aeronautics

An inside look at a commercial jet engine

Just as your engine is the most complicated and important part of your car, a jet engine is the centerpiece of a commercial airliner. Sure, the wing is important too, but the engines not only get from point A to point B, but also give the wing the airflow that it needs to do its job.

Recently I had the opportunity to walk through United's engine repair shop at the airline's maintenance base at San Francisco International Airport. If you've ever wanted to see the insides of a modern commercial jet engine, this was the place to … Read more

The school bus that goes 367 mph

Sometimes when people do crazy things, you just look at them and think: "You're crazy. You should be locked up, the key thrown away, and the meals to consist of only tofu."

However, there are times when people do crazy things and have such beautiful, persuasive explanations that you can't help but be disarmed to the point of wanting to be that crazy yourself.

Such is the case with Paul Stender, an Indianapolis man who, together with his friends at Indy Boys, Inc., decided to equip a nice yellow school bus with an engine from a … Read more

Flight of the Panda

An Israeli company has conducted the first in a series of test flights on the Panda, a new ducted-fan, unmanned aerial vehicle prototype that looks kind of like a flying stretcher, bringing us closer to what could be the ultimate medivac.

The company, Urban Aeronautics, already produces the Mule UAV and the X-Hawk, larger versions that can be configured for front-line resupply, medical evacuation, utility maintenance, taxi, high-rise rescue, and probably window cleaning. (See video)

The technology is based on the "classic ducted designed pioneered in the early 1960s," as the company Web site points out. This model … Read more

Rocket Racing League announces August takeoff

NEW YORK--Top Gun and Ender's Game fans take note: Rocket Racing is here.

It'll be like Formula One or Nascar in the sky, or at least that's what the leadership of Rocket Racing said at a press conference at the Yale Club here on Monday morning. The aeronautics entertainment start-up announced the debut of its long-awaited Rocket Racing League, which will have its first exhibition race on August 1-2 at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wis.

The science fiction-like Rocket Racing pits aircraft called Rocket Racers against one another in a high-speed dash around the … Read more