Modern

Afterburners allow a jet plane to take off from a short runway, such as the deck of an aircraft carrier. What, exactly, is an afterburner and how do they work? Learn the answer to this question in this article from HowStuffWorks.

Blimps combine the simple buoyancy of a hot air balloon with the technology of an airplane. Learn all about these lighter-than-air vehicles.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Hot air balloons are about as simple as flying can get — no engine, no moving parts really, and very little the pilot can do to control the vehicle. Find out what it's like to fly a hot air balloon!

By Tom Harris

Flying in a glider is about as close as you can get to soaring like a bird. Amazingly, these graceful machines manage their maneuvers without an engine. Learn how gliders fly without power.

By Marshall Brain & Brian Adkins

How do you start a gas turbine engine? What is the mechanism to begin the rotation of the large fan blades?

Airline pilots have an amazing job with huge responsibilities. Learn what it's like to be a pilot and what it takes to make it in this highly competitive profession.

By Joel Freeman

Black boxes help investigators determine what happened in an airplane accident. What's inside a black box and how does it record flight data?

By Kevin Bonsor & Nathan Chandler

Believe it or not, the marvel we know as the helicopter began as a Chinese top consisting of a shaft — a stick — adorned with feathers on one end.

By Tom Harris & Talon Homer

Air taxis could make a trip to the beach or a visit with friends and relatives go from taking six hours on the highway to a quick, no-hassles plane ride. Find out how the air-taxi system will operate.

By Carolyn Snare

It's the largest passenger jet ever built -- so huge that airports have to be redesigned to accommodate it. Find out just how big the A380 is and what this type of craft means for the future of air travel.

By Ed Grabianowski

In the world of flight, it's a fine line between flying high and falling fast. Can you name 10 of the innovations that keep planes and their passengers airborne?

By William Harris

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an unmanned aerial vehicle traveling faster than the speed of sound!

By Chris Opfer

They're the stuff of headlines, often characterized as evil in the sky. But what are drones and how do they get off the ground and fly?

By Nathan Chandler

For some in-flight routines and procedures, autopilots are even better than a pair of human hands. They don't just make flights smoother -- they make them safer and more efficient.

By William Harris

Not your "typical" Honda: This one features fully-adjustable leather seats, power window shades and a private bathroom with a black marble sink -- oh, and don't forget its over-the-wing engines, too.

By Christopher Neiger

The words aren't arbitrary, so why do pilots and sailors call out 'Mayday!' rather than something else?

By Nathan Chandler

Before Yeager did it, people thought it was impossible to break the sound barrier in flight. But he proved them wrong, even flying the plane while nursing two cracked ribs.

By Nathan Chandler

Camera-equipped commercial drones are cheaper and require less training. Is it time to say goodbye to your local eye-in-the-sky traffic reports?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Airlines are flying planes with no passengers, due in part to the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus, but also for economic reasons that have nothing to do with disease.

By Laurie L. Dove

Without the system that pumps unused air from an aircraft's engines into the cabin, passengers and crew would be unable to breathe at 30,000 feet. But how does that system work?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Measuring how fast an aircraft travels depends on whether you factor in the speed of the wind behind it.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was just named world's busiest airport, again. What lands the ATL in the No. 1 spot again and again?

By John Donovan

Ever sprinted through one of these behemoth airports desperate to make a flight? Here are the world's seven largest airports, not by passenger volume, but by sheer size alone.

By Dylan Ris

Fear of flying? Here are 13 airports where location, terrain, weather and design limitations make takeoff and landing a challenge for pilots and a nail-biter for passengers.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Investigations into unruly-passenger incidents by the FAA have soared 168 percent through June over 2020's numbers. What's going on in the unfriendly skies? And what is the TSA doing to protect flight crews?

By John Donovan