Transportation

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

Why would a pilot ever want to eject an airplane's fuel intentionally? And why would it happen during a flight? Although it sounds alarming, a fuel dump is a safe procedure.

By Jane McGrath

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.

By Jane McGrath & John Perritano

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

Length, height and wingspan are all popular ways to rank an aircraft, but truly giant planes are often judged by their maximum takeoff weight. Which plane outlifts them all?

By Julia Layton

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

The first commercial jetliners had square windows. So why did engineers change the design to the rounded windows we know today?

By Sharise Cunningham

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

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

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

By Julia Layton

One of the key pieces of infrastructure that we could really use in the U.S. is a high speed, efficient, and effective train system.

By Derek Markham, Planet Green

In January 2004, the citizens of Milan, Italy, were preparing for a strike that would shut down all public transportation. Since an estimated 28 percent of greater Milan's 3 million populace relied heavily on public transit, the strike meant gridlock for most of the city.

By Jonathan Atteberry

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

By Alexander Davies

Forklifts are a necessary tool in most warehouses, shipping depots and manufacturing facilities. In fact, without forklifts, we wouldn't be able to move manufactured goods nearly as efficiently as we do today.

By Christopher Neiger

Antique steam shovels can still be found rusting away at old mining sites or painstakingly restored and on display in museums the world over. How much do you know about these mammoth-sized digging tools?

By Akweli Parker

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

Few are unfamiliar with the mixer trucks that transport concrete from the factory to the construction site. How do they keep that stuff from hardening while they move?

By Eric Baxter

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.

By Cherise Threewitt

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

Commercial flight is extremely safe. But could it be even safer if airplanes had shoulder harnesses instead of lap belts?

By John Donovan

Predicting turbulence isn't an exact science, but airline pilots use a variety of tools both high-tech and low before asking you to buckle up.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Train crashes are in the news lately, but are our fears justified?

By Stell Simonton

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

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

By Nathan Chandler

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?

By Tara Yarlagadda