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A controlled explosion in the luggage hold of an aircraft was successfully contained by a bomb-proof lining developed by an international team of scientists. The technology shows how a plane's luggage hold may be able to contain the force of an explosion if a device hidden in an item of luggage detonates. The Fly-Bag is made from multiple layers of fabrics and composites that have high strength and impact, and heat resistance. The fabrics include Aramid, a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fiber used in the aerospace industry, as well as in ballistic body armor.

In response to public outcry over aircraft noise above Los Altos and other Bay Area cities, the Federal Aviation Administration last week issued a plan to consider changes to flight traffic. The FAA in October began analyzing potential modifications to its aircraft paths, including offshore routes, higher-altitude travel and reduced nighttime operations. "I welcome this important first step the FAA has developed," said U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, who worked alongside Reps. Sam Farr and Jackie Speier to engage the FAA. Eshoo said FAA leadership would follow up with community meetings through the representatives' offices to explain the plan to...

Defence giant BAE Systems to buy a stake in Britain's Reaction Engines, which is developing revolutionary SABRE engines for ultra-fast aircraft How an aircraft fitted with the SABRE engines might look ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hypersonic air travel and cut-price satellite launches will move a step closer when BAE Systems buys a stake in a UK company developing engines able to power aircraft at 2,500mph and into space. The FTSE 100 group is set to purchase 20pc of Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines for £20.6m, in a deal that will see the defence giant’s expertise applied to research on the privately-held company’s engine, which combines...

For all aviation and model hobbyists on FR, this is fascinating. This is a two hour video of the world's largest HO scale model Airport assembled at Miniature Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Miniatur Wunderland computer control room It is completely computer controlled where Aircraft of various kinds take off, land, taxi around, park on the tarmac, maneuver into and out of hangers, have emergencies such as engine fires to be met by emergency vehicles, and even have a Space Shuttle landing or a humorously over-sized bumble bee take off (around 18 minutes into the video). The longest video of the...

KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The police in the Malaysian state of Sabah have received a report claiming that an aircraft wreckage with the Malaysian flag painted on it was found on a southern Philippines island. The report was made by a man who said the wreckage with human remains inside was spotted by his nephew, from the southern Philippine island of Tawi Tawi, at Ubian Island in southern Phillippines several days ago. State Commissioner Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said the man made the report at the Sandakan police station on Saturday (Oct 10). "This matter is being investigated,"...

For years, all the aviation world knew about Boeing’s secret stealth project from the 1960s was limited to a name and a single mysterious photo. It seemed like a relic out of time, possessing many stealthy design features that wouldn’t exist until decades later, and even then, only in highly classified black projects.

Due to military activities, the TCAS and ADS-B surveillance may be unreliable in the airspace over Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and extending approximately 200 nautical miles offshore, from 1 a.m. EDT (0500z) Sept. 2 until midnight EDT (0459z) on Oct. 1. Pilots are advised that the traffic alert and TCAS may fail to establish tracks on nearby aircraft and may fail to receive traffic alerts (TA) or resolution advisories (RA). Operators should be aware that tracks may first appear within close proximity to their aircraft, and may immediately go into TA/RA status. Pilots are advised to...

Call it the Three Presidents Crew. In a historic game of naval musical chairs, sailors from San Diego’s aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will serve on three different flattops over the next six months. The Navy is saving $41 million by doing a massive, complicated crew swap involving 9,000 sailors and the carriers George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt, in addition to the Reagan. At the end, the U.S. Navy will have a new face in Asia, and an American aircraft carrier will enter a mid-life nuclear overhaul that was at one time uncertain. Also, San Diego will have a new hull...

Airbus has won a patent for a hypersonic passenger plane, but Concorde’s hydrogen-powered successor is unlikely to leave the drawing board any time soon. The proposed aeroplane would cut the journey time from Paris to Tokyo from 12 to under three hours. The idea, first published in 2011, is to use three different kinds of engine power to jump above the atmosphere while still using regular runways for takeoff. It has now won approval from the US Patent Office. The concept comes as commercial space companies such as Virgin Galactic pursue plans for low-level space flights. Airbus’s proposed plane has...

