Tigerfish Aviation is about to introduce a groundbreaking innovation for planes operating from water. It is called Retractable Amphibious Pontoon Technology (RAPT) and it consists of two articulated floaters that can be retracted in a streamlined form in the air. The RAPT has many advantages over conventional planes with floaters or even to bespoke designed hydroplanes. It has been tested in the scale model (1:6 Cessna Caravan) in the photo above and performed very well.

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The new Boeing 747-8 made its first flight. The aircraft RC501 flew yesterday at Boeing's facility in Everett Washington without any issues. This is the freighter version, which has attracted the most customers, and it is the biggest western commercial freighter yet. The passenger version ('Intercontinental') has only one major airline customer, Lufthansa and several private VIP orders..

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Update2 - Endeavour launched successfully on time without any issues. The low ceiling clouds was not a major problem and no further rescheduling was necessary. Endeavour launch video
Update1 - Launch rescheduled for Monday Feb. 8 at 4:14 a.m. EST. (11.14 am for Greece) due to weather conditions.

Tomorrow February 7, 2010, at 4:39 a.m. EST (11:39 am for Greece) the Space Shuttle Endeavour will be launched in to Space for mission STS-130. This is a historic launch because it is the last one that would take place at night. The flight will last 13 days and will include 3 spacewalks in order to install the node 3 'Tranquility' ISS module. In this node there is the cupola, a 7 window observation where the astronauts can have a panoramic view of the earth and space. This topic will be updated after the launch.

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The German aerospace institute DLR successfully concluded the first series of tests of the new sandwich nozzle destined for the Vulcan 2 engine that propels the Ariane 5. The new technology nozzle is called NE-X and is designed and constructed from Volvo Aero under contract from SNECMA. Volvo Aero is a pioneer in this design and has a contract for Pratt & Whitney Advanced Rocket Technology Demonstrator Engine which have already been tested and also for the construction of of this booster nozzle demonstrator for a future upgrade of the Vulcan 2 engine.

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After a completely secret development process today the new 5th generation fighter of the Russian Air Force made its first flight and was presented to the rest of the world. The T-50 prototype with test pilot Sergey Bogdan took off from the Sukhoi 's facilities in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (east Russia, near the Pacific) and made a 47min flight where the basic systems were tested and the landing gear was cycled. The T-50 prototype (and the production plane that will come later) is the first Russian-designed stealth fighter and together with 4th gen Su-27 derivatives will consist the core of the Russian air force in the near future.

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This small two seater may look like a conventional motorglider but it could be revolutionary for general aviation. It is called E430 and it is made by Yuneec Aircraft Company of Shangai China. Instead of an internal combustion engine it uses an electric motor and a pack of Li-ion batteries.

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This is just a study from a NASA engineering team for a VTOL personal air vehicle. It has an unusual tail sitter arrangement like the experimental Lockheed XFV but there are some very interesting innovations that may transform the dead end that Lockheed engineers faced to a successful vehicle.

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SmartFish is a very exotic aircraft concept that as its very descriptive name suggest looks more like an aquatic craft than an aircraft. Koni Schafroth, an engineer and inventor from Switzerland first initiated this project. SmartFish is a family of aircrafts, all sharing the basic shape and principles. It has a ellipsoid fuselage with fin like wings that blend smoothly in the root. In the empennage there are shark fin-like tail elevator and rudder and the whole plane looks is very streamlined.

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The first F-35B test aircraft (BF-01) made its first engagement of the full STOVL configuration during a flight in 9th January. With this configuration the F-35B swivels the 3-part rear nozzle facing downwards, opens the top and bottom hatch for the central lift-fan and the additional ports for the engine intake. The clutch sending power to the lift-fan is also engaged. During the transition the aircraft had a speed of 150kt and was at an altitude of 5,000ft. The test was planned for 2009 but was delayed until now, no problems occurred during the flight. The big milestone is the vertical landing but Lockheed Martin takes small and careful steps in the progress of such a radical aircraft.

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