Tag: Aviation
-
Zunum Aero strikes deal with JetSuite for debut of hybrid electric airplanes in 2022
An artist’s conception shows Zunum Aero’s hybrid-electric airplane in JetSuite’s livery. (Zunum Aero Illustration) Zunum Aero says its first hybrid-to-electric airplanes will wear the colors of JetSuite, a private aviation company that’s a partner of JetBlue Airways. Kirkland, Wash.-based Zunum Aero, which has financial backing from JetBlue Technology Ventures as well as Boeing HorizonX and…
-
Alaska Airlines sets up flight to chase total solar eclipse – with a two-seat giveaway
The black disk of a total solar eclipse hangs over the clouds during an Alaska Airlines flight in 2016. Passengers on an August flight should see a similar sight. (Robert Stephens via YouTube) Alaska Airlines has scheduled a flight from Portland to chase views of the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse over the clouds, but…
-
NASA and Honeywell boost supersonic flight by tackling sonic boom problem
An artist’s concept of a possible Low Boom Flight Demonstration Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) X-plane design. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin) The historic Concorde supersonic airliner set a record flying from New York to Seattle in just under four hours, but after retiring at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, no successors were waiting in the wings…
-
Following Trump’s lead, Pentagon orders reviews of Air Force One, F-35 fighter jets
The current Air Force One planes were built more than a quarter-century ago. (White House Photo) President Donald Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, has ordered reviews of the multibillion-dollar programs to acquire new Air Force One jets and more F-35 fighter jets – two programs that sparked his boss’ ire in the run-up to his inauguration.…
-
The Year in Aerospace and Science: Why gravitational waves wowed the world
A visualization shows gravitational waves produced by two orbiting black holes. (NASA Illustration / C. Henze) The biggest science story of 2016 was a century in the making, and will surely earn someone a Nobel Prize. The first detection of gravitational waves from the crash of two black holes is important not only for the…
-
Aerospace startups use Starburst’s shark tank in Seattle to keep their dreams afloat
Seattle-based MatterFab is working on a 3-D printer that looks like a walk-in freezer but can use laser microwelding to make metal components out of powder. (Credit: MatterFab) Some aerospace ventures came to Starburst Accelerator’s shark tank in Seattle today to find investors. Others were looking for customers. But unlike the TV version of “Shark…
-
Museum of Flight teams up with Microsoft for virtual reality tours of historic airplanes
Visitors to Seattle’s Museum of Flight can use smartphones equipped with VR glasses to look into the interior of historic airplanes. (Credit: Microsoft via YouTube) It’s not easy to crawl through the guts of a World War II bomber, but a new virtual reality project from Microsoft and Seattle’s Museum of Flight turns it into…
-
Alaska Airlines changes Anchorage-Honolulu flight to catch total solar eclipse
A passenger aboard a Lufthansa flight watches a solar eclipse out the window in March 2015. Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight will have a similar opportunity on Tuesday. (Credit: Lufthansa via YouTube) Now, that’s service: Amateur astronomers persuaded Seattle-based Alaska Airlines to shift its departure time for Tuesday’s flight from Anchorage to Honolulu 25…
-
‘The Age of Aerospace’: Boeing sponsors TV series looking back at 100 years of high-flying history
“The Age of Aerospace” traces 100 years of history. (Credit: Science Channel) This year marks the Boeing Co’s 100th anniversary, and the company is using the centennial as an opportunity not only to celebrate its own history, but the history of aerospace as well. That celebration takes the TV spotlight starting tonight, in the form of…
-
The Year in Aerospace: New horizons in 2015, from drones to dwarf planets
The heart-shaped area that’s prominent in this New Horizons picture of Pluto is known as Tombaugh Regio. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) New Horizons is the name of the Pluto mission that reached its climax in 2015, but the name also provides an apt two-word description for the year’s big news in aviation and…