flight

Saitek brings air combat control to home consoles

Home console flight simulator and air combat games just got a bit easier to control. Just in time for upcoming titles like Tom Clancy's HAWX, Saitek is introducing the Aviator, a flight stick fully tested to work Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games. That said, Saitek claims the Aviator will also perform well with the Blazing Angels series of games released earlier on.

Available for both platforms, each Aviator will also have the ability to work with PC games as well, doubling the compatibility. The Xbox 360 version (pictured) not only has the familiar silver Xbox guide button, it … Read more

Mad Catz delivers 11 buttons of programmable glory with Cyborg X

Mad Catz has unveiled the latest in the company's line of PC flight sticks, the Cyborg X. While the new hardware showcases many new features, we're most impressed with the amount of customization it offers.

A total of of 11 buttons can be completely programmed (22 if you're holding down the shift button) allowing for complete control. Compatible with most air-combat and flight-simulation games, the Cyborg X should pacify even the most hardcore of PC gamers. As an added space-saving bonus, the Cyborg X can fold up for easy storage--a feature we've never seen before on … Read more

Taking travel services into your own hands: Becoming an on-the-go iPhone travel agent

Travel woes during winter are not new - canceled flights, delays, missed connections, you name it, it's likely to happen. Being stranded at a hub airport is probably the last thing you wanted to happen. Boy, that airport floor is a might comfortable bed, right? What's worse, if you're delayed you tend to have to wait in monstrously long customer 'service' lines to find out what your fate is. What's even worse is finding out that you missed an alternative connection while you were waiting in line!

The situation has gotten worse as the airlines cut … Read more

Night vision for civilian pilots

Flying your Bell Ranger in a ball cap is something of a fashion statement. But it lacks that iconic, ant-head panache that until recently only military pilots wearing restricted, government-use-only night vision-equipped helmets could pull off.

The NVAG-6 Night Vision Goggles change all that. They're the first night vision goggle certified by the FAA for civilian use, according to manufacturer Nivisys. Of course, looks are not what will sell this gear. It's the safety margin they can potentially add to low-light and nighttime flying (PDF).

"This is a historical moment for civil aviator night vision safety. Nivisys … Read more

Getting schooled in formation flying

I don't have a lot of rules, but here's a new one: when someone offers you the chance to take part in a formation flight, jump at the opportunity.

For me, that chance came a couple of weeks ago when Christian Goetze, a co-worker of my wife's, offered to take either or both of us up with him on one of two flights he was about to do.

To be perfectly frank, I didn't really even understand exactly what formation flying was, despite, for example, watching the Blue Angels flying from their home base in Florida … Read more

Video: A jet-pack flight over a Colorado gorge

It's the stuff of science fiction and James Bond. Strap a jet pack to your back and fly like a bird--sort of. But jet packs are science fiction no more.

It's 1,500 feet across from cliff to cliff, and more than 1,000 chilling feet down to the bottom of the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River near Canon City, Colo.

"You're going to see me on the other side. This isn't an 'Evel-Knievel, get-a-lot-of-media-out-and-just-screw-it-up' gig, you know," stuntman Eric Scott told CBS station KCNC-TV correspondent Rick Sallinger prior to the flight. … Read more

Blogging from 25,000 feet

Update at 7:35 p.m. PST: Photos from the flight and a few extra observations have been added.

For an aviation geek like me, the simple act of flying is more then enough reason to get on a plane.

So when sassy airline Virgin America offered CNET the chance to test its new Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service, I jumped at the chance. And yes, I'm writing this 25,000 feet or so (we're still climbing) above the Northern California coast. We're cruising on an hour-long demonstration flight out of the San Francisco International Airport. Check out … Read more

Virgin America plans Wi-Fi launch party in the sky

Virgin America is teaming up with YouTube for its big coming-out party for its Wi-Fi in the sky service.

The California-based airline will launch its Gogo Inflight Internet service on November 22 in a flight over San Francisco. To show off how robust the in-flight Internet service is, the company is planning to stream a live video feed from the plane down to the ground to an audience attending the YouTube Live concert in San Francisco.

The Gogo service will be available to all passengers on a single Wi-Fi enabled plane starting November 24. And by the second quarter of … Read more

NASA astronauts to drink their own urine today?

I know readers of this site have strong constitutions.

But as the NASA rocket thingy shot up to the skies last night for another interesting mission, the only thing on my mind was the water they will drink.

Because it appears that they will be testing the idea of sipping their own recycled urine.

I know, I know. There are many cities in the world where the tap water is undrinkable. And I had hoped that this was merely a cost-cutting move in our tight times. But the fact is that this wastewater recycling gizmoid cost $250 million and is … Read more