Leonardo-Inspired Pedal Plane Flaps Wings and Flies

Boeing runs a shortened test flight of its long-awaited plane

(NEWSER) - Boeing's Dreamliner passed its first test today by completing a three-hour flight over Puget Sound. The round trip—rain and wind shortened it by two hours—means Boeing can begin a 9-month certification process with the FAA, reports the Post-Intelligencer . After that, the company can presumably begin shipping the 840 jets on order from 55 airlines. The jets are lighter than those in service today, which should mean big fuel savings. More»

(NEWSER) - Above the Hudson River west of Manhattan, where a helicopter and a light plane fatally collided on Saturday, a pilot can have as many as a dozen other aircraft to monitor at busy moments. Flight instructors describe the river corridor as dangerous and tunnel-like, and government is once again facing calls to step in. "It's the Wild West out there, totally unregulated, and no one knows where these pilots are," one official tells the New York Times. More»

Researchers experiment with quieter ways to smash the sound barrier

(NEWSER) - NASA scientists are trying to mute the ear-splitting boom caused by supersonic flight into more of a sonic rumble, Wired reports. Researchers using modified F-15 jets have been experimenting with different wing shapes to spread out shock waves from breaking the sound barrier so they sound more like thunder than the telltale boom; they predict a quieter supersonic plane could be airborne within 5 years. More»

Overseas audiences meet the F-22 'Raptor'

(NEWSER) - Aviation experts were treated to a display of the world’s most advanced fighter jet at the kickoff of the Farnborough International Airshow today in England, Reuters reports. In its first international exhibition, the Lockheed Martin F-22 “Raptor” executed a dizzying array of flips, dips, and dives as it showed off the dual engines that allow it to achieve twice the speed of sound. More»

TACA jet overshot the runway and crashed into city street

(NEWSER) - A passenger plane overshot a runway and crashed into a busy street in the Honduran capital yesterday, reports the AP, killing the pilot, two passengers, and a taxi driver. Some 65 others were injured. The Miami-bound Airbus ran out of runway in wet conditions. Tegucigalpa's main airport, considered by pilots to be one of the world's most dangerous approaches, has now been closed to large jets. More»