Taking flight against gravity and sound
Eradicating the world's deadliest diseases
Carving pathways through continents
Reaching into the deep cosmos
007skaty Solar Impulse 2
Fly on sunshine, fly on sunshine! We're sailing through the night!
007skaty At age sixty-five, Abbas ibn Firnas jumped from Mount Arus in Córdoba, Spain, staying airborne for over ten minutes before a rough landing.
007skaty Pop the air pressure walls to discover how planes break the impossible sound barrier.
Sound speed: The speed of sound is about 767 mph (1,235 km/h), but it actually changes depending on the temperature of the air, not just the altitude!
The rapid increase in aerodynamic drag and resistance that an aircraft experiences as it approaches the speed of sound. In 1947, Chuck Yeager first broke this barrier over California, piloting the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane.
In what century did Muslim inventor Abbas ibn Firnas make his historic glider flight in Córdoba, Spain?
What vital anatomical feature did Abbas ibn Firnas fail to add to his 875 CE glider, causing a painful crash landing?
In which US state did the Wright brothers make their historic first powered flight in 1903?
How many seconds did the Wright brothers' very first powered flight last on December 17, 1903?
What was the name of the rocket-powered aircraft that Chuck Yeager flew to break the sound barrier in 1947?
What physical shape did engineers copy to design the fuselage of the supersonic Bell X-1?
How many solar cells did the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft carry on its wings during its round-the-world journey?