Two airplanes flying near one of the nation's busiest airports each came within 100 feet of a drone on Friday, according to audio from each flight's radio calls. The first, JetBlue Flight 1843, reported spotting a drone at 2:24 p.m. while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In the audio recording, the cockpit says that the drone passed just below the planes nose when the jet was flying at an altitude of about 800 to 900 feet. Then at about 5 p.m., Delta Flight 407 -- which had 154 people on board -- was...

A private jet owned by a North Texas company has been impounded for the past 2 1/2 weeks and its passengers and crew detained by the Congolese government in central Africa, where officials say it was used to smuggle gold from rebel territories in the nation's eastern provinces. The plane was leased by Southlake Aviation, based in suburban Dallas-Fort Worth, to a subsidiary of CAMAC International, The Dallas Morning News reported in its Sunday editions. CAMAC company is owned by Kase Lawal, a Nigerian-born Houston oil tycoon an appointee of President Barack Obama to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy...

MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370 MISSING 36m Editor's note: Numerous tweets are noting the discovery of airline debris off the coast of La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and speculating about a possible link to the missing Malaysia jet MH370. Jon Ostrower, the Wall Street Journal’s aerospace reporter, says the debris appears to be an airline flap. - Tom The airline debris found on Reunion Island was discovered on the coast of St. Andrew by trail maintenance workers - @clicanoore read more on clicanoo.re MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370 MISSING 9m Local report: Investigators say the debris found on Réunion Island...

The Russian navy plans to purchase a “submarine-killer” version of its Be-200 amphibious aircraft by 2020, an unnamed official said Sunday. President Vladimir Putin has made the modernization of Russia’s military aircraft a priority as part of a larger plan to revamp the armed forces by the end of the decade. The Be-200 aircraft’s anti-submarine version will help to replace the Russian navy’s existing fleet of Be-12 amphibious planes, a decades-old model that officials now consider obsolete, the source told Russian agency Sputnik International News. Current versions of the Be-200 are used to contain fires or transport personnel, with a...

See the inside of Fifi, the only B-29 Superfortress currently flying. It's part of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky's 20-year anniversary celebration.

Western planemakers look set to reap billions of dollars in deals with Iran, if a deal is done on its nuclear program to allow one of the world’s most promising aviation markets to come out of quarantine. Iran and six world powers were struggling on Friday to remove the last obstacles to an historic deal in Vienna that could resolve a more than 12-year dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, extending talks through the weekend. For Tehran, the prospect of sweeping economic sanctions and a long-standing U.S. trade embargo being lifted represents a chance to renew a fleet whose average age...

The FBI is operating a small air force to spy on Americans Associated Press Jack Gillum, Eileen Sullivan and Eric Tucker, Associated Press Jun. 2, 2015, WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cellphone surveillance technology — all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned. The planes' surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge's approval, and the FBI said the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. In a recent 30-day period, the agency...

Flt Lt James Brindley Nicolson won Britain’s highest award for battlefield bravery for attacking and shooting down a German fighter even as he was being badly burned from a fire in his own cockpit An RAF Typhoon fighter has been repainted in the Second World War colours of a Battle of Britain hero to mark the 75th anniversary of the crucial clash. The Eurofighter jet which is usually coloured a drab grey has instead been painted with the camouflage and 249 Squadron identification number of the only Fighter Command pilot awarded a Victoria Cross during the battle. Flt Lt James...

The Textron Scorpion costs $20 million, still not exactly a bargain by most people's standards, but a fifth of the cost of the F-35. It suggests that not every advanced defence project has to necessarily come in years late and billions over budget – and points to a new twist in not only the future of fighter-jet design, but also in more humanitarian roles that a budget jet could carry out. Textron aren’t the only ones creating the tech to address this issue. The single jet fighter JF-17 is a Chinese design, currently being built in collaboration with its sole...

A series of incredible photographs showing more than 150 lost World War Two aircraft 130-feet under the Pacific Ocean has been released. The stunning images show the planes surrounded by coral and fish as they lie - sometimes vertically - on the seabed more than seven decades after they were dumped there. The find includes historic American aircraft including Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, F4U Corsair and TBF/TBM Avengers.Amazingly, many of the planes have remained intact, with only a few broken tails and wings littering the floor. Brandi Mueller, from Cameron, Wisconsin, discovered the planes while scuba diving around five...