Quadcopters are most stable with their four propellers arranged in a square configuration, with one prop at each corner of the square. Such a setup makes it difficult for the aircraft to fit through tight spaces, however. That's where the Quad-Morphing drone comes in.
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Autonomous aerial vehicles known as High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) can soar at the edges of space for long periods of time. Now, UAVOS has conducted test flights of its ApusDuo prototype, an autonomous, solar-powered aircraft with flexible wings that bend and bounce to keep it aloft.
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You might remember RoboBee, an insect-sized robot that flies by flapping its wings. Unfortunately, though, it has to be hard-wired to a power source. Well, one of RoboBee's creators has now helped develop RoboFly, which flies without a tether.
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Another small electric airplane took to the skies recently in the form of Bye Aerospace's Sun Flyer 2, which made its maiden flight on April 10. The two-seater prop-driven aircraft has a 3.5-hour flight duration thanks to its six lithium-ion battery packs and is intended as a pilot trainer.
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The dinosaur Archaeopteryx is widely regarded as one of the earliest ancestors of modern birds, but the question of whether or not it could actively fly has been debated for decades. Now, scientists have taken X-ray scans of fossil specimens, and concluded that the answer is yes – sort of.
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Around 4,500 miles (8,300 km) separate the Pacific coasts of Japan and Silicon Valley, a distance far beyond the reach of current non-military drones. But a new event called the Pacific Drone Challenge has thrown down the gauntlet to those in the business of driving the technology forward.
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Airbus's Perlan Mission II took another step to the edge of space yesterday as it set a new record in the skies over Patagonia to become the first engineless glider to soar to over 52,000 ft (15,800 m), surpassing the previous record of 50,727 ft (15,462 m) set by the unpressurized Perlan 1 in 2006.
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Like true "flying fish," the ribbon halfbeak has large pectoral fins that it uses like wings to escape aquatic predators. Unlike them, however, it lacks a set of winglike pelvic fins, which add much-needed rear stability while in flight. So, how does it manage? It all comes down to a twist.
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It's not the first time the F-35 Lightning II has appeared at an air show, but it is the first time it has wowed crowds with a full aerobatic display. An F-35A showed the public what it could do at the 2017 Paris Air Show on Monday, in the aircraft's aerial demonstration debut.
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The aerodynamics of mosquito flight have long been a mystery to scientists. Now high speed cameras have revealed their unusual flight behaviors, uncovering two new aerodynamic mechanisms unseen in any other insects.
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