I’ve reported on the Solar Impulse before, but this time, it’s legit next door. The Solar Impulse (HB-SIA) piloted by André Borschberg took-off this morning from Payerne Airfield (Switzerland) at 08:24AM (UTC +2), heading straight for Madrid Barajas Airport. It’s scheduled to land around 01:00AM (UTC+2) for a minimum 3-day technical stopover. Depending on the weather conditions, the first possible departure for Rabat, with Bertrand Piccard at the controls, will be Monday, May 28. 

Solar Impulse is an ultra-lightweight revolutionary plane, capable of flying day and night, without fuel. Silent take off with it’s four motors, huge wingspan equal to that of an Airbus A340, and Carbon fibre structure will wow even the more powerful of pilots, and may just be the game changer aviation isn’t ready for. 

We must be smoking the same pipe, because we’re both on the Madrid to Marrakesh route. In case you can’t catch the action live, the airplane’s position, altitude and speed will be shown live; cameras fitted inside the cockpit and at “Mission Control Center”, the mission’s nerve center, will allow you to get in on the action. Track the Crossing Frontiers Flights 2012 via internet, app, Twitter (for André or Bertrand) and Facebook. Fly on fellas, fly on.  

In my fantasy world, a New York to Tokyo flight would be about as long as an UES to WV trek. Alas, a girl can dream. But what’s a reality? A Tokyo to Paris flight in under three hours, two and a half hours to be exact. The concept of zero-emissions, supersonic flight is being explored by European aircraft maker, EADS. This bad boy might in fact fly above the atmosphere, yet it will still take off from a regular runway. The concept project, known as ZEHST (Zero Emission High Speed Transport), is prepping to whisk away 50 to 100 business-passengers. Because what goes down at 158,000 feet is always business. Need more? 

I’m leaving for Greece in two weeks, and having some serious anxiety… does my international flight have WiFi? Well… I never checked, but for future reference I’ll be hooking up to the Hipmunk. Last month they began to display WiFi-enabled flights on their site, and now they’ve moved the feature over to their iOS app. So fly through the sky, and that firewall…. Click here for the (free) download! 

(Source: hipmunk)

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Swiss Alps via Flight 001

#breathtaking #snowcapped #Switzerland

(Source: Flickr / marirn)

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What is the world coming to? In case you couldn’t handle a three-hour break from typing on your board while on board a flight, Gogo Wireless is equipping flights with Facebook during the month of February. Airlines that will be offering the promotion include American Airlines, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America.

Facebook access will be free for all, but full Wi-Fi connection will begin at $4.95. Ok I know, who am I to talk? But it’s part of my job people!

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In late 2010, @NASA awarded contracts to three teams — Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, The Boeing Company — to study advanced concept designs for aircraft that could take to the skies in the year 2025. At the time of the award, the team gave NASA a sneak peek of the particular design they plan to pursue. 

Each design looks very different, but all final designs have to meet NASA’s goals for less noise, cleaner exhaust and lower fuel consumption. Facts: each design has to fly up to 85 percent of the speed of sound; cover a range of approximately 7,000 miles; and carry between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of payload, either passengers or cargo. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G (Source: Nasa - tipoff via Conde Nast Traveler).

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One fiesty filmmaker just made some musical dreams come true. Dutch airline KLM will operate a flight from Amsterdam to Miami on March 21, and it all began with a Twitter user’s complaint a la “how do I get to Ultra!?”

According to Springwise.com, a Dutch filmmaker planning to attend the Ultra Music Festival in Miami tweeted about the lack of a nonstop flight between Amsterdam and Miami. So, KLM’s Twitter team responded that if the filmmaker’s group, called Fly2Miami, could reserve 351 seats before Dec. 6, then KLM would add the flight on March 21.

Springwise.com reports that the group — which includes DJs, promoters and “professional party people” — booked all the seats in less than five hours. 

“We can rightly call it a first — the first time KLM will deploy an aircraft following a request on Twitter,” said Martijn van der Zee, vice president of e-commerce at KLM. “Social media are becoming more and more important to KLM to offer information and service to our customers.” Bravo, BR – A – VO. 

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Oct 28th, 4:09 PM via @ScottABCNews
Orlando, Florida #plane #landing #sunshine

@ScottABCNews: “I always pick the window seat … Nice cloud reflection today” http://plixi.com/p/53403969 about 3 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

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Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong 
via fuckyeahglobetrotters (via marikorabbetts)

#airport #planes #asia #beautiful

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