Flight
Flight is truly one of the most amazing engineering feats man has achieved. This collection of flight articles will show you some of the coolest aircraft ever created.
Steampunk Blimps: Airships that Will Take You Back to the Future
The History of Flight and 10 Bungled Attempts at It
Bessie Coleman: America's First Black Female Aviatrix
The Longest Flight in the World Takes Almost 19 Hours
The Fastest Fighter Jet in History: The NASA X-43
The Secrets of Airline Travel Quiz
Windowless Airplanes: The Future of Flight?
How Aerobatics Works
What is the future of supersonic flight?
Learn More / Page 3
It's hard to look up in the sky on a clear day and not see a "cloud" trailing from an airplane. They're called contrails, though some refer to them as "chemtrails" and have odd explanations for their existence.
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?
Writing a legible message on paper requires a steady hand; writing one in the sky requires a steady everything.
By Julia Layton
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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
The words aren't arbitrary, so why do pilots and sailors call out 'Mayday!' rather than something else?
You've heard all about the exploits of Amelia Earhart, but do you know the story of Bessie Coleman, the first Black American woman to receive a pilot's license?
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.
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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.
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?
Measuring how fast an aircraft travels depends on whether you factor in the speed of the wind behind it.
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
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It can definitely be done - we saw Capt. Sully Sullenberger successfully land an Airbus A320 without any engines, in the Hudson River no less. But just how far a plane can fly without its engines depends on a few different factors.
By Mark Mancini
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?
There are so many tweaks we wish airlines would implement, especially if future seat configurations mean stacking passengers with butts suspended above heads.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it is extending the REAL ID full enforcement date by 19 months to allow states time to get up and fully operational after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many licensing offices.
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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.
Pilots on international flights use aviation English, a stripped-down, specialized version of the language, to communicate with air traffic controllers.
Commercial flight is extremely safe. But could it be even safer if airplanes had shoulder harnesses instead of lap belts?
By John Donovan
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With 36,000 workers, it has its own fire department, banks, day care facilities, medical clinic and water treatment plant.
Ever sat on an airplane and wondered how your laptop works at 30,000 feet?
Your pilot apologizes for your plane leaving late but then assures you she can make up the lost time in the sky. Is she pressing extra-hard on the accelerator or what?
The Boeing 737 first flew into the world a half century ago. Here's the scoop on Boeing's fastest-selling airplane.
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A blanket and pillow can transform a long, uncomfortable flight into a sleepfest, but not all airlines still hand them out. When they do, are they clean and safe to use?
Cleaning an airliner for the next flight is a complex undertaking that must be carried out rapidly. And it's even more important now during the coronavirus pandemic.