Tag Archives: airplane

18 December 2022
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Devices

End of airplane mode era?

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Ah, the peace of airplane mode. It's too good to use on flights alone | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian

‘Enable innovative services for people’, – was said by Thierry Brenton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market as a response for a new ideas of implementation 5G services onboard of planes inside the European Union (EU).

The ban of use of electronic devices and, especially, mobile data and services was appertaining to the possibility of interference of devices used by passengers with the equipment used on planes, especially modern fly-by-wire planes, that are using electronic signals to control flight systems, not physical aspect of connect wires. 

Outside of such possible disruption, the other reason of forbidding usage of electronic devises onboard is the fact that they can turn into projectiles in the cabin while the plane going through turbulence.

However, in late November, the EU announced that it is possible to provide 5G technology for passengers onboard, together with safe use of electronic devices without restrictions. What is more, the deadline for the introduction and actual availability of the network was set and it is June 30, 2023.

How is it going to work and is it going to influence safety onboard?

5G is the latest standard to be used. The technology provided in the cabins will not be through the wi-fi function, but the mobile data. This is going to work in following way, aircrafts will be using unique network equipment called ‘picocell’, which uses satellite to connect the regular mobile network which is located on the ground to the network on the plane.

In term of safety, the 5G frequencies are higher with 5GHz than those used by the planes – 4.2 to 4.4 Ghz, which makes the risk of any kind of interference is very small.

Calls, video streaming, downloading videos, films, and more other things in less than several minutes. However, we should not expect this 5G feature to be free, especially for those who does not have EU provider, or the one that is used by the passenger simply does not cover foreign countries.

This is the future coming towards us, no more airplane more, no more phone-free travel, this is opportunity to stay connected and freer even flying several kilometers from the ground.

To read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63786591

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25 November 2018
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Have science fiction spaceships just become a reality?

Reading Time: 2 minutesRecently, MIT engineers have designed and built an electric airplane with no moving parts. The absence of turbines and propellers is possible thanks to “ionic wind”, which occurs when ions generated by the thruster on the aircraft collide with air molecules and propel the plane forward. This ground-breaking machine makes virtually no sound and is powered entirely by battery.

Source: MIT

The airplane made by MIT engineers has a 5 meter wingspan and weighs only 2.45 kilograms. Steven Barrett and his team have been working on this design since 2009. Barrett has said that the science fiction phenomenon, Star Trek, which he often watched during his childhood, greatly inspired him when developing the aircraft. Is it possible that the spaceships we have seen in Star Wars and Star Trek can soon become more than just geeks’ fantasies? While Barrett’s design has still got a long way to go, especially when compared to the USS Enterprise, Millennium Falcon or TIE Fighter, it is still a fantastic accomplishment.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/21/first-ever-plane-with-no-moving-parts-takes-flight

In theory, Ionocrafts could be a game-changer in transportation of cargo and people. Still, one has to remember a revolution is still many years away. The aircraft was tested on a distance of about 60 metres, in a closed gym, under close supervision. Still, Barrett and his team have repeated the test 10 times and found that enough ions have been produced to sustain flight the entire time.

Source: Nature YouTube channel

What struck me the most is the fact that the concept of ionic wind propulsion has been around for quite some time –  it was mentioned as far back as 1709, when an English scientist Francis Hauksbee published Physico-Mechanical Experiments on Various Subjects, and in the 1920s by Thomas Townsend Brown, whose research and work have influenced further discoveries. But it was not until the 1960s, when Russian pilot Alexander Prokofiev de Seversky introduced his idea of Ionocraft , that it became to feel more realistic. Still, it was not until earlier this week, in November 2018, that an actual prototype was built and tested.

Source: http://www.doctorkoontz.com/Antigravity/Townsend_Brown/Thomas%20Townsend%20Brown%20Scientific%20Notebooks,%20Vol_%201.htm

 

Sources:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612451/an-electric-plane-with-no-moving-parts-has-made-its-first-flight/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/mit-plane-no-moving-parts/

http://news.mit.edu/2018/first-ionic-wind-plane-no-moving-parts-1121

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionocraft

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181123135137.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/21/first-ever-plane-with-no-moving-parts-takes-flight

 

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