Aeroplanes

GE once thought super-efficient propfans were the future of air travel, until low fuel prices in the late 1980s moved fuel consumption down the list of priorities. Now, it's bringing them back with the CFM Rise, promising 20% fuel savings.

Rolls-Royce has completed the first ground tests on its massive UltraFan engine, claiming it's at least 10% more efficient than any other large aero engine in service today. This carbon/titanium beauty will roll out on airliners in the 2030s.

Pilot Luke Czepiela has completed an amazing landing on Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Using a lightweight plane, he touched-down on the skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m, coming to a stop with only a few meters to spare.

Rolls-Royce says it's finished building the first demonstrator for its massive UltraFan engine, which will eventually hit the skies in airliners to be developed in the 2030s. Testing begins soon, with expectations of a 25% leap in efficiency.

Red Bull's extreme stunts are legendary, and Plane Swap promises to be right up there with the greatest. Two pilots will jump out of their planes, leaving them pilotless and plummeting, and attempt to skydive across and save each other's aircraft.

Aerion is looking beyond the 2027 launch of its AS2 supersonic business jet for the ultra-rich, to something for the rest of us. The AS3TM, if it gets built, would be a 50-passenger supersonic commercial airliner capable of speeds over Mach 4.

Short takeoff and landing aircraft might prove an efficient alternative to eVTOLs in the early days of electric flight, using super-short runways – maybe even on top of buildings – while flying much farther on a charge than the eVTOLs.

With the move towards electric aviation comes new opportunities to explore what a powertrain looks like, and Airbus is experimenting with a new design that builds entire hydrogen propulsion units, tanks and all, into detachable pods along the wings.

Finnair's Departure 2093 website lists five aircraft that could grace our sky in the not-too-distant future.

Northrop Grumman has received a $5.1 billion, seven-year contract for construction of the CVN 78, which is scheduled to be delivered in 2015.

The MotoPOD RV-10 cargo pod fits underneath a light aircraft and carries a street-legal motorcycle.

Delta Airlines is set to introduce broadband Wi-Fi access onboard more than 330 aircraft operating in the continental United States. The company's passengers will be able to surf the web at 35,000 feet from next year at a cost of $9.95 on flights lasting up to three hours and $12.95 on longer trips.