As green cars start to take over the automotive market, it was only a matter of time before it reached the skies. Although we are still a long way from having an environmentally friendly 747, the Elecktra One from PC-Aero will have aviation enthusiasts excited to go green! The German-based company replaces the need of jet fuel thanks to the electric plane’s 13.5 kw electric engine. According to the company, the plane can fly for more than 3 hours on one charge and can cruise the deep blue skies at 100 mph with absolutely no CO2 emissions. Other features include: low noise, low operating costs, and a very attractive design. Engineers say that it only produces one fifth of the noise that a regular aircraft producers and one half of the noise that traditional ultralight planes make, which equates for quieter skies.

It’s made of light fiber composite so to maximize efficiency, with the battery only weighing about 440 pounds. But since it’s designed to be light, there’s not much room for guests on Elecktra One since it only seats one person, with a cargo weight of 220 pounds (and that’s with the pilot included).

So you must be wondering how you charge Elecktra One’s motor, right? Well, when purchasing the green aircraft, you also get its solar-powered hanger. The roof of the hanger is decorated with photovoltaic cells from SolarWorld (the largest U.S. manufacturer of solar panels) that provide power with zero emissions.

The plane has already been tested (its maiden flight was back in spring of this year) and it’s been given the green light to go into production, which is scheduled for sometime later next year. The price tag on such a machine is estimated to run about $145,000, including the plane and its solar-powered hanger. It recently won the Lindbergh Prize for Electric Aircraft Vision award and is a highly anticipated aircraft that is paving the way for our future in the sky!

Last week, Harry Potter fans from across the globe said goodbye to the boy wizard, as the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, came to an end. After seven books (and 8 movies since the last book was broken into two parts), we’ve been introduced to some extraordinary gadgets in the magic world. While many will always remain merely fiction, a few Harry Potter gadgetry just might be on the horizon for us muggles.

Magic Wands

How awesome would it be to cast spells via magic wands? Pretty damn awesome! While this may NEVER make it to reality, there is a pretty cool Magic Wand Remote Control. It looks like exactly like the wands in the movie, but the only thing you’ll be able to control are the channels on the TV (or other infra-red device) via a flick of your wrist. All you have to do is swish, whirl and flick to change channels, adjust volume and more. Despite nowhere close to the real thing, it’s still a pretty cool little gadget for diehard Harry Potter fans.

Flying Cars

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (the second installment in the series), Harry and Ron use a flying Ford Anglia to get to Hogsworth after missing the train. But flying cars isn’t something only from Harry Potter books or movies; it’s a notion that’s been around for a while. Many are actually trying to bring this theory to life, with the closet being Terrafugia’s “The Transition,” which is a plane and a car in one. So you can drive yourself to the airport, get on the runway, take off, land and then drive away in the same vehicle. You would need to get your pilot’s license for it though.

Clock that Tracks People

For those who watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone might remember the clock Mrs. Weasly had that tracked all the Weasley clan. Well some dude thought it was a cool idea and actually built The Magic Clock, using Twitter and some electronics to physically display where people are. The guy hasn’t committed to actually mass producing them yet, but the way technology is moving so fast, someone might take his idea and build on it.

5 out of 5 stars

Having a nine year old son, I’m constantly bombarded by little R/C toys.  It used to be just the normal cars and trucks, but lately it’s been helicopters.  It’s normally tedious to see him with one of those cheaply made helicopters, because they’re ridiculously difficult to control for an adult, let alone a child.  So when I got the Micro Hornet in from Swann, my feeling were understandably mixed.  So how did the Micro Hornet hold up to the others?  Was it as tedious to have fun with, or was it like flying a kite?  Find out after the jump!

For starters, when I took the Micro Hornet out of the box the first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that the frame is entirely metal – a distinct difference to most of the other helicopters out there (I’m looking at you AirHogs).  There was a plastic shell at the front to be sure, but everything under that was a lot more solid.  The Micro Hornet also had four main blades plus a gyro to help stabilize it, where as the comparable (price wise) Havoc Heli by AirHogs has two main blades and a smaller set of blades that doubles as a make-shift gyro.

Like the competition, battery life is an issue – however when dealing with mini helicopters that will be the norm.  The instructions say you can get around five minutes of flight time per 30 minute charge, but mine ran good for over seven minutes consistently.  So how did it fly?  Amazingly well actually.  with almost no effort I was able to get the Micro Hornet to hover in place at a set altitude.  I was then able to very easily control it’s movements (a feat I’ve yet to accomplish with any other mini helicopter).  It’s quite responsive – more so than I could have asked for from such a small remote.

If you’re trying to fly it with the air conditioner on at your house, you’ll probably have some issues (due to the “wind shear” effect of hot air rising and cool air falling), the same as if you have a ceiling fan because it’s not meant to fly in excess winds.  Speaking of fans, I forgot to shut off my ceiling fan the first time I ran it.  As one would expect, the Micro Hornet went straight up…..and into the fan.  This is my testament to the durability of the Micro Hornet though, because even though the blades hit it and slammed it into a wall, it still flew (and flew straight and true) without any adjustments (except for me turning off the fan).

When compared to the competition, and with the price and fun factor taken into consideration, I have NO problem at all giving the Micro Hornet from Swann a 5 out of 5.  I will more than likely be picking up more of these to give as gifts this year because of the high quality.

