Content about aviation

Boeing invests a further $450 million in the air taxi startup launched by Google cofounder Larry Page to develop pilotless aircraft (businessinsider.com)

"Autonomy is the key to unlocking scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond. That's why straight-to-autonomy is a core first principle."

tags: aviation innovation startup

posted by matt in Saturday, January 29, 2022

‘Spirit of Innovation’ stakes claim to be the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle (rolls-royce.com)

As well as a stunning technical achievement, the project and world record runs provided important data for our future electric power and propulsion systems for all-electric urban air mobility and hybrid-electric commuter aircraft. The characteristics that ‘air-taxis’ require from batteries, for instance, are very similar to what was developed for the ‘Spirit of Innovation’. 

Development of electric planes seems to be moving along quite a bit faster than I though. And it seems like the technology will grow the field, enabling urban air-taxis.

tags: tech flying aviation innovation

posted by matt in Monday, November 22, 2021

First solo flight - Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)

Wikipedia has a good description of the tradition of cutting a pilot's shit tail after completing his first solo:

"In American aviation lore, the traditional removal of a new pilot's shirt tail is a sign of the instructor's new confidence in their student after successful completion of the first solo flight. In the days of tandem trainers, the student sat in the front seat, with the instructor behind. As there were often no radios in these early days of aviation, the instructor would tug on the student pilot's shirttail to get his attention, and then yell in his ear. A successful first solo flight is an indication that the student can fly without the instructor ("instructor-less" flight). Hence, there is no longer a need for the shirt tail, and it is cut off by the (often) proud instructor, and sometimes displayed as a trophy."

tags: pilot aviation tradition

posted by matt in Saturday, January 23, 2021