Airplanes

While we’re tempted to complain when dealing with the inconveniences of air travel, the fact is, getting around used to be so much worse. Bright Side looks back at the early days of commercial flight, and some of its many downsides, from zero climate control, to constant refueling stops, to far more turbulent flying.

YouTuber Papierfliegerei made a significantly better version of his playful gun. The portable paper plane factory now has a modular construction for easier repair, and is more durable and more powerful. It can make and fire up to 120 paper planes in a minute.

During the opening ceremony for China’s 2019 Nanchang Flight Convention, a veritable army of 800 illuminated drones took to the sky, arranging themselves to conjure images of a propeller plane, a jumbo jet, and a fighter jet, among other images to kick off the air show.

After a earlier and not very successful attempt, maker Peter Sripol and his friends managed to build a lightweight, remote-controlled airplane that gets its propulsion entirely from an off-the-shelf leaf blower. By improving upon the materials and aerodynamics, this version fared better in the air… eventually.

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.

Aviation buffs will dig Trintec’s wall piece, which combines an analog clock and thermometer, both designed to look like analog cockpit gauges. Choose from vintage or modern styles,in altimiter, gyro, horizon, and VOR variants. Measures 15″h x 7.5″w x 2″d, and the clock runs on a single “AA” battery.

MotoArt creates furniture and interior pieces using parts from actual retired aircraft. One of the largest items they make is a conference room wall and sliding door from the fuselage of a Boeing airplane. The exposed aluminum looks amazing in matte or polished mirror finishes. Requires a minimum 25-foot expanse.

There are thousands of videos out there showing how to make a potato cannon. But this clip from The Backyard Scientist shows how to use one to launch a glider. Working with his pal Joe – with a nod to the guys at FliteTest – they work out the most balanced and airworthy glider design.

This amazing 4K footage from High Pressure Aviation Films is the closest that most of us will ever get to landing a modern jumbo jet. The view from the cockpit of the Airbus A380 offers up a fantastic show of nighttime illumination outside, and digital displays inside. They’re currently raising funds for their new film From the Sky 2.

While jet engines do have the ability to reverse their thrust to slow down, or even taxi backwards, it’s not possible for an airplane to do the same in the sky. Bright Side provides a layperson’s explanation of the physics and safety issues that prevent this from happening.

Watch a pair of incredible scale models of the iconic Concorde supersonic airliner take to the skies. While neither of these remote-controlled flyers can actually break the speed of sound, they still have jet engines, and look and sound absolutely insane.

We’ve seen a plane shoot off fireworks before, and it’s pretty amazing. Now, thanks to all-around good guy Tom Scott and the guys at British aerobatics display team Aerosparx, we’ve been granted front-row access to a practice run, along with an explanation of how they pull off their flying spectacle.

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.

A look at the ginormous Antonov An-225 Mriya jumbo jet as it came in for a landing at Oakland International Airport. Apparently, the massive airplane was hired by the US Government to pick up typhoon relief supplies bound for Guam, and had to stop to refuel on its way from Kiev.

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.