jets

The Air Force has approved a blend of jet fuel and plant-based fuels to work with an aircraft for first time.

The certification, announced yesterday, covers the C-17 Globemaster III, a transport aircraft made by Boeing and used for moving troops and cargo.

The Air Force tested a blend of up to 50 percent of biofuel, called hydrotreated renewable jet fuel, and JP-8 jet fuel, and found no degradation in performance for pilots.

The biofuel mix will burn cleaner, reducing the amount of sulfur compounds emitted and will further the military's goal of reducing its use of petroleum-based fuels, … Read more

A new telescope array could bring us closer to better understanding the universe and perhaps even answer an age-old question: are we alone?

Tapping into the combined power of 13,000 individual antennas, the new Long Wavelength Array will be able to scan our corner of the galaxy using a wide and rarely explored range of frequencies, according to NASA. That power will give it the ability to find new worlds beyond our solar system by scanning for their radio waves.

Led by the University of New Mexico and joined by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, which is supplying the digital electronic systems, the project will start off small this summer by powering up 256 antennas in central New Mexico. Once it's completed, though, the Long Wavelength Array will contain 53 stations with the 13,000 antennas taking up a space 248 miles in diameter.

Beyond looking for distant worlds, the telescope array will be able to detect other events among the stars, those that occur naturally and possibly some that don't.… Read more

Directflights.com is now offering a search engine for finding the cheapest carbon-friendly flights between two destinations, the company announced today.

The tool was developed in conjunction with The Carbon Consultancy, a British company that offers reports on emissions data and offset procurement information for travel industry companies.

It offers to show international flights, as well as those contained within the U.K. and Europe, or contained within the U.S., among other places. Flights can be viewed by cheapest only, or by most carbon-friendly with a choice to see flights in different currency options.

The tool ranks flights on … Read more

This week: CNET television guru David Katzmaier joins us to talk about Dan's back-from-the-dead TV repair tale, while Scott goes over his impressions of Nintendo's new 3DS handheld and mourns for his beloved Jets.

Bonus: You can download the show's theme song as a free MP3 here for a limited time!

… Read more

Honda Aircraft's HondaJet owns the ski in this test flight. The video, posted this week on YouTube, shows the "Civic of the Skies," take off, land, and fly around a bit over Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C.

As we reported last month, the FAA-confirming flight puts HondaJet one step closer to becoming FAA certified.

The advanced light business jet is powered by a fuel-efficient, low-emission HF120 turbofan engine with a cruising speed of 420 knots and a range of 1,400 nautical miles (1,611 miles).

Honda Aircraft plans to deliver HondaJet to costumers … Read more

Honda Aircraft this week is one more step closer to making HondaJet a reality. The company, which plans to deliver light business aircraft in 2012, completed an FAA-conforming flight.

The nearly one-hour test flight took place on Monday from the company's Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C.

The HondaJet has already undergone a number of FAA structural tests and will have to pass on additional structural test and another flight test to be certified. The company plans to take HondaJet into full production at its Greensboro plant.

"We are very encouraged by our initial review of … Read more

With Jeff too sick to come in this morning, Dan Ackerman and Scott Stein from CNET's Digital City Podcast jump into the studio with me to record today's show.

And don't worry, this will NOT be a repeat of the infamous "Cheese Stands Alone" episode, so big thanks to Dan and Scott for coming to my rescue!

We spoke briefly about Google Chrome OS on yesterday's show, but I'd be a dummy not to ask two of our laptop editors about it while I have a chance.

At Tuesday's Chrome OS launch event, Google unveiled the Cr-48 Chrome Netbook that has a 12.1-inch display, a full-size keyboard, embedded 3G access and 802.11n Wi-Fi, an SSD, and a battery rated to eight hours of continuous use, and more than eight days of standby time.

The laptop won't be available to purchase until the final one rolls out at the end of next year, but Google's Chrome pilot program gives anyone the chance to be a beta tester for the hardware and software.

To apply, start by filling out this form, but hurry because quantities are limited and some lucky geeks already received theirs today!

Speaking of laptops, Dan brings in the Dell Inspiron Duo for show and tell. The creative design marries the traditional folding clamshell laptop computer with a hinge in the middle of the lid that flips the screen 180 degrees, transforming the device into a tablet PC.

You can also purchase an optional speaker dock for higher-quality media playback, and we like that there's a built-in Web cam for video chats, but it's built into part of the screen bezel so it disappears when the display is flipped into tablet mode- doh!

A good portion of the show is also dedicated to a prototype of a new prosthetic arm shaped like a tentacle, but you'll have to tune in to get the full story.

Thanks again to Scott and Dan for coming in this morning, and send your best wishes to Jeff for a quick recovery! Seriously, the show can't go on without at least 2/3 hosts!

What do you do after you quit your JetBlue flight attendant job while still on the plane, tell the rude passengers what you thought of them, open the emergency slide, and waft your way down it and into the public eye?

If your answer was "train to be a pilot," "try volunteer work," "have a talk show on basic cable," or "pose for Playboy," you would be heartily mistaken. For Steven Slater, perhaps America's most renowned former flight attendant, is to become the official spokesperson for the Mile High Text Club.… Read more

A recycled NASA spacecraft passed within 435 miles of Comet Hartley 2 today and beamed back spectacular pictures revealing a strange, peanut-shaped nucleus spewing multiple jets of icy debris.

The Deep Impact spacecraft, the centerpiece of a repurposed mission known by the acronym EPOXI, flew past Hartley 2 at more than 7 miles per second, or 27,000 mph, making its closest approach at 7 a.m. PT.

A few moments later, the spacecraft reoriented itself and aimed its high-gain antenna back toward Earth to begin relaying stored pictures and telemetry. In 2005, the spacecraft flew past comet Tempel 1, … Read more