Awesome Flying

Can a rally-spec Å koda driven by former pro WRC driver Toni Gardemeister beat Yves Rossy and his one-of-a-kind jetsuit in a rally race? One of the highlights from last season’s Top Gear.

Jonathan Fielding captured this first-person video of his family’s harrowing ride in a four-seat Cessna, as it experienced engine problems and crashed into a snowy field in Utah. Incredibly, nobody was injured.

A pilot ends up putting his plane into a flat spin, causing it to stall and spin uncontrollably 26 times as it drops 2800 feet in just 40 seconds. Thankfully, he survived his upside-down emergency landing.

It isn’t too late to blast into the new year. We won’t even hold it against you if you don’t do it in a way that is as epic (or literal) as proximity flyer Alexander Polli did. Talk about precision.

An epic wingsuit flying clip from Team Need 4 Speed, Phoenix-Fly and AdrenalinBase, with incredible formations over beautiful terrain. The smoke trails alone are worth the price of admission.

This ingenious, yet elegantly-simple robot design from IIT engineers allows a quadrotor UAV to go from air to ground and back again by using a rolling cage which rotates around its mid-section.

The TechJect Dragonfly uses four wings to hover, glide or fly like its namesake insect. Its compact size and modular design make it equally ideal for recreational, professional and security purposes.

Currently being developed by sport aircraft maker Sonex, the SubSonex has a cruise speed of 170mph, a smooth ride, great visibility and is said to be akin to “driving a car that only has fifth gear.”

Youtuber rhymeswithseven redubs a Delta flight safety video with some ridiculous, nonsensical flying advice, sound-effects and plenty of Nickelback, Nickelback, Nickelback. Robert Goulet.

(NSFW: Language) A different kind of fishing from a helicopter, as the guys in this helicopter retrieve a lost P-51 Mustang R/C model airplane using their Robinson R-22 chopper. (Thanks Marc-André)

Engineers at the University of Maryland are working on a massive, lightweight copter which can lift 10 feet off the ground, entirely on the power of a single pilot – with eyes on the elusive Sikorsky prize.

In addition to looking badass on his shoulder, Esben Nielsen’s eight-rotored beast captured some great bird’s-eye footage with its custom camera rig while soaring over Bornholm, Denmark this past Summer.

Westray and Papa Westray are tiny islands in Orkney, Northern Scotland. The plane ride between the islands is just over 2-minutes-long, making it the world’s shortest scheduled commercial flight.

A documentary about wingsuit flyer Espen Fadnes, whose love for the outdoors led him to the sport. We’ll never get tired of listening to the sound he creates as he speeds to the ground.

A commercial pilot captures a week’s worth of flying from the perspective of the cockpit, condensing numerous take-offs, landings, and bugs on the windshield into a hypnotic 8-minute clip.

Because of its tilt-rotors, the VTOL V-22 Osprey couldn’t safely fire weapons anywhere besides its rear. The solution? A belly-mounted mini-gun that fires 3000 rounds-per-minute. See it at 4:17.

Ars Electronica Futurelab installed multicolored lights on 49 quadcopters then programmed them to form 3D models, resulting in a unique light show. The awesome track is Y by Monophobe.

Realizing one of our greatest dreams nightmares – armed flying drones, the guys at Hack a Day added a devious surprise to their AR.Drone, making it capable of shocking any victim it can catch up to.

Inspired by How to Train Your Dragon, R/C builder Richard Hamel built a jet-powered craft that looks like a dragon. If that’s weren’t awesome enough, it breathes fire. We want to see it fly, though.

The talented UAV flyers of Team Black Sheep take us on an extraordinary series of first-person-view, remote-controlled flights over the exotic scenery, waters and beaches of Thailand.

YouTuber Volterrific shares footage of a luxurious First Class suite on an Emirates A380 jumbo jet for a short flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong. The amenities look nicer than most upscale hotels.

Professional stuntman and BASE jumper Troy Hartman tests out his personal jetpack, which he combines with a chute to help steer and stabilize his flight. Earlier test footage here.

76-year-old Gennai Yanagisawa created the GEN H-4 helicopter, which weighs just 165 pounds, and can lift a single pilot to a speed of 56mph on a 30 minute flight. Inspector Gadget, anyone?