THE BEST Airplanes

Airplane enthusiast Peter Sripol’s followers gave him a challenge: Could he build an airplane that’s entirely propelled by PC cooling fans? After testing a few different fans and configurations, he came up with a lightweight design he was satisfied with. We wonder if it could be scaled up with more fans and batteries.

This crazy-looking flying machine resembles some kind of angry dragonfly as it takes to the skies. Instead of engines, the remote-controlled Serenity Ornithopter flies by rapidly flapping multiple sets of wings. The back half of the video is entirely in Russian, but it provides a brief up-close look at the unusual aircraft.

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.

Most airplanes need a decent amount of runway, but there’s a class of planes known as STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) which don’t need much space at all. Thanks to strong headwinds, pilot Jon Bush was able to land this experimental SQ12 Super Cub on zero feet of runway along Alaska’s Knik River. Be sure to watch the takeoff video.

Handcrafted by a Boeing long-haul pilot and an aircraft metal worker, this unique wall shelf is based on the dimensions of a 777 jumbo jet. The 44″ wide shelf has three portals for storing and showing off your barware or other small objects. It’s made from laser-cut aluminum with real rivets and upcycled pallet wood.

Josh over at FliteTest wanted to put together something fun and easy-to-build after the holidays, so he took some leftover wrapping paper and used it to form the wings for a remote-controlled airplane. The glider-style wing design is pretty nifty.

This lightweight, carbon-fiber airframe converts paper, foam, balsa, or cardboard planes into motor-driven aircraft. A smartphone app controls flight via Bluetooth and makes flying easy. This bundle includes the POWERUP paper airplane book, which includes templates for a number of cool airplane designs.

Most airplanes run on some kind of fossil fuel. But physics expert Tom Stanton recently built an airplane that runs entirely on compressed air. The model plane is based on the diaphragm air-powered engine that Tom previously built, and its fuel tank is an ordinary plastic soda bottle.

Built for air-to-air combat, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an incredibly agile and fast military aircraft. Members of the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Team show off just a little bit of what these planes are capable of in the hands of skilled pilots. They also posted a 360º video which is a bit more immersive.

Over the years, there have been many attempts to create a car that could fly, but most of them have failed to go into production. KleinVision hopes to break that streak with their AirCar, a transforming vehicle that recently took its maiden flight, going from driving mode to flying mode with ease.

With eight engines, nine wings, and room for 100 passengers, this early 20th-century flying machine was designed to be the first mass-passenger aircraft capable of transatlantic flight. Mustard looks back at the history of this unusual airplane, and what ended up being its downfall.

This privately-developed supersonic aircraft is all about speed. The 71 foot-long Boom XB-1 has a streamlined construction made from carbon composites, titanium, and aluminum. Powered by three GE J85 engines, it will serve as a testbed for the Overture supersonic passenger jet, which they hope to start flying in the late 2020s.

Builder Peter Sripol revisits a project he’s been obsessed with for years. The latest version of his homebrew ultralight flyer incorporates wings made from custom-cut foam, vinyl, and aluminum pipe. We love the whirring sound its motor makes when it takes to the air. You can catch part one of the build here.

Plane Pieces’ drink coasters are a great gift for aviation enthusiasts. They’re made using authentic Pratt & Whitney gears from WWII radial airplane engines. Each one is encased in clear resin, surrounded with a machined aluminum outer ring, and has a protective bumper underneath. Sold individually, or in sets of four.

A couple is headed to their friends’ tropical island wedding aboard a small airplane when the pilot suffers a fatal heart attack. This tense thriller puts us inside the cockpit as they try to survive with no flying experience, surrounded by ocean, and a dangerous storm closing in on them.

We can think of no better gift for an aviation fanatic than this metal model inspired by the iconic Hughes H-4 Hercules. Like the real Spruce Goose, this miniature has eight propellers, though these turn using a wind-up mechanism rather than 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney engines. The 219-piece kit is best for ages 14+.

While the term “smokescreen” is used to describe a ruse that conceals the truth, its origins are much more literal – a tactic in which the military conceals operations with smoke. In this 1923 footage, a plane drops a curtain of titanium tetrachloride to hide ships, a technique that would go on to be used during WWII.

It’s pretty easy to build a primitive rocket using a bottle of pressurized water. The guys at FliteTest wanted to see if they could take the idea to the next level by making a water-powered glider they could steer via remote control once it was airborne.

Maker of things The Q has been on a bit of a roll lately, producing all kinds of nifty things for us to enjoy. Watch as he takes a copper coin, flattens it out, and turns the sheet metal into a working “paper” airplane. While it isn’t one of his more complex builds, it’s still a cool build.

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.

Jessica Ambats is passionate about both photography and aviation, and she’s quite the talent behind the lens. Her 160-page book features some of the spectacular images she’s captured over the past 15 years, with a unique focus on pilots who own and fly their own jets. Available as a digital download or hardcover.

We’ve seen a remote-controlled jumbo jet fly before, but there’s something about this featherweight model that makes it extra special. Despite having a wingspan of nearly 10 feet, this model weighs just 6.6 pounds. RC Media World captured footage of Remy Mormino’s 1/26th scale Airbus A-380 as it took to the skies in Germany.

If you’re going to take a tour of Ohio’s National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, it might as well be from the air, right? Well thanks to NURK FPV, we can take a first-person drone flight through the museum’s awesome collection of aviation marvels without having to leave our homes.

(Loud) In what might be the dumbest stunt yet from the guys at How Ridiculous, they winched an old single-engine airplane to the top of a tower and dropped it nearly 150 feet onto the world’s strongest trampoline. You can sit through 14+ minutes of shouting and smaller drops, or just skip to the money shot.

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels paid tribute to America’s healthcare workers and first-responders with an awe-inspiring flyover of New York City. While piloting Thunderbird 2, Major Trevor Aldridge captured this amazing footage out of his cockpit as they flew along the East River.

Plane crashes are a staple of action movies. But how realistic are the crashes depicted on screen? Insider sat down with Stephen Moss, a former investigator at the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch and asked for his opinion on a dozen movie air disasters. As expected, some are far more accurate than others.