The 10-metre wide, helium-filled inflatable turbine, called the Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT), was sent up into the sky more than 100 metres above ground, where stronger winds can be found. The prototype was also used to lift the top-selling Southwest Skystream turbine, which was able to produce more than twice the power at high altitude that was generated at conventional tower height.

Altaeros aims to harness the stronger winds found more than 300 metres in the air with the use of helium-filled inflatable devices that can be quickly installed or taken down. In the short term, Altaeros wants to provide an alternative to diesel generators, but in the long term it wants to scale up the technology to reduce costs in the offshore wind market.

Blimp-like inflatable wind turbine tested at high altitude (Wired UK).

Waldo Stakes is building a rocket car he hopes will go 2000 mph – using the rockets from the Bell X-15, which holds the air speed record. It’s a one man operation, who knows what’s possible!

Is a 2000 Mph Car Actually Possible? – Popular Mechanics.

The Fibonacci tree design performed better than the flat-panel model. The tree design made 20% more electricity and collected 2 1/2 more hours of sunlight during the day. But the most interesting results were in December, when the Sun was at its lowest point in the sky. The tree design made 50% more electricity, and the collection time of sunlight was up to 50% longer!

via The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees.

Remarkably, a 13 year old designed this.

Falcon HTV-2 is an unmanned, rocket-launched, maneuverable aircraft that glides through the Earth’s atmosphere at incredibly fast speeds—Mach 20 (approximately 13,000 miles per hour). At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles would be less than 12 minutes. The HTV-2 vehicle is a “data truck” with numerous sensors that collect data in an uncertain operating envelope.

via Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The first side-by-side gyroplane of AutoGyro is a real masterpiece in design, technique and innovation and overcomes all restrictions and limits. Seated side by side it presents its pilot and passenger an uncomparable dimension and comfort.

As a side-by-side model, the Cavalon expands the product range of AutoGyro and offers a huge variety of features. Due to its big tank volume the Cavalon handles great distances easily and always offers everyone the perfect position thanks to its individually adjustable seats and pedals. From the bottom to the top every wish is fulfilled: also the interior offers much room for pilot and passengers and shows a highly structured overview with outstanding design.

Technical data Cavalon:

Length x width x height: 4,6 m x 1,9 m x 2,8 m

Rotor diameter: 8,4 m

Cruising speed: 145 km/h

Maximum speed: 180 km/h

Engine: Rotax 912 ULS (100 PS) or Rotax 914 UL (Turbo with 115 PS)

via AutoGyro – Cavalon.

The Eindhoven suspension is not only electromagnetic but also active, meaning that it doesn’t just mechanically respond to bumps in the road, but is controlled by an onboard computer. That computer receives input from accelerometers and other sensors on the vehicle, and adjusts the suspension accordingly within a fraction of a second. While active suspension is nothing new (at least, not for cars), it has previously mainly been integrated into hydraulic systems. According to the Eindhoven researchers, however, hydraulics can’t react as quickly as their electromagnetic system, and therefore can’t match the smoothness of its ride.

…

With a peak consumption of 500 watts, the suspension uses about a quarter of the power of hydraulic systems. It also stretches its battery life by using road vibrations to generate electricity. The designers believe that with refinements, the suspension’s energy-efficiency could be improved even further.

via Electromagnetic automobile suspension demonstrated.

SmartBird is an ultralight but powerful flight model with excellent aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility. With SmartBird, Festo has succeeded in deciphering the flight of birds – one of the oldest dreams of humankind.

via Festo Festo Corporate – SmartBird.

This car is uses an F-1 engine to pump fuel into two rockets. Richard Noble is hoping that Wg Cdr Andy Green will drive this beast at over 1000 mph in S Africa in 2013.

The Car Faster Than a Speeding Bullet – Tech Europe – WSJ.

4 electric motors mounted at the wheels and two micro gas turbine engines that top up the lithium ion batteries.

It’ll go faster than a Lambo and be more energy efficient than a Prius.

Jaguar C-X75 hybrid concept is part electric, part frickin’ jet | Crave | CNET UK.

This can now be yours for only $150,000,-
‘t-aint much for this much awesomeness!

Fiberglass Freaks Officially Licensed 1966 BATMOBILE® Replicas.

At $35.000,- they ain’t cheap, but you’ll look incredibly bizarre flying through downtown Tokyo at night. Probably bizarre enough to catch the attention of the Japanese!

Limited Edition Street-legal Tron Lightcycles Up For Grabs – Born Rich.

It also reduces NOx emissions.

Fly the eco-friendly skies.

It now has released the Mark III X-racer to fly a virtual circuit against up to 10 other pilots.

SPACE.com — Rocket Racing League Unveils New Flying Hot Rod.

Armadillo Aerospace has several videos up showing their propulsion system in action.

This is a powerboat which can go underwater, available in 3 versions allowing up to 5 people to cruise 500 miles on the surface at 40 knots or submerge to 1200 feet using an electric self-recharging engine at up to 3.7 knots.

Marion Hyper-Sub.

The E430 is a twin seat, single engine, LSA class aircraft designed to be simple to use, easy to fly and with virtually zero vibration, it's very smooth.

Low noise, no emissions, no fuel, extremely low maintenance and best of all. . . . . it’s environmentally friendly.

Electric flight, once seen as futuristic, has arrived and with E430’s flight times of between 1.5 and 3 hours (depending on configuration) electric flight now becomes a realistic power source for sport aviation. Charging times of 3 hours for as little as $5 make electric a really low cost way to fly and with only 2 main moving parts in the motor (the bearings) the reliability and maintenance are like nothing seen before.

Add to that the delight of smooth, quiet powered flight or silent using its 25:1 glide ratio – the E430 is in a class of its own.

via Yuneec – Electric_Aircraft.

It’s going to be prices at under $100,000 which makes it affordable too!

This is a new two stroke engine with very low emissions.

Lotus: Omnivore engine is 10% more efficient with more to come — Autoblog.

NASA has dropped a small helicopter from a 240 ft high gantry, resulting in a 54mph crash at a 33 degree angle, a fairly hefty crash. Using a honeycomb structure that stays flat and tilts outwards when needed, the landing skids were bent outwards, but the crash test dummies inside did pretty good.

NASA helicopter crash tests flying airbag | NetworkWorld.com Community.

The solar impulse is a completely solar powered aeroplane. The flight was a short one – 350m at an elevation of 1m, but it proved the concept!

Solar Impulse Completes First Flight | Autopia | Wired.com.

Using electromagnetic pulses, researchers have found a way to impact steel at around 3500 bar allowing holes to be cut in hard steel in 200ms, around 7 times faster than a laser can.

Electromagnetic fields as cutting tools.

This site has huge archives of declassified aerial reconnaissance photographs from the second world war.

The National Collection of Aerial Photography.

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, unveiled in Fort Lauderdale, is nearly 50% larger than the largest cruise ships now at sea. But it’s not just the ship’s size that has people talking. Built at a record cost of $1.4 billion, the 225,282-ton vessel is chock-full of industry firsts housed within seven themed neighborhoods. The 6,296-passenger vessel’s first cruise with paying passengers is set for Dec. 1

This makes it 5 times larger than the Titanic – and in the current economic climate, they’ll have problems filling it up, as well as fitting it into ports: currently only four can take it, but other ports are expanding their facilities and there should be more ports next year.

via Oasis of the Seas sets sail – USATODAY.com.