Airplanes

In this brief clip from ViralVideoLab, they show off a simple way to make a paper airplane remain airborne for a very long time. The trick requires just the right kind of plane, and a series of small fans to keep it circling in the air. You can find folding instructions for the plane here.

The perfect gift for aviation fanatics, this set of round nickel coasters features images of four critical instruments from an airplane cockpit – the turn indicator, the attitude indicator, the heading indicator, and the altimeter. Backed with felt to protect your coffee table.

Let’s face it, air travel can suck. Make it a little less sucky by having easy access to your personal items, and a clean tray table. This washable fabric cover slides over tray tables, adding pocket organizers for your gear, while covering the grubby and germy tray surface.

To celebrate 50 years in business, airplane manufacturer Airbus took to the skies with a series of six of its jumbo jets, flying them side by side for a spectacle rarely seen with anything but small planes. Along for the ride were aa A220, A320, A330, A350 XWB, A380, and the ginormous BelugaXL airlifter.

Want to fold some awesome paper airplanes? Learn from the best. John Collins aka “The Paper Airplane Guy” got together with WIRED to show off some of his stunt flyers, and how to fold your own. Be sure to check out the second video for more detailed folding instructions.

Insider gives us a tour of Air Hollywood, a movie studio in Los Angeles where movies, TV shows and music videos shoot airplane scenes. They have configurable airplane sets made from actual planes. They even have a terminal set and a warehouse full of props.

These coffee tables are each made from a wheel of a Boeing 737 or 747 airliner. The wheel is mounted on a base that lets it spin on its original bearings. Touch of Modern is offering big discounts on this upcycled furniture.

The daredevil stunt plane Scandinavian Catwalk performed this epic light show at Australia’s 2019 Avalon Airshow. Watch in awe as the plane shoots a stream of fireworks and laser beams, perfectly timed to the music, all while performing flips and rolls in the sky.

CGP Grey explores the different ways that airplane passengers can be grouped for boarding, why it takes so long to board in the first place, and why airlines don’t use more efficient means. We love how letting people board at random is actually a viable solution.

If you’ve ever been bumped from a flight because there are more people on the plane than seats, you know how frustrating it can be. Cheddar explains how airlines get away with this practice on a regular basis, and why there’s little chance it will change.

The Q decided to see if he could build a larger-than-life version of a paper airplane that actually can fly. To pull off the build of his 122-inch long airplane, he ended up using polystyrene foam and glue, so it’s not exactly paper, but he scores points for airworthiness.

If you have any doubts that flying drone near aircraft was a bad idea, watch this footage from the University of Dayton Research Institute, who recently conducted a test to see just how much damage a drone could do to an airplane wing at even a relatively slow flight speed.

This flashy airline safety video from Turkish Airlines features the characters we know and love from The LEGO Movie series. Number one safety tip – use your seatbelt, not Kragle to remain in your seat. Also, don’t show this video to Minifigs while in flight.

Aircraft maker Airbus presents video footage of its funky looking A330-based jumbo jet as the first plane makes its way through the factory. The BelugaXL’s unusual shape is designed to provide cargo capacity for large airplane parts like wings. Watch it take flight here.

More cars than ever are relying on electricity for propulsion, but using electric motors and batteries for aircraft poses challenges. Real Engineering explores whether a pure electric flyer would be possible, and why it’s so difficult to achieve. Caution, physics equations ahead.

It costs over a billion dollars per year to run an airport. With that kind of investment, you’d think they must be making bank. And that’s exactly the case. Wendover Productions breaks down where airports get their revenues and the tactics they employ to increase them.

The cloudy white lines that aircraft sometimes leave behind in their wake are commonly known as chemical trails, or chemtrails. But they’re technically called contrails, short for condensation trails. As Reactions points out, that’s because they’re mostly made of water.

Project Wingman is an upcoming flight combat game for Windows in the vein of Ace Combat – easy to pick up and play, fast-paced and single player. The final game will have over 20 aircraft and over 40 weapons to play with. Download the demo here.

…and not just any plane. The Boeing 787-9 is a passenger airplane mostly made of carbon laminate, but it still weighs over 280,000 lb. The Tesla Model X P100D managed to tow the beast, setting a Guinness World Record in the process. Cue “yo mama” jokes.

A look at one of the most incredible LEGO models we’ve ever seen – a 36 foot-long replica of the US presidential 747 jumbo jet. Apparently, it was built from a 1 million bricks. The model has been making the rounds at LEGO expositions in Poland since 2016.

The guys from YouTube channel FliteTest love to make all kinds of crazy R/C flying machines, and their latest build is a doozie. They managed to convert a wooden chair from IKEA into an airplane that reliably flies. Lift-off at 7:13.

Jason over at JK Brickworks came up with this fun idea – a kinetic sculpture which features two airplanes flying through the air. After lots of positive feedback, he created an alternate version based on the trench run in Star Wars. Vote for The Pursuit of Flight kit on LEGO Ideas.

Real Engineering usually teaches about how things work. But here, they explain some of the bad things that can cause complex systems like airplanes to fail and plunge from the sky. Despite the gloomy premise, the truth is that flying is safer than it’s ever been.

RC Media World presents footage of a remote-controlled airplane replica, based on Howard Hughes’ 8-engine H-4 Hercules aka “Spruce Goose.” Builder Jürgen Schönle’s surprisingly quiet flyer has a 12-foot wingspan, and can take off and land on water, just like the real deal.

The short answer? Secondhand airplanes. Hundreds of secondhand airplanes. Wendover Productions gives us an overview of the huge networks of airports that FedEx, UPS and DHL operate to make overnight shipping possible and affordable.

The military aircraft simulator Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World) is preparing to launch its “most authentic and detailed simulation” yet. Developed with the help of Boeing, this upcoming add-on introduces the versatile F/A-18C Hornet.

Insane footage of a Eurowings airplane as it comes in for a harrowing landing at the Düsseldorf Airport during a windstorm. With gusts clocked at nearly 70 mph, we can’t imagine what it must have been like to be a passenger on this flight.

Airplanes that can lift off vertically, then fly horizontally are quite fascinating, doing away with the need for long and tactically-vulnerable runways. Real Engineering takes a look at the history of Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft and how they work.

Comedy duo Tripp and Tyler envision a world in which the first-world problems of air travel are everyday occurrences, even when carpooling to work in the back of an SUV. We can so relate to that neck bend thing when waiting to deplane.

A video has been making the rounds showing what it’s like to open an airplane slide from the passengers’ point of view. That’s interesting and all, but this clip of a slide being opened without an airplane attached is far more entertaining. Stabilized version here.