Awesome Flying

Norweigan Espen Fadnes – 2010’s fastest flying man – reached a speed of 155mph in this wingsuit flight. The sound that he makes as he zooms down the mountain will give you goosebumps. Incredible.

There aren’t a whole lot of things we’d go back to school for, but learning to fly a jet pack is definitely one of them. Pro pilot Eric Scott helps novice flyers get in the air. It’s BYO jet pack, though.

Last time we checked in with Betty Wants In, and the Melbourne Skydive Centre they were jumping out of planes. This time, they’re defying gravity in new ways, capturing it all in awe-inspiring slow-mo.

These guys are pretty avid salespeople, but they could honestly do these tricks in complete silence and we would still want to get our hands on our own hovering My Mystery UFO spacecrafts.

Hold on to your shorts for a beautiful, death-defying flight through the mountains of Stryn, Norway. For the first minute or so, we had no idea how or where these guys were going to land.

52-year old Yves “Jetman” Rossy has crossed the English Channel and flown loops on his awesome jetpack. Here’s a glimpse at his historic flight over the Grand Canyon on May 7, 2011.

Helmet-cam footage of several wingsuit flights from the fringes of the United States, taken by Richard Schneider. The last scene shows 25 expert fliers forming a vertical diamond.

Automation company Festo’s herring gull-inspired ultralight bionic SmartBird has wings that beat and twist; it starts, flies and lands autonomously with no additional drive mechanism. (Thanks Bryn!)

For the upcoming How Hard Can it Be?, Nat Geo decided to recreate Carl’s flying house from Pixar’s Up, sending a lightweight house attached to 300 balloons 10,000 feet into the sky. More pics here.

A fortuitous passenger flight leaving Orlando saw Discovery’s recent final launch from the air. The (very cool) footage offers great perspectives on speed and trajectory. (Thanks everyone!)

The flight action series returns with an emphasis on action, featuring more up close camera angles, as well as a more diverse set of aerial vehicles. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon drops 12/31/2011.

We’ve seen 360-degree still images before, but this is the first time we’ve seen an in-the-round video which lets you actually pan and tilt the camera. The British Colombian scenery ain’t bad either.

The guys from TeamBlackSheep are back with another cool R/C flight video. This time, we get a soothing, smooth ride through the snow-covered countryside – in stark contrast to their NYC visit.

BASE jumper Valery Rozov climbs to the top of a 9616 foot-tall mountain, then jumps in his wingsuit, skirting along its jagged surface as he dives to its snowy base. Oh yeah, it was -22°F when he did it.

While we wish this thing were the size of an actual airplane, this remote-controlled flying shark-plane is still pretty damned awesome. Head-mounted laser beam not included.

You might recall the Maverick, a buggy-style car that could fly with the help of a fan and a parachute. After years of testing, the FAA has certified it, and we’ve got video of the car in flight.

If you thought parachuting looked dangerous, check out this thrilling wingsuit footage from Jeb Corliss, as he goes hurling down mountainsides, across rocks and jagged cliffs.

This gyrocopter will reach speeds of up to 253mph, using 15 blades to propel its occupants through the air. There’s two wing-mounted turboprops to boost its regular rotor. Jump to 6:00 for the juicy bits.

This amazing flying quadrocopter from GRASP Labs is incredibly adept at navigating obstacles, and can even recover instantaneously from being thrown violently into the air. Please make this into a toy.

The versatile remote-controlled quadricopter is now available for pre-order. It can only be controlled using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad for now, but apps for other platforms are on the way.

i-tec has designed a concept 1100 lb off-road vehicle called the Maverick, which becomes airborne via a big carbon-fiber blade reverse-prop 128 hp engine and an ultra-light style airfoil.

Aaron Koblin took data from FAA flight traffic control and ran it through a Processing application, After Effects and Maya to produce these incredible images of airplanes’ nerve-like interconnections.

Your tiny one-blade helicopter is cute. This one has six-blades and can eat your puny copter for breakfast. From the sound of this thing, you’d better keep your fingers outta the way.