New Atlas

Aircraft Audio available

SkyVU uses computer vision to make flight data recording more affordable

Ben Coxworth June 13, 2019

Unlike their larger, commercial airliner cousins, small private aircraft aren't required to use flight data recorders. As a result, many pilots don't bother with them, in order to save money. A new system could change that, though, by utilizing computer vision tech for a cheaper "black box."

The SkyVU system incorporates two cockpit-mounted 4K cameras

Aircraft Audio available

First public flight for largest hybrid-electric plane to ever take to the skies

Nick Lavars June 6, 2019

LA’s Ampaire has put into the air what it says is the largest hybrid-propulsion plane to ever take flight, with plans to kick off commercial operations in the next couple of years.

On Thursday, the Ampaire 337 took flight for the first time in a short jaunt at ...

Drones

Drone uses swiveling propellor arms to become a robotic car when it hits the ground

Nick Lavars May 20, 2019

We've seen a few impressive drones now that can adapt themselves to different modes of transport. Equally so is a new quadcopter developed at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, which flies like a regular quadcopter but turns its propellor arms into wheels to keep moving once it hits the ground.

The FStar could be put to use in a variety of scenarios

Robotics Audio available

Bee+ micro-scale robot flyer gets four wings flapping

Matt Kennedy May 16, 2019

The potential for micro flying-robots in areas like search and rescue, agriculture and hazard detection is huge, but so are the hurdles. Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have been working on these problems with their Bee+, drawing inspiration from the insect world.

The Bee+ in flight-test mode, showing all four wings operating

Science Audio available

Batwinged, feathered dinosaur was a weird, failed experiment in flight

Michael Irving May 8, 2019

Like the Wright Brothers, evolution didn’t get flight exactly right the first time. It takes experimentation to find the best design, and now palaeontologists have found one of nature’s quirky side projects – a strange dinosaur that was covered in feathers but had leathery bat-like wings.

Ambopteryx longibrachium is a strange new species of dinosaur that sported bat-like wings and feathers

Science Audio available

Robot dinosaurs help unlock the evolution of flight

Michael Irving May 3, 2019

On the timeline of the evolution of flight in birds, gliding seems like a logical first step. But new research suggests that some species could have made the jump straight to flapping flight without a gliding phase in the meantime, which could force a rewrite of our understanding of avian evolution.

A robotic Caudipteryx demonstrates how a running motion may have caused the proto-wings to flap, eventually ...

Drones Audio available

Insect-inspired drone folds its arms for improved flight

Ben Coxworth April 16, 2019

Whereas quadcopter drones simply have four rigid propeller-bearing arms, flying insects are able to adjust the angle of their wings according to the situation. Inspired by that fact, scientists have created a drone that can fold its arms while in flight, allowing for better performance.

The folding-arm drone is claimed to be better than regular quadcopters at flying in the wind, ...

Aircraft

MetaFly is that flying robotic insect you've been looking for

Ben Coxworth March 6, 2019

Five years ago, French aeronautical engineer Edwin Van Ruymbeke successfully crowdfunded his Bionic Bird – it's a remote-control model that flies by flapping its wings, just like a real bird. Now he's back, with the insect-inspired MetaFly.

The MetaFly can be flown both indoors and outdoors (if the winds aren't too strong)

Military

RAF Typhoon fighters carry first Mach-4 Meteor missiles on intercept mission

David Szondy December 10, 2018

RAF Typhoon Eurofighters have taken off for the first time on an active mission armed with the latest-generation Meteor air-to-air missiles that are capable of flying at over Mach 4 (2,967 mph, 4,775 km/h).

An RAF Typhoon equipped with Meteor missiles takes off from RAF Lossiemout

Aircraft Audio available

Solid-state, ion-drive airplane silently flies with no fuel or moving parts

David Szondy November 21, 2018

A team of MIT engineers have flown what was long thought impossible – a heavier than air craft that needs no moving parts for achieving powered lift. The 5-lb (2.3-kg) does not use propellers, turbines, or fans, but relies on a silent stream of ionized air to maintain steady flight.

A new MIT plane is propelled via ionic wind