Lifeboat Foundation

Throughout history, humans have observed and sought inspiration from many aspects of nature to improve flight efficiency, maneuverability, and stability. And since the days of Leonardo da Vinci, nature-inspired design, also known as biomimicry or bio-inspired design, has played and continues to play a significant role in the development of aviation.

Now, in a paper published in Advanced Science, Masoud Akbarzadeh of the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and his former Ph.D. student Hao Zheng build upon the principles of biomimicry by drawing inspiration from the wing of a dragonfly to redesign that of a Boeing 777.

“Nature’s a great teacher in telling us how to optimize systems,” Akbarzadeh says. “And when you look at a dragonfly, you see wings that have evolved over millions of years into an incredibly lightweight, efficient, and strong structure.”

Urban air-taxis can begin service over US cities as soon as 2028 by largely adhering to existing flight rules for helicopters and other low-altitude aircraft, according to federal regulators.

The prime contractor for the memorial was Morrison Monuments which has experience creating large-scale civic memorials of various shapes and sizes. Based out of Bellbrook, Ohio, Morrison Monuments was responsible for producing the four individual aircraft obelisks with wording and graphics, the center dedication obelisk, the concrete pad on which the memorial stands, the aircraft models and poles, and installing the memorial at the NMUSAF. A subcontractor, Spradlin Brothers of Springfield, Ohio, made the aircraft models.

In total, the project cost The Pioneers of Stealth $254,350, which the group was able to raise via internal fundraising. $234,850 of that total went towards the Morrison Monuments contract, while the remaining $19,500 has been paid to the Air Force Museum Foundation for “perpetual care” of the monument.

Plans for the memorial have been several years in the making. Back in early 2021, The Pioneers of Stealth initiated the ‘concept exploration’ phase for the memorial — during which members’ design concepts and inscription ideas were submitted for review by a special memorial committee. While the location for the memorial was already agreed upon, the design, graphics, and aircraft models to feature still needed to be narrowed down. The deadline for the first round of members’ entries was July 4, 2021.

A team of scientists from Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University has recently witnessed for the first time a stunning phenomenon: pieces of metal cracking, then fusing back together without any human intervention.

If this amazing phenomenon can be harnessed, it could give rise to an engineering revolution in which self-healing bridges, engines, or airplanes could reverse damage caused by wear and tear and thus become safer and longer-lasting.

“This was absolutely stunning to watch first-hand,” said Brad Boyce, a materials scientist at Sandia. “What we have confirmed is that metals have their own intrinsic, natural ability to heal themselves, at least in the case of fatigue damage at the nanoscale.”

The researchers believe this will help build a more predictive model to prevent future incidents of dangerous clear air turbulence.

Besides poor visibility, icing, and bird, mid-flight turbulence is one of the most common causes of aircraft accidents.

Clear air turbulence (CAT) is a truly significant aviation hazard. It’s invisible, mostly cloud-free, hard to predict, and the most dangerous type of turbulence. It can be caused by jet streams, gravity waves, or cumulus clouds.

Tesla has unveiled its V4 Supercharger station, and it now includes a credit card reader for the first time which might open doors for state subsidies.

When Tesla first launched the Supercharger network in 2012, it was a free service to Tesla owners.

Later, the automaker started charging some Tesla owners for charging at the Supercharger stations, but it was only for Tesla owners, and therefore, the company handled all payments and activation of charging sessions through an automatic handshake between the cars and charging stations and through its mobile app.

While Tesla famously won’t support CarPlay, code found in its iOS app update points to at least testing of AirPlay in its cars.

It’s never been possible to use Apple’s CarPlay in Teslas — not without a hack, and a convoluted one at that — but CEO Elon Musk has previously hinted at AirPlay support.

Now according to the unofficial “Tesla App Updates (iOS)” account on Twitter, the latest version of Tesla’s iPhone app includes a mention of AirPlay in its code.

The purpose-built 35ft electric flying boat also offers a top speed of 22 knots.

How do you make an electric boat go faster and further on a single charge? Either you fit a more powerful battery that usually increases the weight, making it counterproductive, or use a hydrofoil system to reduce drag.

Continue reading “At 100 nautical miles, this battery-powered hydrofoil boat offers world’s longest range” »

Flying cars are becoming closer to reality than what sci-fi movies may lead you to believe. Another electric flying car “took flight” this week in the US. CEO Doron Merdinger of Miami-based Doroni Aerospace successfully piloted a two-seater personal vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that fits in your garage.

Electric flying cars are all of a sudden taking the US by storm. Last month, California-based Alef Aeronautics revealed its 100% electric flying car, “Model A,” the first of its kind to receive legal approval to fly from the US government.

Continue reading “Flying electric car takes off in the US as CEO discusses industry’s future [Video]” »