PROS:

• Very easy to fly
• Solid frame
• Very decent price point

CONS:

• Low battery life
• Doesn’t fly great outside
• Air Conditioning makes for unpredictable flights

You can pick up a Swann Micro Hornet from a few different sellers at Amazon for around $39.99.

The Solar Impulse, a solar-powered single person plane that uses 12,000 solar cells to achieve flight, is in the middle of its first 24 hour flight attempt. If successful, it could pave the way for using solar energy as a viable energy source for long distance flights. The plane, which has had three other successful test flights before, will hit a max altitude of 27,900 feet. Let’s hope it makes it. Best of all, you can watch a live webcast of its flight here.

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Boeing recently unveiled (or disclosed, if you want to put it that way) their latest invention, the Phantom Ray. The Ray is a remote-controlled stealth aircraft that’s got some seriously impressive specs. Intended for “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance,” the Phantom Ray is 36 feet from wingspan to wingspan, and the engine is buried deep within its innards to keep radar detectors guessing. Of course, the benefits of an aircraft without potential human loss are immense. They’re going to start trial testing for the plane this summer. Good thing the U.S. made it, right?

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Too good for one of those digital luggage scales? We all know that extra fees totally suck, so to help you avoid more stress and anguish at the airport, you can buy this suitcase that weighs itself on the fly (haha!).

The LCD displays weight in pounds or kilograms at a touch of a button so you can effectively give the finger to anyone who doubts the lightness of your luggage.  A cooler feature would be a tare mode that lets you adjust the weight incase you need to sneak some extra goodies on the plane and are good at talking your “weigh” out of using their scale.

Think this is decent product or should it be filed under crap gadget?

• Sturdily built, lined throughout
• Covered in durable 600 denier polyester
• Built-in wheels and pull-out trolley handle
• Expandable top
• 3 external zipped compartments and 3 internal compartments – one zipped mesh, 2 elasticated
• Integral scale in kg/lb/oz
• Hidden name identification plaque
• Case (including top handle/wheels) measures 25½” x 15¾” deep, expands 11½”- 13½” deep
• Carry-on measures 12″ x 10″ x 7″

Buy one now for $105 and get a free carry on bag that doesn’t weigh itself.

[via CoolestGadgets]

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I wonder how this Multi-Tool Pen would appear in and x-ray?  Packing 12 tools in side the interior of this normal looking pen, I can’t imagine the manufacturers intentions.  Featuring: a hole puncher, a large and a small blade, wire stripper/nail or staple remover, a flathead and phillips screw driver, a small saw, a stainless steel file, fork, scraper, and tweezers.  Good lord.

What would be cool for your car’s glove compartment or bike backpack, I wouldn’t recommend trying to sneak this through airport security.  Buy one now for only $12.

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Here we go into the twenty first century of warfare, folks, as the Airborne Boeing laser finally manages to hit a ground-based target for the first time ever!

The Air Force only a few short hours ago announced that, back on August 30th, a C-130 mounting a Boeing ATL (Advanced Tactical Laser) managed to hit a target on the ground.  And, the best part?  It only took Boeing thirty million dollars to pull it off!  Hurray!

But frankly, thirty million is a small price to pay, as far as I’m concerned, as long as it hastens the day when I can strap a laser gun to my hip and go plinking rats at the junkyard.

[via Slashdot]

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Pedal powered airplanes are old business, that I know.  But for a 19-year to accomplish the same feat with no previous flying experience, that is the stuff that history is made of.

Built by Dutch teenager Jesse van Kuijk, the pedal powered plane took 3 years to build and is crafted of balsa wood, polyurethane, and rip-resistant foil.  His maiden voyage transpired this past Sunday and while he only flew 15 feet high for about 45 feet in distance, it’s an amazing accomplishment.

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Move over parasailing and say hello to the Water Powered Jet Pack!  Ok, so its altitude is limited based on the hose length, and you’re pretty much dragging a pump around with you which might not make it ideal for an Ocean. But still, it’s pretty bad ass!

[Hackaday]

Nasa has struggled for years to come up with a jet pack.  You know, the thing we all one day hope to strap to our backs and shoot into the sky like superman.  Believe it or not, a New Zealand born inventor, a one Glenn Martin, has been tinkering with such a device for over 25 years.  It’s now on the verge of coming to complete fruition and with 12 orders at $100k a piece, I’d say he’s completed what one would assume is his life long dream.  The two massive engines produce over 600lbs of thrust (200hp combined) and 186mph winds.  Inside the engines are Kevlar propellers (I love Kevlar).  On a full tank of gas, one gets about 30 minutes of flying time and the tripod legs have built-in shock absorbers to insure a soft landing.  No one has flown higher than a few feet, but Martin hopes to have a version that’ll hover 500 feet in six months.

[Dailymail]

If you’re like me you’ve had that itch at one time or another to hover high in the high sky.  If you’ve got $60,000 that itch can now be scratched.  Japanese inventor Gennai Yanagisawa has built a 165-lb helicopter, which might be the world’s smallest.  It’s small in foot print too since it doesn’t utilize a rear rotator blade, and instead opts for a dual blade setup which counters the spinning effect.  The first demonstration flight will occur May 25th in Vinci, Italy to pay homage to da Vinci.

More info and pics here.