Wing Flutter on a 747

The Bayer airship spent most of 2013 touring the world, with stops in New York, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, and Barcelona, among other locations. This video captures the ship's flight over Zurich, Switzerland, in July.

Bayer Airship Over Zurich (2:00)

“I learned about it last winter and decided I was going to jump it the second I found out it existed,” says Jeb Corliss, speaking of The Crack. It’s a code name for a fissure in the Earth somewhere outside Zurich, Switzerland where he’s spent much of the summer BASE jumping (Buildings, Antennas, Spans, and Earth) in his custom wing suit. From the top of a peak whose name also remains guarded by the wing suit cognoscenti, he jumped and flew forward for a minute and 20 seconds, dropping only a foot for every three feet forward. Not content to fly above The Crack, he dropped in deep for some Star Wars style groove cruising that should make your head spin. Hang on to the arms of your desk chair. Video: Jeb Corliss. Outside camera work by Jeff Nebelkopf.

Jeb Corliss in Flight (2:13)

On the night of April 17, 2010, Justin Stouder of St. Louis, Missouri, was in his front yard testing a laser pointer with a friend. Stouder, 24, was pointing the laser at a distant tower when a Metro Air Support police helicopter appeared in the line of sight about 1.5 miles away and 1,500 feet up. After the laser hit the helicopter, police and the FBI—with help from the pilot—moved in to arrest Stouder. He completed a one-year pre-trial diversion program, which included supervision and probation. “I could have caused the pilots to crash,” he says.

Shining Lasers at Aircraft Can Get You Busted (2:19)

What does it take to be a top airshow performer? Talent, of course, and the ability to withstand physically demanding maneuvers at 250 miles per hour. But it also takes lots of practice, as Sean D. Tucker of Team Oracle demonstrates in this exclusive video showing one of his 800-times-a-year practice sessions. Over the Michigan countryside, Tucker flies a routine that includes rolls, loops, and a generous helping of smoke.

Sean Tucker Practice Session (3:26)

On May 14, 2013, for the first time in history, an aircraft with no pilot onboard took off from a modern, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The X-47B demonstrator launched from the USS George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia at 11:18 a.m., and flew to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. “Today we saw a small, but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy,” said Vice Adm. David Buss, commander of the Naval Air Forces. US Navy Video: Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Andrew Johnson

X-47B First Carrier Launch (1:25)

Watch pilot Dan Gray take off from Oxnard Airport in California and blast up to 100,000 feet in just 100 seconds. Cameras mounted to the tail, wings, and in the cockpit of the modified Harmon Rocket show the dramatic angle of attack Gray achieves with the twin-rotor engine roaring at full power. Once back on the ground, the team at Aviation F/X pops some well-earned champagne. Running time: 1:40.

Join the Climb on a Record-Breaking Flight (1:39)

Cameramen assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit explain how they positioned themselves in aircraft to get the best footage, in this excerpt from filmmaker David Sewell's as-yet unreleased documentary, "Special Film Project 186."Video: David Sewell/Motion Video Inc.

Cameras Instead of Guns (2:01)

Where else in the space of a few hundred square yards could you find the oldest Boeing airplane flying, a 1945 Grumman Widgeon amphibian, a 1956 de Havilland Chipmunk, and a 1929 Hamilton metalplaneall beautifully restored to flying condition? Only at the National Aviation Heritage Invitational at the Reno air races. Here's a preview video of the treasures that will be competing at Reno this year for the title of most accurately restored vintage aircraft. Video: LiveAirshowTV

Great Restorations (6:59)

In 1998, during eight tests including this one with an SR20 out of Ocotillo Wells Airport in California, engineers and pilots from Cirrus Aircraft and Ballistic Recovery Systems took the plunge. They fine-tuned many items, including how the whole-airplane parachutes rocket extracts the system, and how the slider, the white ring that travels down the cords, keeps the parachute from opening too quickly, which would damage the chute and airplane.After each deployment, the SR20 released the parachute and returned to the airport rather than stranding itself in the desert. This meant that guides had to be added to the empennage to prevent damage to the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. "Design of the test harness and parachute release mechanism were nearly as difficult as the design of the recovery systems itself," says Jay Yeakle, a Cirrus engineer. Less complex was the animal tracking system used by wildlife management groups that located the abandoned parachutes.

Whole-Airplane Parachute (0:24)