In one instance, a “virtual country” is in the process of being created. Lauren Razavi, a coworking worker in a busy coworking area, tells me via Zoom that “the nation state is outdated. It’s based upon 19th century thinking. We aim to overturn all of that.” Razavi is executive director of Plumia. She has a self-proclaimed “moonshot” mission to create an […]
The rotors begin to spin, increasing in speed. Then, you push the lift control. Your helicopter will rise, hover, and then move forward at your next command. It didn’t fly high enough. The drone will rise to the top of the obstacle as you quickly move the joystick. It’s finally in the air and moving fast above hills, dunes, and […]
No flights are allowed if your train journey is less than two-and-a-half hours. The French National Assembly recently approved this idea as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry. The fine print. In practice, connecting flights are exempt, and only five routes in France will be affected. These are mainly those that originate from Paris-Orly Airport (ORY). […]
A two-seater SIAI Marchetti S.211 jet, with a highly-skilled aerobatic pilot in the cockpit and a suitcase full of scientific experiments on the passenger’s seat, took off last Saturday from Essendon Fields Airport. The pilot, Steve Gale, flew the jet in Australia’s very first commercial “parabolic” flight, where the plane follows the path of an object that is falling freely. This […]
The presentation of a mockup video showing the country’s missiles destroying a city in America during a musical performance was more aggressive. This video is Pyongyang’s most visceral statement yet. The timing of its telecast coincided with the arrival of US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its fleet of warships in Korean waters. Close US President Donald Trump, along with […]
Seagulls plague many city dwellers. For many, seagulls are worse than rats or pigeons. They steal sandwiches, tear up garbage bags, and even eat them. It’s interesting to note that herring gulls and lesser-black-backed gulls are decreasing in rural areas while increasing in urban ones. There are many reasons for this, including easy access to food and nesting sites, as well as a tolerance […]
Less than two months later, the virus (officially named SARS-CoV-2) has hit more than 100 countries, claiming more than 3,800 lives and infecting over 111,000 people. Regions on opposite sides of the globe are in lockdown. The international economy is in turmoil. Flights are grounded, with at least one airline already having gone out of business. Fear has led to xenophobia, and shops are selling out of essentials […]
Manual control is the first step in a typical flight. The pilot and copilot will manually steer the aircraft onto the taxiway. They will then configure the flaps and actively control the aircraft while it accelerates along the runway. Finally, they will pull back the control yoke and lift the plane into the air. FlightRadar24.com made the altitude and speed […]
Qantas hired Japanese flight attendants in 1958 to work the “Cherry Blossom Route” to Japan. Marj de Tray had flown from Australia to Japan in order to choose, out of 150 applicants, Yoshiko Watanabe Teruko Oshima, and Kazuko Otsu. Photos of the new recruits in Sydney, who were all in their early 20s, showed them wearing full kimonos similar to […]
Phobos and Deimos, unlike our own Moon, are small. Phobos measures 22.2km in diameter, while Deimos is even smaller at 13km. Deimos is slowly moving away, while Phobos will reach the surface of Mars in about 20 million years. It is impossible to make the moon’s spheres because the gravity of the two small satellites is too weak. The pair […]