After claiming the kill of an attack helicopter a few days ago, Syrian rebel forces have posted this video showing a MiG-23 being shot down over Al Muhassan, a small town near Dayr az-Zawr, 280 miles northeast of the capital Damascus and west of the country’s Iraqi border. More »
If you’re flying a robot indoors, chances are it’s a quadrocopter. The ability hover and maneuver on a dime is essential to whipping around the confined spaces of a lab. Researchers have figured out a way to overcome such obstacles with a fixed-wing aircraft, using laser range finders, sensors and an Intel Atom processor to churn through all the data. To demonstrate just how accurate the on-board navigation systems are, the team of scientists took the autonomous plane to a parking garage with ceilings just 2.5 meters high. Why is that important? The vehicle has a wingspan of two meters — leaving little room for error. To see the plane in action, check out the video after the break.
Continue reading MIT researchers develop highly agile autonomous plane (video)
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MIT researchers develop highly agile autonomous plane (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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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.
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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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We’ve chronicled Flight of the Century founder and CEO Chip Yates‘ record-breaking 202.6MPH flight in his Long-ESA EV craft before. What we didn’t quite touch on, however, is the power loss Yates’ aircraft suffered after earning that electric plane speed record. Now Yates has released new video of the flight, which includes the moment his aircraft breaks the record, the ensuing power loss and his dramatic deadstick landing. That smile you see in the photo up there is the smile of a man who just made history and is also happy to be alive. Hey, we’re glad he’s safe, too. You can witness the close call yourself by checking out the video after the break.
[Image credit: Flight of the Century]
Filed under: Transportation
Extra footage of record-setting Yates electric plane flight shows power loss, dramatic deadstick landing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Chip Yates is a speed junkie in the truest sense. After nabbing the title for world’s fastest EV motorcycle in April of 2011, the self-proclaimed “green technology innovator” is at it again. This time, Yates was able to conquer the sky above using the Long-ESA EV craft he and his Flight of the Century team engineered using a Burt Rutan Long-EZ and proprietary Infinite Range battery tech. The record-breaking flight in question took off from Inyokern Airport on July 19, achieving a top speed of 202.6MPH and solidifying Yates’ place in the pantheon of electric enthusiasts. You can head past the break to check out a brief video snippet of the successful mission in action, but fair warning: it’s not as exciting as you’d imagine. We’re guessing it’s one of those things you’d have to be there (in the cockpit) to appreciate.
Chip Yates breaks yet another record, notches 202MPH in world’s fastest electric flight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It won’t be enough to cancel out the Engadget editor using in-flight WiFi to upload photo galleries (sorry, guys), but it should make web surfing from coach a little less tedious. United has just announced that it will be upgrading its Gogo in-air WiFi service to take advantage of Gogo’s enhanced ATG-4 service, which promises to bump speeds from the current 3.1 Mbps to 9.8 Mbps using directional antennae, dual modems and EV-DO Rev. B. Before you get too excited, though, keep in mind that United has so far only committed to retrofitting its premium service fleet, which includes 13 planes that fly between New York’s JFK and either LAX or SFO.
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless
United upgrading Gogo in-flight WiFi on its premium service fleet, speeds will reach 9.8 Mbps originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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For Chip Yates, it’s all about setting world records. Yates, who also holds the world record for the fastest run on an electric motorcycle at 200 mph, flew the Long-ESA electric airplane at the Inyokern Airport in California’s Mojave Desert this week. Yates was able fly the electric plane at the speed of 202.6 miles per hour, breaking the previous record of 175 mph.
The Long-ESA is actually an electric version of Burt Rutan’s Long-EZ. In case you didn’t know, Rutan is an aerospace engineer who won an X-Prize in 2004. But Chip Yates isn’t resting on his laurels yet as he intends to up the ante to even greater speeds. Yates is planning to share the details of the feat as well as his plans for a nonstop trans-Atlantic electric flight at the EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin next week.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Paper airplanes make for great letters, NASA-approved electric airplane covers 200 miles in a couple of hours,
EV flyer Long-ESA has started high-speed taxi tests on its quest to become the first electric airplane to cross the Atlantic. Using a Long-EZ kit plane designed by Burt Rutan as a platform for the volts-only powertrain, the Flight of the Century project is the brainchild of electric enthusiast Chip Yates, who already holds the speed record of 190MPH on an EV motorcycle. The developer’s plan is to use a fleet of five drones to dock with the main Long-ESA ship and exchange batteries in mid-air, giving it enough juice to make the trip. Successful ground trials should lead to flight tests later this month, with the transatlantic attempt slated for 2014, followed by EV airplane speed and altitude attempts, to boot. It remains to be seen if the complex plan might result in commercial electric aviation as Yates predicts — but judging by the video after the break it’ll be fun to watch them try.
Continue reading Electric plane performs taxi tests as prelude to transatlantic attempt (video)
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Electric plane performs taxi tests as prelude to transatlantic attempt (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BAE Systems’ ASTRAEA isn’t a new concept — the company’s been playing up its unmanned potential for quite some time now — but it’s all seeming entirely less pie-in-the-sky now that the Farnborough Airshow has kicked off. Typically, UAVs are thought to be smaller, drone-type apparatuses; these things are typically used in military exercises where remote gunfire or reconnaissance is required. Clearly, it’s about time someone asked the obvious: “Why?” Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, Engineering Director Systems and Strategy, Military Air and Information at BAE and ASTRAEA Program Director recently spoke at the aforesaid event, noting that this particular aircraft could “open up a new market.” He continued: “Current search and rescue aircraft are limited by human endurance, however with a UAV there’s no reason why they can’t stay up for weeks.” Sadly, he also affirmed that there aren’t any plans to ship actual humans up in the air without a pilot onboard, but if you’re rich and mettlesome enough to pull it off yourself… well, be sure to send us the video. Also, Godspeed.
Filed under: Transportation
BAE Systems speaks about unmanned ASTRAEA: no reason it can’t stay in air ‘for weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I’m a sucker for remote-controlled toys, especially flying toys. Sadly I’m not qualified to fly any of the airplanes or helicopters I’ve ever tried. Generally I get to fly once and then crash during landing, destroying any chance at a second flight. RC geeks in the UK will soon be able to get a cool spy plane called the Spy Hawk, which to let you record your landing disasters – or the pool party your hot neighbor is throwing.
Spy Hawk is a three-channel mini glider that comes with an integrated first-person video system able to send five-megapixel live video feeds back to a 3.5-inch LCD on the remote control. The plane even has an autopilot mode with gyro stabilization that lets you get it to altitude, and then watch the video without having to worry about actually flying. The toy has a range of up to 600 m with an average flight time of 15 minutes on a single charge.
The system has an integrated four gigabyte memory card to store the video. It also uses intelligent signaling so you can fly more than one Spy Hawk at the same time. The Spy Hawk will sell for £249.95 (~$386 USD) when it lands next month over at Red5.
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