Transportation
Many of us take public transportation or fly in airplanes on a regular basis, but have you ever wondered how all of these things work? This collection of transportation articles help explain how people get from place to place.
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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.
Although it doesn't happen often, large passenger jets crash for many reasons, from mechanical failure to pilot error.
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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.
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
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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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
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.
In 2015, the U.S. population numbered 320 million, but less than 10 percent of those people rode the rails. So who does?
By Julia Layton
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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?
The loops, rolls and rocketlike maneuvers these stunt pilots perform are astounding. What's the history behind aerobatics and how do they perform those tricks in the sky?
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.
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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?
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?
The first commercial jetliners had square windows. So why did engineers change the design to the rounded windows we know today?
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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
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?
Imagine whipping through the sky at thousands of miles per hour. This special type of jet engine can do exactly that.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an unmanned aerial vehicle traveling faster than the speed of sound!
By Chris Opfer
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Ready for a fifth mode of transportation? Elon Musk is. He's sketched out a proposal for a nearly supersonic transportation system that could shoot you from San Francisco to Los Angeles faster than you can watch an episode of "Game of Thrones."
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?