Awesome Flying

The 36 foot-long unmanned aircraft could be used for reconnaissance and to deliver weaponry without putting soldiers in harms way. Boeing expects the prototype to take of as early as this summer.

Created with Adobe’s Creative Suite, Ghislain Avrillon’s Galileo is fantastically analog in style for such a digital piece; it was traditionally animated frame-by-frame using Flash.

MIT’s Flyfire forms 2D/3D shapes on the “fly”; each pixel is actually a micro helicopter that synchronizes its motion with fellow self-organizing helis to form a swarm of smart pixels.

The propeller doesn’t leave much room for smuggling Jedi, princesses, or droids, but Hasbro’s R/C Millenium Falcon is no piece of junk: it flies up to five minutes at a time. Thanks, Thorir!

870 feet tall, totally silent, and pollution free, the Aircruise is a uber-lux airship that runs on solar power and hydrogen fuel cells; it’ll carry 100 people from London to NYC in 37 hours.

Nothing explodes, but we’re still dazzled by this test of a jet-mounted airborne laser (ABL) as it targets a MARTI missile loaded with sensors; a shoot-down test takes place later this year.

The last thing R/C enthusiasts need is an arms race, but the Quanum Bomb System is sure to be a blast; it drops a nylon bomb that can be filled with powder for explosive effect.

European audiences watched it in 2008, but The Red Baron finally makes it over the pond to US theaters in 2010; the film dramatizes the life of WWI ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen.

NASA’s Puffin is a one-man VTOL aircraft with top speeds of 300 mph; thanks to electric motors, LiPo batteries and carbon fiber composites, it’s not only green and light but stealthy.

With a high density carbon fiber frame, four rotors, gyro stabilization and autonomous flight abilities, the NicoletoMK is one heckuva camera mount; it’ll carry up to a 1.1 lb payload.

If you liked Parrot’s AR.Drone, build your own using Arduino; Paul Rene’s aptly-named Quaduino features four rotors, pitch/roll//yaw controls, a compass, barometer, and accelerometer.

The iPhone Pilot may seem pointless, but we’ve already racked up countless kills with its machine gun, bomb, and engine noises; be sure to download and print the free paper “wings”.

Actual aviators may want to look elsewhere, but Wings of Prey is ideal for casual WW2 fighter fans; it includes six theatres of war, 50 missions, 40+ planes, multiplayer, and future DLC.

The Gryphon Wingsuit is a chute/glider hybrid with a guidance system and HUD that’ll drop from 30k feet and glide 30 miles with an average speed of 60 mph; next up? Bolt-on engines.

Brando’s USB IR helicopter will stay juiced as long as you’re near a USB port, letting you buzz nearby cubicles all day; it also includes a controller and LED lighting for night flying.

The only flaps you’ll be lowering will be over your ears, but A. Kurtz’ Avery Flight Hat gives you the look of a 30s/40s-era flyboy; it’s lined with fleece and features an adjustable chinstrap.

Reminisce with old fighter jock buddies in style at the Phantom Bar; it features four F-4 Mk 7 ejection seats around a table made from a C-119 transport’s original cowl.

This Nano Air Vehicle is no toy; it’s a mini spybot that can hover and is the first of its size with its own power supply; it’ll eventually be used to snap stealthy pics and relay GPS data.

It won’t be abducting cows anytime soon, but AESIR’s Embler is UFO-like in its use of the Coanda Effect to create lift; it’s part of a line of UAVs the aerospace company is developing.

ParaJet is now accepting refundable $16k deposits for its SkyCar, which flew from the UK to Africa; the design has evolved since then, but the car should be ready to deliver by late 2010.

There’s nothing worse than a clogged loo at 30,000 feet, which is why the result of this Airplane Toilet Paper Experiment by Mark Malkoff isn’t too surprising; man, do those toilets suck!

We’ve seen lots of great urban vinyl, but Robotox’s VF-1 Skull Leader takes the cake; this hard vinyl Macross ‘bot actually transforms between Fighter, Gerwalk and Battroid modes.

Before the B-2 bomber was Germany’s Horten 2-29, which NatGeo has recreated to test out its stealth abilities; the result? World War 2 London would have never seen it coming.