Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve been following daredevil Felix Baumgartner and his Red Bull Stratos team as they prepare to attempt to break the speed of sound during a skydive from 23 miles above the Earth’s surface. So far, Baumgartner and his team have successfully completed several test skydives from lower altitudes. Today is the day that Baumgartner will attempt to set the record for the highest skydive ever made.

Baumgartner will be carried to 23 miles above the surface of the earth using a massive helium-filled balloon attached to a pressurized capsule. When Baumgartner steps out of his capsule and plummets through the thin atmosphere at 120,000 feet his record setting skydive attempt will begin from higher than anyone else has ever traveled during a manned balloon flight.

It will take Baumgartner approximately two hours to reach 120,000 feet. The special pressure suit that Baumgartner will wear is packed with sensors that will log relevant data allowing the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the organization that governs air sports in aviation records, to determine whether Baumgartner has set a new record. In addition to the required sensors, the custom pressure suit will protect Baumgartner from the frigid air temperatures and the lack of oxygen.

Baumgartner also has five cameras attached to the suit, a GPS tracking device, a voice transmitter, and receiver allowing him to communicate with the team. Baumgartner will be jumping near Roswell New Mexico with the festivities starting at about 5:30 AM Pacific today. Baumgartner and his team believe that he will need to reach about 690 mph while at high altitude to break the speed of sound.

Live skydive video:

[via CNET]

Felix Baumgartner attempts record-breaking supersonic skydive today is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Admittedly, Finland’s seen better days in the mobile industry, but that hasn’t stopped the townspeople in Savonlinna from hosting the 13th annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships to brighten things up. In fact, the recycling awareness event went so well that 18-year-old Ere Karjalainen set a new championship record of 101.46 meters. The secret? Just an old Nokia device (obviously) plus a bit of preparation the day before — “mainly by drinking.”

While Finnish organizer Christine Lund claims this is a new world record, a little digging revealed that Britain’s Chris Hughff threw — as a guest participant — a 102.68 meter distance at JIM Mobile’s Belgium Championships earlier this year. Despite the utilization of a laser rangefinder plus video proof after the break, Lund dismissed the “unofficial” event’s record, according to the AAP. Regardless, Karjalainen is no doubt the latest sweetheart amongst Finnish geeks.

Continue reading Finland sets new mobile phone record… by throwing one

Filed under: Cellphones

Finland sets new mobile phone record… by throwing one originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s time for the automotive superstar known as Chip Yates to hit another world record, this time for flying an electric aircraft faster than 200 miles per hour. This is the second world record Yates has broken in such a way, the first being with an electric motorcycle topping 196 miles per hour – set last year at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The flight Yates made this week took place at the Inyokern Airport in the Mojave Desert, California, and also just the day before this record had his very first – read that again – flying lesson with an electric plane.

Though Yates had flown gasoline-powered aircraft before this record-setting week, he only started to fly electric powered aircraft here and now. The unit Yates used to break the record is a Long-ESA, closely related to the model Long-EZ, a machine designed by previous record-holder Burt Rutlan. The machine that up until this week held the record for electric aircraft clocked at the fastest speed was a tiny electric Cri-Cri.

Yates made his flight after several test runs and after capturing the record, a failure of a cell inside the machine killed propulsion and the pilot was forced to make a dead-stick landing. No worries, though, he’s fine, and quite a bit more than just fine as he struts around this planet with a “fastest man alive” sticker on his chest.

The next mission Yates is planning on is a flight across the Atlantic ocean with a new aircraft system based on the development platform he flew this week.

[via Wired]

Chip Yates sets electric flight world record at over 200MPH is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.