this particular test, the Waverider was dropped from 50,000 feet, free-falling for four seconds before the rocket it was attached to engaged. After being propelled by the rocket, the Waverider was supposed to break away and use its own engines to fly, but the control fin failure meant this didn’t happen. Instead of flying, the Waverider simply fell into the ocean. “It is unfortunate that a problem with this subsystem caused a termination before we could light the Scramjet engine,” said Air Force Research Laboratory program manager Charlie Brink, adding that all of the Air Force’s data showed that the team had the right conditions for a successful flight.

Unfortunately, failure is something you have to get used to if you’re testing hypersonic aircraft. We’ve been attempting hypersonic flight for decades now, and the number of failures is far greater than the number of successes. There is a ray of light to be found in that first Waverider test from 2010, however, so here’s hoping that the Air Force gets the results it’s looking for if it eventually tests this fourth and final Waverider aircraft.

X-51A Waverider aircraft crashes into Pacific during test flight is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After planting a rover firmly on Mars’ surface and testing a new methane-fueled lander, NASA has squeezed in the first test flight of its X-48C hybrid wing-body aircraft. Thanks to its design, which combines those of flying-wing and conventional planes, the X-48 could offer 20 to 30 percent more fuel-efficiency, greater fuel capacity and a quieter ride in its final form than traditional craft. The finished model has a projected range of 11,000 nautical miles and a 240-foot wingspan. As an 8.5 percent scale of the full-sized airplane, the remotely piloted prototype weighs in at 500 pounds with a 20-foot wingspan. During the test, it successfully took to the skies for nine minutes and peaked at an altitude of 5,500 feet — though it’s capable of soaring for 35 minutes and climbing nearly twice as high. Another version of the craft (likely with a human behind the flight stick) is estimated to be at least four years down the road, and the final model isn’t expected to arrive for another decade.

Filed under: Science

NASA’s X-48C hybrid wing-body plane completes first test flight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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