This photo of aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is incredible—and it looks like a lot of fun too. I imagine the helmsman pushing the rudder and whispering “wowwheeeee!” More »
If you want to fly the friendly skies in the best airline possible, Sir Richard Branson’s fleet of state-of-the-art aircraft might be the ticket you’re looking for. His Virgin America line was rated the number one domestic airline in the US for the fifth year in a row. Could it be the free in-flight video games?
Maybe it’s the one-of-a-kind mood lighting within the cabin, or it could be the touch-screen food and drink ordering system. All of these factors, along with of course the fact that Virgin America has just about the most modern fleet in the country, are what caused Travel + Leisure magazine to pick the nascent carrier, yet again, for its coveted top spot.
“We are honored to have won top marks from Travel + Leisure readers for the fifth year in a row,” said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush. “There are many awards that rank airlines that are paid or that include only the largest airlines, so it is a real distinction to win the top quality ranking in an independent survey of thousands of some of the most discerning travelers out there. As we mark our fifth year anniversary this summer, this award is a testament to our unique product,” the airline said in a statement.
[via Sacramento Bee]
High-tech Virgin America again rated top airline is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Delta Airlines will be expanding WiFi access to more than 150 international aircraft including Boeing 777, 767, 747, Airbus 330 and transoceanic Boeing 757 starting at the beginning of 2013. Existing air-to-ground service has been conveniently available on domestic flights within the US, but international access has always been constrained by this ground-based technology normally used by airlines.
To make WiFi access possible while flying over large bodies of water, service provider Gogo will be working with high-bandwith Ku-band capacity satellites for the first time ever on any airline. Once completed in 2015, it’s expected that Delta will be operating about 1,000 WiFi-enabled aircraft internationally.
There’s nothing quite like sending a tweet or snapping an Instagram photo when you’re high above the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and even though the technology will be more expensive, Delta and Gogo are well aware that customers are keen on staying connected all the time. The airline currently serves over 160 million customers annually and all Delta Connection two-class regional jets offer over 400,000 passengers WiFi access on a daily basis.
[via Engadget]
Delta expanding WiFi access to international flights starting next year is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Delta Airlines isn’t a stranger to offering WiFi on many of its domestic US flights, but using Gogo’s air-to-ground connection setup has essentially kept it from taking off over the seas. That’s all set to change come 2013, however, as 150 of Delta’s long-haul aircraft will make use of all those high-bandwidth Ku-band capacity satellites that Gogo has been acquiring over the past few months. The updated setup will ensure that you can update your Facebook status over the likes of the Atlantic, but it won’t be fully rolled out until about 2015. By that time, the airline estimates it’ll be operating around 1,000 Gogo-equipped aircraft worldwide — not too shabby. If anything, the wait to hit 10,000 feet is surely going be more interesting for all the international work-a-holics out there. Hit up the press release after the break for more details in the meantime.
Delta expanding Gogo in-flight WiFi to select international flights beginning in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rugged doesn’t even begin to describe Afghanistan’s terrain. Delivering supplies to distant outposts over land through hostile territory is a difficult and deadly proposition—and even helicopter transports are not immune from RPG fire. So, to make essential cargo drops without risking the lives of American servicemen, Lockheed Martin simply removed the pilot. More »
A team of students at the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering have been hard at work trying to perfect one of the ideas that many inventors and pioneers of aviation have tried to achieve for many, many decades. That goal is human-powered helicopter flight. The students have set an unofficial flight duration benchmark with their pedal-powered helicopter dubbed the Gamera II.
The team set the unofficial flight duration record on June 20, with a time of 35 seconds. The 30-second flight has to be verified by the National Aeronautic Association and if verified will become the new record superseding the teams previous record of 11.4 seconds set last summer. The team of students is only the third team to achieve human-powered helicopter flight.
The team is vying for $250,000 prize if they can become first team to build a helicopter powered only by person to liftoff and hover for 60 seconds. The helicopter has to attain a height of at least 3 meters at some point during the 60-second flight and stay within a ten square meter area for the duration of the flight. You can check out the video of the June 20 flight above.
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