Do you remember in the Matrix movie when the crew was getting chased down by those flying squid-like sentinels? Do you remember how they said their only weapon against their mechanized foes was an EMP, or an electromagnetic pulse? Well, now Boeing has developed a missile with electronic-killing EMP-like capabilities, knocking out computers and electronics as it flies overhead.

The good news is that the microwave pulses being blasted out from the missle are non-lethal, so it’s really just the computers and other electronic equipment that it’s killing. Boeing calls it the CHAMP, which stands for Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile (I’m not really sure where the P fits into that). Considering how everything relies on electricity and electronics, knocking out the defense systems and computers of your enemies can be positively crippling.

“In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy’s electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive,” said Keith Coleman, program manager on CHAMP for Boeing Phantom Works. In the real world test, the CHAMP was able to not only knock out banks of PCs, but even the cameras that were being used to record the test. “We took out everything, it was fantastic.”

[Source via Boeing]

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He’s a surplus aircraft parts dealer and he has already put together a couple of custom creations. He had a jet-powered Batmobile replica, for instance, as well as a jet-powered Datsun 280ZX. His latest creation is even more ambitious, because the jet-powered go-kart is so much smaller. This makes for potentially a much more exhilarating ride.

The custom go-kart is powered by a reclaimed Boeing 502-7 gas turbine engine, producing over 200 pounds of thrust. “The kart’s performance is absolutely amazing,” says Kettleman. “It’s so light and when that Boeing breaths, it takes your breath away … The low ground clearance and center of gravity makes it one with the road. The seating position and butterfly steering wheel start to make you think that you are piloting a fighter jet.”

And if going over 100mph isn’t enough for you, Kettleman is considering adding an afterburner for some flaming good fun, as well as a new exhaust nozzle for an even higher top speed. The custom jet-powered go-kart ultimately went for $8,100 on eBay. Given Kettleman’s history, it’s only a matter of time before we see another jet-powered beast.

[Source]

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[ Source ]

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Boeing came out with their Sonic Cruiser design almost a decade ago, but they killed it later on and shifted to the slower, but more fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. Now it appears like a team of Boeing engineers is still working on the Sonic Cruiser project. The proof on the matter is a new Boeing patent application, published on April 19, which has revealed an improved Sonic Cruiser.

That, of course, does not mean that the company is going to build the Sonic Cruiser sometime in the future, but it’s certainly interesting to take a peek at new designs. As you can see below, the new concept has a lot of changes when compared with the older design.

Stephen Trimble, at Flight Global, says that the Sonic Cruiser will have reduced noise and heat signatures, all thanks to the improvements made to the design. The engines of the nearly supersonic aircraft are placed over the wings, and they have vertical stabilizers for shielding the noise generated by the exhaust. Similar to the F-35, the engine will also have variable geometry chevrons. And the new design also has differences when it comes to the shaping of the fuselage, nose and wings.

So, will a Boeing Sonic Cruiser arrive in the future? It’s too early to answer that, but it’s surely nice to know that the project is not completely dead.

[Image Source]

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Maybe the Holiday Inn isn’t for you. Maybe you’re inclined to say nada to Ramada. You want a unique layover experience and that may include staying at a hotel you may not have imagined existed. The next time you happen to be out in Stockholm, you can sleep inside of a jumbo jet. That’s because they have converted a grounded Boeing 747 into the world’s first “Jumbo Hostel.”

Sure, there are other parts of the world where you might be able to stay in an ice hotel or even a barge that’s been converted into a tourist attraction, but sleeping in a plane after flying there on a plane has got to be pretty different. Easily the most interesting room is the Cockpit Suite, which really is the cockpit of the 747 converted into a hotel room.

This can be found at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm and the Boeing 747 was grounded there in November 2002. In addition to the Cockpit Suite, there is the Jumbo Single ensuite room for the business traveler and the Double “Black Box Suite” for small families. It is a hostel, though, so there are dorm-style rooms too if you want to meet some new people. Prices start at $62 for dorm beds and ramp up to $515 for the Cockpit Suite.

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Boeing might be a company better known for developing all kinds of aircraft, but they do other things, too. For instance, Boeing partnered up with BAE Systems to develop an advanced laser weapon system for the United States Navy. The net result is this: The Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System.

