Tech NewsSploid

Watch these amazing F-18 night launches from an aircraft carrier

Here’s a really cool video of F-18s taking off from the USS Theodore Roosevelt at night. It’s so cool to see these flying beasts just kick off in an instant with flames burning at their tails. And it’s even more impressive to see this happen at night. With all that said, my favorite part of … Continued

Tech News

Boeing Dreams of an Engine Powered by Lasers and Nuclear Explosions

Since we seem to be on the topic of fantastical power sources today, it’s my solemn duty to inform you that respected airplane manufacturer Boeing has aspirations to build a jet engine powered by lasers and nuclear explosions. At least, that’s what Boeing’s recently approved patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office would … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Electric blue fireworks light up the sky behind a C-130 Hercules plane

Here’s a pretty picture perfect scene of fireworks exploding behind a C-130 Hercules airplane at Yokota Air Base, Japan. I like to imagine all those fanciful blue explosions as a swarm of alien planes that are waiting to come back to the mothership Hercules. Or something like that. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

The most insane airplane low pass yet

If you were standing up straight, your head would be clipped off from this low pass from a fighter jet. That’s how close this Libyan MiG-23 is flying to the ground. The flyby is terrifyingly low and ridiculously fast and it is completely wild, especially considering how Libya only has a smattering of these jets … Continued

Tech News

Musician Collapses Wearing All His Clothes to Beat Budget Airline Fees

Musician James McElvar used a sitcom-style idea to beat easyJet’s baggage restrictions, taking all of his clothes out of his bag and wearing them to avoid a fee to check his case – only to collapse on the flight from heat exhaustion. McElvar apparently ended up wearing 12 layers in all, comprising of 6 T-shirts, … Continued

Tech News

A Sunset and Wet Runway Sure Make an Airplane Look Pretty

We’re suckers for pretty aircraft and beautifully lit photography—like this shot of a Utah Air National Guard KC-135R Stratotanker as it casts its reflection on a recently watered flight line at sunset. The image was captured at the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base on June 25th 2015. [Tech. Sgt. Amber Monio/U.S. Air National … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Watch a F-16 shoot down a drone in the air

Here’s a video showing an F-16 shooting down a drone in the air and popping off flares in a live fire exercise. One day, the drones will probably start fighting back as revenge for all these training exercises but until that day comes, let us enjoy the amazing powerful flying machines controlled by humans that … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Video: MiG-29 flies impossibly close to an airplane’s open rear door

This is just plain cool. Imagine opening the rear door of a paratrooper plane and seeing a MiG-29 right in front of you, dancing in the air mere feet away from the aircraft’s opening. This stunt was obviously planned for the photographs but it’s not unlike opening your house’s front door and seeing a giant … Continued

Tech News

Landing a Lockheed U-2 Isn’t for the Faint-Hearted

It’s easy to forget just how shallow some airplanes are. In this image, you’re looking at a U.S. Air Force Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft as it flies above Royal Air Force Fairford in England earlier this month. As the Air Force points out, the long wings and shallow body mean U-2 pilots have a very … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Watch a F-35 fighter jet take off from a ski jump

Here’s the first time an F-35B has taken off from a ski jump. The little boost not only looks cool, like a stunt ramp, but helps the fighter jet take off with a more upward flight path. These type of ski ramps are actually installed on aircraft carriers so it’s important for the, um, troubled … Continued

Tech News

Is Aircraft Cabin Air Toxic?

Following the death of commercial airline pilot Richard Westgate, an inquest was launched into the cause of his death. Westgate had previously claimed that his health problems were caused by exposure to on board toxic chemicals and a subsequent coroner’s report raised concerns with the pilot’s employers, British Airways, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), … Continued

Tech News

The World’s Biggest Aircraft Could Launch a New Age of Airships

Airships lost much of their popularity after the fiery Hindenburg disaster in 1937. But one company’s looking to revive the technology with thebiggest aircraft on Earth. It’s called the Airlander 10: over 300 feet long, it’s a floating airship that’s 25 percent bigger than a Boeing 747. It’s 1,340,000 cubic feet in volume, and can … Continued

Tech News

NASA Has a Fix for the Billion-Dollar Problem of Splattered Bug Guts

NASA’s been studying the way bugs splatter for years. Those gooey speckles of black and red might be gross to you, but to aerospace engineers, they’re a riddle that’s plagued the industry for decades. Yes, bug guts. Image: davewright321 The problem is one of scale. One splattered fly is one thing—thousands of them, accumulated across … Continued

Tech News

How Helicopters Are Designed to Land Safely When Their Engine Fails

Myth: Helicopters will drop like a rock when the engine shuts down. In fact, you have a better chance at surviving in a helicopter when the engine fails than you do in an airplane. Helicopters are designed specifically to allow pilots to have a reasonable chance of landing them safely in the case where the … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

This head on shot of a flying F-35 is so perfect

Here’s the perfect angle of an F-35, you see it directly head on and ripping through the air and feel all the intimidation of this futuristic fighter jet. It looks like science fiction. It looks like it’s ready to go warring on other planets. It looks awesome. The US Marines write: A naval aviator with … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

US Air Force F-16 Thunderbirds don’t even look like planes in this photo

I never get sick of photos of the USAF Thunderbirds doing their thing because they make real life look way cooler than any sort of movie or video game or fake effects. This picture of four Thunderbirds doing the “Diamond Bottom Up Pass maneuver” is taken at such an angle that they don’t even look … Continued

SciencePhysics & Chemistry

Bats Fly by Touch, Using Sophisticated Sensors in Their Wings

As if bats weren’t badass enough, we now know that their wings are loaded with ultra-sensitive sensors that help the bats maneuver like airborne ninjas. This could lead to aircraft design that might reduce turbulence, improve flight control, and generally be a lot less clumsy. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, and the University … Continued

Tech News

Morphing Wings Will Turn Planes into Fuel-Saving Shape-Shifters

Flying’s great—you can be whisked across time zones in a matter of hours—but it’s not so great for your wallet, or the atmosphere. But NASA’s new wing design that adjusts its flaps mid-flight could be the fix. NASA teamed up with the U.S. Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and Michigan-based engineering firm FlexSys Inc. to … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Watch the top 10 coolest airplane dogfight scenes in movie history

I’m not sure that CineFix included all the most visually awesome aerial dogfight scenes in their top 10 video for best dogfights of all time, but I do know that it’s always fun as hell to see two flying killer bird machines try to take down each other in an incredible array of skill, weaponry, … Continued

Tech NewsSploid

Bold profile photo of the F-35 makes it look like a future space fighter

The F-35 Lightning II is a comically expensive fighter jet with a host of problems but one thing you can’t deny: it can sure look badass. Like badass in the being able to see a glimpse of the future today badass. Like badass as in this flying killer machine totally looks like it’s from a … Continued