gliders

Meteorology may not seem like an eco-unfriendly field, but it does need to clean up its act in at least one way. A new high-tech glider could help it do so, by allowing single-use weather-balloon-carried devices to be reclaimed and reused.

A West Texas company says it's found a remarkably simple way to slash air cargo costs as much as 65% – by having planes tow autonomous, cargo-carrying gliders behind them, big enough to double, or potentially triple their payload capacity.

No props, no jets, no rockets – Spencer Lisenby just broke the world speed record for remote controlled aircraft, going transonic using nothing but the wind, and an incredible degree of skill in a highly dangerous technique called dynamic soaring.

Airbus' Perlan 2 glider is continuing to push the limits of engineless flight, hitting a succession of record altitudes throughout the last week, culminating in a unprecedented 76,000-ft (23,000-m) climb on Sunday.

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.

Airbus's Perlan 2 glider flew higher than ever before this week as it ramps up for its attempt to break the high altitude glider record later this year. The two-person pressurized sailplane made a series of free flights over Patagonia, where it reached a maximum altitude of 32,500 ft (9,900 m).

The National Weather Service's network of sensors may soon welcome aboard a high-flying counterpart, in the form of a NASA-developed fixed wing glider that zips through the sky collecting data.

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts NIAC program has announced 15 phase I winners in its quest to make science fiction science fact.

UK-based ProAirsport has developed a hybrid microlight/glider with electrically powered wheels used for taxiing and takeoff, and a jet turbine for climbing and cruising. Unlike typical microlights and self-launching gliders, ProAirsport's GloW is propeller-free.

NASA's Towed Glider Air-Launch System (TGALS) launches satellites from a twin-fuselage towed glider. Under development by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, it's designed as an economical method for putting spacecraft into low-Earth orbit.

With a history that stretches back more than 60 years, EAA AirVenture now attracts over half a million aircraft enthusiasts, along with some 10,000 planes, helicopters and experimental aircraft of all eras. Gizmag joined the multitudes on the shores of Lake Winnebago for EAA AirVenture 2014.