Electronic-Geek.com » Flying http://electronic-geek.com Your Electronic Source Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Real Life “Up” House Lifted by Balloons http://electronic-geek.com/real-life-%e2%80%9cup%e2%80%9d-house-lifted-by-balloons/ http://electronic-geek.com/real-life-%e2%80%9cup%e2%80%9d-house-lifted-by-balloons/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:00:45 +0000 Becky Stern http://blog.makezine.com/?p=88957

It took this crew the short span of two weeks to “fly the house” in this National Geographic project to create a real life version of the house in Pixar’s Up– lifted into the sky by balloons. “The real Up! Scientists recreate floating house from Pixar movie… and prove it really CAN fly” at dailymail:

The team from National Geographic have built a house inspired by the Pixar movie Up! that can really fly.

Using 300 helium-filled weather balloons, a team of scientists, engineers, two balloon pilots and dozens of volunteers, they managed to get the small house 10,000 feet into the air.

Of course it was not a real house, but a custom-built light weight one.

Executive producer Ben Bowie said: ‘We found that it is actually close to impossible to fly a real house.’

Producer Ian White added: ‘But what we can do is kind of fly a light-weight house and fly it safely with people on board.’


[via designboom]

]]> http://electronic-geek.com/real-life-%e2%80%9cup%e2%80%9d-house-lifted-by-balloons/feed/ 0 Australia’s Jetstar Airways takes the training wheels off iPad rental program, wants the tablet ‘on every aircraft’ http://electronic-geek.com/australias-jetstar-airways-takes-the-training-wheels-off-ipad-rental-program-wants-the-tablet-on-every-aircraft/ http://electronic-geek.com/australias-jetstar-airways-takes-the-training-wheels-off-ipad-rental-program-wants-the-tablet-on-every-aircraft/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:06:00 +0000 Vlad Savov http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/18/australias-jetstar-airways-takes-the-training-wheels-off-ipad-r/ Here's a quick and easy way to escape the mediocrity of those tiny low-res LCDs embedded in the seat in front of you: slap down 10 Australian dollars and upgrade to the iPad's IPS goodness for the duration of your Jetstar Airways flight. This rental option has been available on the Australian airline's flights since June, but only in pilot form (insert your own jokes here), and the feedback has been good enough for the company to make it a fleet-wide policy. "Movies, music, magazines, books and games" will all come preloaded, so you shouldn't fret about having to shell out extra hunting around for content. Licensing agreements are expected to be finalized shortly, with the rental program rolling out in full this April.

Australia's Jetstar Airways takes the training wheels off iPad rental program, wants the tablet 'on every aircraft' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW, CrunchGear  |  sourceAustralian Business Traveller  | Email this | Comments]]> http://electronic-geek.com/australias-jetstar-airways-takes-the-training-wheels-off-ipad-rental-program-wants-the-tablet-on-every-aircraft/feed/ 0 Gallery of spherical cockpit panoramas http://electronic-geek.com/gallery-of-spherical-cockpit-panoramas/ http://electronic-geek.com/gallery-of-spherical-cockpit-panoramas/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:04:56 +0000 Thehoboprince http://blog.makezine.com/?p=84902

The field of panoramic photography needs some better terminology, IMHO: "360-degree panorama," it seems to me, could just as easily apply to a circular panorama of, say, the horizon, as it could to a fully spherical panorama that also includes up, down, and every other direction in space you could possibly look from a particular point. Or maybe the term is already out there and I just couldn't figure it out? If you're in the know, please share below.

Anyway! 360 Cities has a beautiful gallery of 14 fully-spherical panoramas of various airplane and helicopter cockpits. I think my favorite so far, if only because it activates my 1980s Cold War nostalgia gland, is the Mi-24D "Hind" attack helicopter cockpit. [via Boing Boing]

]]> http://electronic-geek.com/gallery-of-spherical-cockpit-panoramas/feed/ 0 British airports now beaming holographic security agents (video) http://electronic-geek.com/british-airports-now-beaming-holographic-security-agents-video/ http://electronic-geek.com/british-airports-now-beaming-holographic-security-agents-video/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:22:00 +0000 Christopher Trout http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/01/british-airports-now-beaming-holographic-security-agents-video/
They've brought you presidential election coverage and promoted worldwide access to PCs, and now they're telling you to take off your belt and throw out your hairspray. Starting today, London Luton and Manchester airports will beam in images of holographic agents to prep passengers for the security line. Holly and Graham -- you heard right -- and Manchester's Julie and John are meant to cut queues, as well as human inconsistency. According to Luton's Glyn Jones, "Holly and Graham are not going to have a hangover; they're not going to have a row with their partner the night before." Just what we need: an army of holographic squares taking our jobs and making us all look a drunken mess in comparison. Thanks, technology.

Update: So it appears these aren't traditional holograms -- they're actually huge sheets of glass that are cut out in the shape of people, with the projection beamed on them. It's the same tech that Gorillaz use on stage, made by a company called Musion. Check out another video where the camera moves around the side.

Continue reading British airports now beaming holographic security agents (video)

British airports now beaming holographic security agents (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BBC  |  sourceLLA, BBC  | Email this | Comments]]> http://electronic-geek.com/british-airports-now-beaming-holographic-security-agents-video/feed/ 0 Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video) http://electronic-geek.com/water-propelled-jetpack-is-no-dream-can-be-yours-for-99500-this-march-video/ http://electronic-geek.com/water-propelled-jetpack-is-no-dream-can-be-yours-for-99500-this-march-video/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:15:00 +0000 Vlad Savov http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/water-propelled-jetpack-is-no-dream-can-be-yours-for-99-500-th/ It's taken a long time since that 2005 patent was filed for, but Raymond Li is now finally ready to bring his water-propelled jetpack to the money-spending world. Nailing down a March 2011 launch date and a price of $99,500 hasn't been easy for the inventor, who says his efforts to procure capital and prototyping quotations were mostly met with incredulity -- "almost everyone thought I was crazy." His JetLev personal transporter relies on an engine and fuel tank (which remain on the water's surface) to pump H20 into a backpack that then shoots out streams of the drinkable stuff to keep your airborne. Top speed is 22MPH, max height is nearly 33 feet, and the fun factor is somewhere off the scale, whether you're talking metric or imperial. Levitate past the break for a video demonstration.

