There’s not a lot details of this video of a near collision between a fighter jet and an airliner. Taken from the fighter’s cockpit, it seems that the pilot—who is Italian—was completely taken by surprise. It could have been a full frontal hit.
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Fans of the 787 Dreamliner haven’t had much reason to cheer for the past few weeks when the FAA grounded all US jets over concerns of battery failures. While there’s no update on the reported fix, Boeing can at least say that the 787 is clear to fly again. Sort of. The FAA has given permission to Boeing to conduct flight tests under certain conditions. The company has to conduct battery- and insulation-related pre-flight inspections, watch battery behavior like a hawk, use only its own pilots and fly over unpopulated areas. Harsh terms to be sure, although we won’t have to wait for the dry runs to see the 787 airborne once again: the FAA also gave Boeing clearance to ferry one of the airliners from Fort Worth, Texas to Everett, Washington after some paint work. It went off without a hitch, as you’d infer from the photo above. We’re still some distance away from once again hopping on Dreamliners for long-haul flights, but the aircraft will at least have a chance to flex their muscles before they resume their main duties.
Filed under: Transportation
NASA and its partners keep making progress in their quest to design a new passenger airliner that can fly supersonic without making a lot of noise, one of the main problems with the Concorde. And that progress looks space-age awesome. More »
The more cynical among us would argue that allowing cellphones in-flight is only a guarantee of an even more unpleasant trip, at least for anyone wanting a distraction-free cabin. There must still be a few optimists: Boeing is promising that future production runs of the 747-8 and 777 will have the necessary support for in-flight cellphone use, live TV and internet access that comes through either headrest screens or WiFi. Aircraft with the upgrade should roll off the production lines before the end of 2013, and they’ll be following a slight change to the 787 later this year that makes the technology support a common option. Some of us may wind up reaching for the earplugs in countries where regulators approve in-air wireless, but there’s definite upsides for all but the biggest curmudgeons — Boeing’s moves could lead to more ubiquitous in-flight WiFi next year, on top of ready-made wireless media streaming due in 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You don’t have to wait for an FAA rethink to use your iPad on an airliner below 10,000 feet — if you’re part of an American Airlines crew, that is. As of this month, the air carrier is the first cleared by the FAA to use iPads in the cockpit at every point during a flight. The program starts just with Boeing 777 pilots at first, but it should eventually grow to save $1.2 million in weight-related fuel costs per year across the airline, not to mention a few trees and the strain of 35-pound flight bags. American is confident enough in the tablet switchover that it plans to stop handing out any paper updates to its charts and manuals as of January, just days after its entire fleet gets the regulatory nod for iPads at the end of this year. We just wouldn’t anticipate Android or Windows tablet rollouts anytime soon. American isn’t opposed to the concept, but it’s only promising that slates beyond the iPad will be “evaluated for use” if and when the FAA applies its rubber stamp.
Filed under: Tablets
American Airlines becomes first FAA-friendly carrier to use iPads through whole flights originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
RIM has already been feeling the sting of lost customers. That sting isn’t getting any gentler, as Qantas just outlined plans to replace all 1,300 BlackBerry phones in the fleet with iPhones. As the airline explains to The Australian, a mix of cost overhead and employee feedback is steering the decision to wing it Apple’s way. We also imagine Qantas may be facing the usual airline dilemma of having to replace large swaths of equipment after clinging to old technology for dear life. Naturally, the company is keen to reassure passengers that the security is up to snuff as well, and a Bring Your Own Device effort could see Android fly once it’s approved. The time scale is indefinite enough that it’s unlikely that we’ll see the airline crew members distracted by a game of Amazing Alex on that next flight to Melbourne — we only know that they’ll be weaning themselves off of BlackBerry Messenger before too long.
Filed under: Cellphones
Qantas replacing staff BlackBerrys with iPhones, Australian flights may be held up by Tiny Wings originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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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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