Airports. If you fly a lot for work, you probably hate them. If your travels are for fun, the airport’s usually where the fun starts. Either way, nobody wants to have a bad time at the airport, so maybe try to head for the best airport in the world next time – and avoid the … Continue reading “The Best and Worst Airports in the World”

On Thursday 11 October, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ22 heading to New York will claim the title of the longest ever nonstop flight. The record-breaking flight will transport 161 passengers from Changi Airport to Newark International Airport in a scheduled 18 hours and 25 minutes. The longest direct flight before was Qatar Airways Flight QR921 – … Continue reading “Passengers Buckle Up for the World’s Longest Flight”

Just a few years ago, consumer drones were fuelling horror stories about how they impacted our safety and privacy, the freak public accidents they’d caused – and how they were being used to ferry drugs over borders. Drones were a menace, threatening airports and elected officials. The only uses reported in the news were downright … Continue reading “How Drones Changed Aviation – and the World”

Space exploration and aviation have been conspicuously decoupled for some time – ever since the space shuttle was decommissioned. They could finally be back together soon, with what might be the most unusual, ambitious aircraft ever built. It’s intended to carry spacecraft and satellites – but unlike the modified 747 (pictured) that ferried the space … Continue reading “From Sky to Space: is Stratolaunch the Next-Gen Spaceship?”

At the 2018 Farnborough Airshow, Boeing brought its A-game. The Biman Bangladesh B787-8 Dreamliner, sporting a wingspan of over 60m, made a near-vertical ascent following takeoff, followed by some thrilling manoeuvres, before landing confidently after three and a half minutes of flight. But is this display a true reflection of agility for a typical 250 … Continue reading “Boeing’s 787 Shows Off Impressive Moves”

Hothouse Earth is the new name for global warming, AKA the greenhouse effect. It’s the latest piece of publicity attempting to kick the population into caring about the horrors of climate change. What is the impact of air travel on the environment, and can we do anything to stop it getting worse? It’s Happening – … Continue reading “The Environmental Cost of Air Travel”

Countries all over the world are gripped by extreme weather, in an unusual global heat wave. In Japan, the heat has been declared a natural disaster. Norway and Sweden are reporting temperatures way above the average for this time of year. Spain and Portugal are breaching 47ºC. And here in the UK – well, it’s … Continue reading “Too Hot to Fly? Heat Wave Effects on Aviation”

An aviation legend. The pilot of more than 400 Spitfires, who clocked over 1,100 hours in the cockpit. A pioneer of women in military aviation, and a noble spirit who embodied the soul of aviation. This is a celebration of Mary Ellis – one of the last female pilots from WWII. Mary’s Life She was … Continue reading “Farewell to Mary Ellis; A Spitfire Girl”

For three decades, the only way you could travel faster than Concorde was as an astronaut. Ever since the iconic jet was grounded in 2003, supersonic flight for civilian travellers has been out of reach – could that be about to change? Title image credit: Fonds André Cros, used under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0 Revival … Continue reading “Encore for Concorde?”

SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are betting it all on space tourism taking off. But is there really a market for suborbital space flights priced at $250,000? The Challenges of Consumer Spaceflight Flying is so common and so routine that it’s become mundane. Air travel in modern times is actually considered by many to … Continue reading “Space Tourism: Pie in the Sky?”