Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve all been on a plane and heard the same spiel over and over again. Please turn off any and all electronic devices, MP3 players, iPods, laptops, and set all iPhone, iPad, and devices to airplane mode — get ready for takeoff. Today however the folks from Boeing have shared their plans to allow cell phone use on their top-tier Dreamliner airplanes as soon as 2013.

Passengers aboard Boeing’s 747-8, massive 787 Dreamliner, and 777′s will soon be able to use their cell phones according to the company and CNET. Back in July when Boeing unveiled their new 787 Dreamliner they were showing off their Android-based entertainment systems on board — but apparently that wasn’t the only Android and smartphone usage they had in mind.

Here in the US however, the FAA has a ban in place that probably will never allow for such activity. So the uses for this new technology and improvements isn’t really known at this point. Whether other countries and officials will allow the use of cell phones is an entirely different situation. Yes we have on-flight WiFi, but making calls is another level.

Along with cell phone use, WiFi as usual, and more, Boeing also states they’ll have actual live TV, and even wireless media streaming by sometime in 2014. If you need to have a video conference while sky high — Boeing will have you covered. Many still think smartphone usage on planes is no big deal and of no security concern, just ask Alec Baldwin.

[via AndroidCommunity]

Boeing Airplanes set to allow cell phone use in 2013 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

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.

Earlier this year, Microsoft released Microsoft Flight, a reinvention of its Flight Simulator games of the past. Now the company has reportedly cancelled further development of the game and laid off around 35 staff members involved in the production. Microsoft says that the game will still be available for download for free via its website and on Steam, but that any future content for the game has been scrapped.

In addition, Microsoft has also cancelled development of Project Columbia, an unannounced game that would have made use of the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360. In a statement regarding the cancellations, Microsoft says, “Many factors were considered in the difficult decision to stop development on Microsoft Flight and Project Columbia, but we feel it will help us better align with our long-term goals and development plans. For Microsoft Flight,we will continue to support the community that has embraced the title and the game will still be available to download for free.”

As a result, 35 staff at Microsoft Vancouver have been laid off, but Microsoft claims its still committed to the area: “Microsoft Studios is invested in British Columbia and still has several teams, both in Vancouver and Victoria, which will continue to produce the best entertainment and gaming experiences possible.” Posts on Facebook and via employees on Twitter confirm that that layoffs have occurred.

[via Polygon]

Microsoft cancels Flight and Project Columbia development is written by Ben Kersey & 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.

Continue reading Delta expanding Gogo in-flight WiFi to select international flights beginning in 2013

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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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.