pilot

The Federal Aviation Administration looks to be tightening the screws on what personal devices pilots are allowed to use while in the air.

A new proposal, which the agency published in the Federal Register today, aims to stop pilots from using electronic devices for any type of personal use while in the cockpit. The proposal comes after a handful of incidents gave the FAA cause for concern.

"The personal use of personal wireless communications devices and laptop computers for non-safety related activities is prohibited by the broad restrictions in the current 'Sterile Cockpit' rule during ground operations involving taxi, … Read more

As eBay comes up against more competition from the growing number of online retailers, it has to keep reinventing itself. The newest endeavor for the online auction house means coming offline and helping people sell their goods in person.

eBay has recently launched three new pilot programs that involve company representatives working with sellers and buyers to figure out how to best purchase or get rid of wares, according to All Things D.

"People make their living on eBay and that feels good, but to be the belle of the ball, we have to step it up. We can'… Read more

The most typical drawback of Google Maps for navigation is the data usage that occurs during the entire time you are navigating. Unlike Google Maps, CoPilot GPS doesn't have to constantly download and update the map as you move along the road. It operates similarly to a traditional GPS.

Copilot GPS welcomed us with an attractive layout. The app is well designed and intuitive. During the setup, this app requires you to pick a map and download it. At this stage of setup it is highly recommended that you are connected to a Wi-Fi network due to speed and … Read more

Whether people call a taxi or hail one can be a contentious matter in New York City -- because of rules set up between yellow cabs and for-hire vehicles. So, it's no surprise that a smartphone app that lets users beckon yellow cabs has been a topic of hot debate with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The commission announced Wednesday that it will vote on whether to allow such apps in a pilot program, according to the New York Times. The vote is scheduled for Thursday. Update December 13 at 10:04 a.m. PT: On … Read more

Although there was much anticipation of Apple's native navigation app for iOS 6, reports of its performance revealed many flaws. If Apple Maps is not everything you had hoped, fear not, there are alternatives. Other companies have been doing navigation a lot longer than Apple, and their apps show much more refinement. Most are basically free, but you will need to pay a little for features such as voice prompts, traffic data, and downloadable maps.

Here are five free, or mostly free, iPhone navigation apps. … Read more

In what started out as a small newsletter to 600 friends has grown into a company worthy of $13 million in Series A funding.

Thrillist Media Group, a man-about-town newsletter and e-commerce company, announced today that it has raised this wad of cash with funding led by Oak Investment Partners that has been joined by Lerer Ventures and Pilot Group. What's more, Fred Harman from Oak will be joining Thrillist's board of directors.

Thrillist was co-founded by Ben Lerer who comes from a family that knows about media. He's the son of Ken Lerer, who co-founded the … Read more

Imagine a robotic plane flying without a pilot -- or GPS. A team at MIT has just unveiled its latest prototype.

So, how does it work?

It's able to maneuver with the implementation of a new algorithm that can calculate its location, orientation, velocity, and acceleration.

And the implications are many. For example, your FedEx packages could be transported by autonomous planes, or autonomous helicopters could swoop down and rescue injured soldiers in battlefields. You might even find yourself on a commercial flight sans pilot -- well, maybe.

I would no more pilot a plane than I would wear a lampshade on my head to dinner.

This remarkable -- and, as it turns out -- very instructive footage is a case for my defense.

It was posted to YouTube by Larry Hockensmith, who takes full responsibility for everything that happens in it.

This includes his sailplane's wing crashing into someone's mailbox.

I am grateful to Gadling.com for directing me to this beautiful and very slightly disturbing footage, which, I suspect, may not disturb regular pilots at all -- or even regular people with mailboxes.

Hockensmith'… Read more

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--He might be the most famous airman in the history of the U.S. Air Force, and he's a graduate of the Test Pilot School.

In 1947, Capt. Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier, hitting Mach 1.0 in a Bell X-1 rocket plane 42,000 feet above this Mojave Desert outpost. And today, to commemorate the import of the event that ushered in the supersonic era, the aircraft hangs from the ceiling in the entryway of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Yeager … Read more