Flight

Sonic booms: so annoying! That's why the space agency and Lockheed Martin are on a 'QueSST' to science some physics and create a supersonic jet that's like so hush-hush.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Researchers devise a new anti-icing material after observing these garden pests.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Choosing your seatmates through social media? Facial recognition technology to match you and your luggage? The airline industry has the ideas... but will it adopt them?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Using low-tech solutions for high-tech problems, falconry may prove beneficial in combating all the wayward drones flying where they ought not to fly.

By Christopher Hassiotis

This hybrid airship isn't exactly your great-grandfather's zeppelin.

By Patrick J. Kiger

There are so many tweaks we wish airlines would implement, especially if future seat configurations mean stacking passengers with butts suspended above heads.

By Julie Douglas

We're not quite at floating cruise ship phase, but modern dirigibles could be rising stars for carting cargo.

By Julia Layton

Sure, flight-simulation video games and drone piloting both involve computer screens and handheld controllers, but do these similarities make gaming a useful training platform for real-life, high-stakes military operations?

By Kate Kershner

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 how do unmanned aerial vehicles actually get off the ground and flying?

By Nathan Chandler

Going through airport security is the worst part of flying for most people. Now you may be asked to turn your cell phone on in the security line. Why do you have to do that? And does it really keep us safe?

By Beth Brindle

Writing a legible message on paper requires a steady hand; writing one in the sky requires a steady everything.

By Julia Layton

Why do we still lock away critical data on a box that can go down with the plane? It may be time to think differently about the black box and its contents.

By Nicholas Gerbis

Since 1948, more than 100 aircraft have gone missing while aloft and never been found. How is this possible? We'll look at some of these unsolved mysteries, as well as other bizarre airline mishaps.

By Patrick J. Kiger

It happens. And when it does, the consequences can include not only red-faced pilots, but also inconvenienced passengers, endangered planes, damaged airfields and maybe some free peanuts for everyone involved.

By Nicholas Gerbis

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

Would you risk the mother of all jet lag if you could cross the U.S. in less time than it takes to pass through airport security? After all, your time is precious, and haven't supersonic and hypersonic technologies been around for decades now?

By Nicholas Gerbis

The airline industry is one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, but it's possible to fly and do minimal damage to the environment.

By Alexander Davies

Steampunk enthusiasts imagine an alternate version of history, where the dress code demands petticoats and suit vests and airships are the most romantic forms of all transportation.

By Alexander Davies

What is the future of supersonic flight? Learn more about the future of supersonic flight in this article.

By Alexander Davies

Discovery Channel deliberately crash-landed a Boeing 727 passenger jet in a remote and uninhabited Mexican desert as part of a scientific experiment for a new documentary. Plane crashes terrify people -- but what do the statistics show?

In fall 2011, 240 passengers climbed aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to get up close and personal with the long-awaited, much-discussed aircraft. In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded U.S.-registered Dreamliners. What happened?

By John Perritano & Vicki M. Giuggio

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

More than 100 years ago the Wright brothers made their historic first flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C. Even after all these years, their creation still boggles the mind: How can something so heavy take to the air?

By Marshall Brain, Robert Lamb & Brian Adkins

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