U.S. Air Force places overpowering jet armada near Iran

The U.S. Air Force is quietly assembling the world’s most powerful air-to-air fighting team at bases near Iran. Stealthy F-22 Raptors on their first front-line deployment have joined a potent mix of active-duty and Air National Guard F-15 Eagles, including some fitted with the latest advanced radars. The Raptor-Eagle team has been honing special tactics …

Watch a Boeing 727 test-crash into the desert

  For a new documentary, the Discovery Channel took a Boeing 727 to a remote part of the Mexican desert and had it crash to examine what exactly happens in an emergency situation. It didn’t go well for the plane. The fuselage of the 727 actually broke in two. The cockpit and front seats actually …

Personal photos of the Space Shuttle Discovery arriving in Washington D.C.

Last week, a friend of mine, Kirby Plessas, witnessed the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery into Washington D.C. Here are some of the photos she took, see the full set on Flickr.    

Congress orders FAA to integrate drones into the U.S. aviation system

As the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration prepares to let civilian unmanned aircraft operate in domestic airspace, universities including Embry-Riddle have created majors in flying and building drones. Enrollment is accelerating as students look for new opportunities in an aviation job market pummeled by airline bankruptcies. The drone industry, estimated worldwide at $5.9 billion annually, will …

Space shuttle Discovery gets a piggy-back-ride on a Boeing 747

NASA’s space shuttle Discovery is set to land in Washington, D.C. this April, where the now retired fleet leader — the world’s most flown spacecraft — will be welcomed by the Smithsonian Institution during a four-day public festival, museum officials said on Tuesday (Feb. 28). Flying from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a …