Awesome Flying

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.

Photographer and FPV drone pilot Danny McGee takes us on a trip to some of the most scenic spots on the planet, as he zooms in and around massive rock formations, grass-covered volcanos, glacial ice, and crystal clear waterfalls on a dizzying flight.

Back in the 1950s, a new method of transportation was in development. The Fairey Rotodyne looked like the offspring of a helicopter and an airplane, and could take off and land vertically. But fast as it appeared, the Rotodyne vanished. Mustard takes a look at this unique aircraft, and why it never got off the ground.

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.

A duo of Porsches takes to one of world’s best roads – Gotthard Pass in Switzerland, and DJI was on hand to capture the action with their Mavic 2 Pro drone, FPV system, and Osmo Action camera. Whether you’re into cars, cinematography, technology, or travel, there’s a little something for everyone in this brief clip. BTS here.

Simply put, Iceland is one of the most stunning, and unspoiled places on our planet. Filmmaker Vadim Sherbakov visited some of the country’s many beautiful landscapes with his DJI Mavic 2 Pro camera, and compiled the footage into this all-too-short film.

We don’t know too much about the upcoming game The Falconeer, but it’s clear from the teaser trailer that the open-world fantasy RPG looks gorgeous – and involves dogfighting between giant birds – and that sounds pretty awesome to us.

Drone pilot Shaggy FPV shows off just what kind of amazing photography can be produced with today’s technology as he flies perilously close to rocks and trees in a quest to capture incredible imagery of the Kjelfossen waterfall in Norway. He used ReelSteady GO software to help smooth out the final footage.

UAV flyer Mactac takes us on a beautiful and majestic ride through craggy rocks, tall trees, steep cliffs, and waterfalls in this buttery-smooth first-person flight. The nature sounds and soundtrack really help bring it all together. Original through-the-goggles recording here.

Every day of the year, thousands of flights safely take to the skies around the globe. Focusing in on a popular route between London Heathrow and Frankfurt am Main airports, Wendover Productions explains the sheer complexity of coordinating the flight of a jumbo jet, as it moves between different air traffic control centers.

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.

No, you’re not looking at actual 4K aerial footage here – this is in-engine imagery from the next-generation version of Microsoft’s famed Flight Simulator. The game uses satellite data, along with Azure AI tech to power its incredibly realistic flying. Coming to Xbox in 2020.

YouTuber Omegoolibird shows off what is said to be the fastest first-person view RC plane. The customized Vasamodel Fusion can hit speeds up to 265 mph thanks to its 2650 KV electric motor, which can spin at speeds up to 35,000 RPM. It sounds like an angry swarm of bees.

Daredevil flyer Jeb Corliss pays tribute to base jumper Uli Emanuele by attempting to fly some of the incredibly magnificent and dangerous flight paths his late friend was famous for. A truly immersive 360º experience you’ll want to watch in fullscreen or on a VR headset.

The University of Zurich’s Robotics and Perception Group have developed a drone that can autonomously change size to fit through tight openings. The result is a stable quadrotor which can more reliably access disaster sites, improving search and rescue operations.

Gursk3 recently took his first hang glider flight. However, something went horribly wrong, and his safety harness wasn’t connected. Through a sheer feat of arm strength and will, he managed to hang on and survive the 2+ minute flight with relatively minor injuries.

Animator Lizzy Hobbs’ stop-motion short film pays tribute to the late Amy Johnson, a woman whose day job was working as a typist for a law firm, but whose real claim to fame was a record-breaking 9,500 mile solo flight from England to Australia in 1930.

The Phantom Menace was arguably the worst Star Wars film, but it did give us some memorable vehicles with its podracers. A group of R/C enthusiasts built their own custom podracers and buzzed them around in an exhibition, captured here by RC Media World.

Loft: The Jetman Story is a documentary that features Jetman flying wing inventor Yves Rossy and his proteges Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen. The film sees them flying over the fjords of Norway and telling the story of their journey towards autonomous human flight.

WIRED takes a look at the Gravity jet suit, a plaything for the wealthy that makes James Bond fantasies come true. Richard Browning’s invention can fly at speeds up to 32 mph, though it requires a level of fitness and balance in order to safely fly it.

Hoversurf is now taking pre-orders for its Hoverbike S3. The flying motorbike has a carbon fiber body, three-bladed carbon fiber propellers, and a battery that lasts up to 25min in pilot mode. It goes up to 16ft high and has a maximum speed of 60mph.

Engineer Mark Rober tipped us off to this impressive build by high school senior Stefano Rivellini. His flying machine uses four 90mm ducted fans concealed inside of a bent carbon fiber tubes. The result is a drone without the risk of injury from spinning fan blades.

A trio of pilots known as the Romaniacs fly through mountains, canyons, and forests in this thrilling and immersive speedflying video captured from the perspective of their helmet cams. Play it on the biggest screen you can find for maximum effect.