[Thanks, Suraj]

Continue reading Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video)

Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PopSci  |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments]]> http://electronic-geek.com/water-propelled-jetpack-is-no-dream-can-be-yours-for-99500-this-march-video/feed/ 0 PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany’s latest electric-powered plane http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane/ http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:15:00 +0000 Michael Gorman http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric/ Germany started with electric cars and bikes, and now they are taking things to the air with the PC-Aero Elektra One. This single-seat ultralight plane has a composite airframe and a 16-kilowatt motor with a range of 400 kilometers and a max flight time of three hours. At a cruising speed of 160 km/h (about 99 mph for us anglophiles), the aircraft won't be setting any speed records, but given that it's being designed as an eco-friendly way to enjoy "leisure aviation," you should've expected to travel at a leisurely pace, indeed. The Elektra One hasn't taken to the air just yet, but PC-Aero plans to perform the first flight test later this month, so we can look forward to seeing another electric plane flying overhead in the near future. Check the video after the break to see and hear the future of aviation for yourself.

Continue reading PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany's latest electric-powered plane

PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany's latest electric-powered plane originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired  |  sourcePC-Aero  | Email this | Comments]]> http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane/feed/ 0 PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany’s latest electric-powered plane http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane-2/ http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane-2/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:15:00 +0000 Michael Gorman http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric/ Germany started with electric cars and bikes, and now they are taking things to the air with the PC-Aero Elektra One. This single-seat ultralight plane has a composite airframe and a 16-kilowatt motor with a range of 400 kilometers and a max flight time of three hours. At a cruising speed of 160 km/h (about 99 mph for us anglophiles), the aircraft won't be setting any speed records, but given that it's being designed as an eco-friendly way to enjoy "leisure aviation," you should've expected to travel at a leisurely pace, indeed. The Elektra One hasn't taken to the air just yet, but PC-Aero plans to perform the first flight test later this month, so we can look forward to seeing another electric plane flying overhead in the near future. Check the video after the break to see and hear the future of aviation for yourself.

Continue reading PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany's latest electric-powered plane

PC-Aero ready to fly the Elektra One, Germany's latest electric-powered plane originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired  |  sourcePC-Aero  | Email this | Comments]]> http://electronic-geek.com/pc-aero-ready-to-fly-the-elektra-one-germanys-latest-electric-powered-plane-2/feed/ 0 And now, a holiday greeting from our quadrocopter overlords http://electronic-geek.com/and-now-a-holiday-greeting-from-our-quadrocopter-overlords/ http://electronic-geek.com/and-now-a-holiday-greeting-from-our-quadrocopter-overlords/#comments Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000 Matt Mets http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/and_now_a_holiday_greeting_from_our.html quadrocopter_music.jpg

This impressive demonstration is by researchers at the Flying Machine Arena, part of the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zürich. They're also involved in more serious flying robotic research, such as in the demonstration by Angela Schöllig:

[via Engadget]

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Flying | Digg this! ]]> http://electronic-geek.com/and-now-a-holiday-greeting-from-our-quadrocopter-overlords/feed/ 0 Hovering flapping flight of a 3D-printed mechanical insect http://electronic-geek.com/hovering-flapping-flight-of-a-3d-printed-mechanical-insect/ http://electronic-geek.com/hovering-flapping-flight-of-a-3d-printed-mechanical-insect/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:00:00 +0000 John Baichtal http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/hovering_flapping_flight_of_a_3d-pr.html 3dprintedinsect.jpg

Charles Richter and Hod Lipson created this sweet little flapper that is so robust it can stay in the air for over a minute.

This project has focused on developing a flapping-wing hovering insect using 3D printed wings and mechanical parts. The use of 3D printing technology has greatly expanded the possibilities for wing design, allowing wing shapes to replicate those of real insects or virtually any other shape. It has also reduced the time of a wing design cycle to approximately one hour. An ornithopter with a mass of 3.89g has been constructed using the 3D printing technique and has demonstrated an 85- second passively stable hovering flight. This flight exhibits the functional utility of printed materials for flapping wing experimentation and ornithopter construction.

You can watch a movie of the insect or read Richter and Lipson's paper describing the project.

[Thanks, Sailindaze!]

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Flying | Digg this! ]]> http://electronic-geek.com/hovering-flapping-flight-of-a-3d-printed-mechanical-insect/feed/ 0 Rockets of the world http://electronic-geek.com/rockets-of-the-world/ http://electronic-geek.com/rockets-of-the-world/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:00:00 +0000 John Baichtal http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/rockets_of_the_world.html rockets_of_the_world.jpg

This is an illustration from physics professor Peter Alway's 1995 book Rockets of the World. That little black-and-yellow smudge in the second row, that's the V-2. Hit the jump for mega-size.

Click on the picture to zoom or download the full 3,322×5,079 image here. It's quite amazing what a monster the Saturn V still is, almost 40 years in retirement.

[Via Jalopnik]

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Flying | Digg this! ]]> http://electronic-geek.com/rockets-of-the-world/feed/ 0