What makes this different from other laser weapon systems is that it combines both kinetic and directed energy weapons capabilities. This latches on to existing shipboard command interfaces and works in tandem with the widely used M242 Bushmaster 25mm Chain Gun. They get 2.5km of range and selectable rates of fire with this bad boy. The laser part provides incredible precision and accuracy against both surface and air targets.

While BAE Systems and Boeing have been working together for two years on developing a Tactical Laser System, BAE was only awarded the initial $2.8 million contract from the US Navy in March 2011.

Reading this story, I couldn’t help but to think of air quotes and Doctor Evil. That said, I’m sure it’ll cost way more than (pinky finger to lips) one million dollars by the time they’re done. There are also no sharks involved, unless they do decide to strap these frickin’ laser beams to their frickin’ foreheads.

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If you’re a frequent flyer like me and have been on a couple of long haul flights, then you’ll know how tough it can be to catch some shuteye during those 10+ hours in the air. Air New Zealand could help the couples in the audience, because they’ve just launched the “cuddle class” on select flights.

We’ve heard about this before, but the airline has now officially introduced what it calls the Economy Skycouch on board the Boeing 777-300ER. Andy and Barbara Maclean were among the first passengers to give it a try. Basically, the seats fold out to provide an extended flat surface that reaches the seat in front of you. In effect, you get a couch where you can sleep.

This could be great for couples flying to their honeymoon destination, but it might be quite as appropriate for business associates attending a conference overseas. For that, they can pony up for Business Premier class with its lie-flat seating, thicker memory foam mattress, and full size pillows.

For now, the cuddle class is only being offered for flights between Los Angeles and Auckland, as well as Los Angeles and London. It looks like a half decent idea, but it does mean that the couple has to pay for three seats to buy out the row… unless they don’t mind someone joining them for the cuddle.

[Read]

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Near the end of 2010 NASA chose three companies who would develop three new aircrafts for the year 2025, complying with NASA’s guidelines for the futuristic planes. Now, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have come up with three completely different artist renderings of their proposed aircrafts which are quite inspiring.

NASA’s parameters for the aircraft include less noise, better mileage and cleaner exhaust while flying on a more modernized air traffic system. In addition, the crafts have to fly at 85 per cent of the speed of sound, cover a range of approximately 7,000 miles and carry between 50,000 and 100,000 lbs of passengers or cargo.

“For the rest of this year, each team will be exploring, testing, simulating, keeping and discarding innovations and technologies to make their design a winner,” writes NASA. “Each aircraft…requires a complex dance of tradeoffs between all of the new advanced technologies that will be on these vehicles.”

And there doesn’t seem to be a common idea between the three companies as to how it can meet the requirements. Boeing’s military-style craft looks as if its payload may include bombs, while Northrop Grumman’s concept resembles some sort of giant pontoon plane/jumbo jet hybrid. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Lockheed Martin’s plane isn’t too far off from what’s already standard for passenger crafts, aside from the single propeller on the tail and the wing extensions that double back to it.

The concepts’ designs will undergo several changes throughout the year, NASA says, and by production, may not even remotely resemble the originals. But its nice to see where things started.

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A team of researchers at Virginia Tech ESM kicked off the idea for the DiscRotor craft back in 2006, and now today, DARPA and Boeing give us a glimpse of what a future helicopter/airplane hybrid craft can look like.

The VTOL (vertical takeoff/landing) vehicle has a disc on top which propellors retract and extend from the rotor. This can be used in rough terrains or places where a long runway isn’t available, allowing the pilot to take off and land vertically. The design allows for the DiscRotor copterjet to reach theoretical speeds of 360 knots, a range of 400 nautical miles, all the while carrying a payload of around 2,400 pounds. This is all theoretical of course. Aviation Week reports that Boeing will test the CSAR DiscRotor next year, a 20-percent scale model destined for a wind tunnel.

SOURCE: Aviation Week

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Boeing Phantom Eye hydrogen-powered unmanned bomber plane

Capable of flying at 65,000 feet for four days straight with its 150 foot wingspan and 450 pound payload, the Phantom Eye will surely keep any neighboring infidels in check. Powering the aircraft are dual 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each, although not stealthy, the cruising speed of approximately 150 knots is enough to conduct surveillance or just drop a few bombs on the “enemy.”

Expect Boeing’s Phantom Eye to visit NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California for typical ground and taxi tests in preparation for its lift off in early 2011.

[Via Boeing]

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