Today's Engineering Newswire looks at BMW's latest concept car, redesigning human legs to fly helicopters, and flying drones in formation with business jets and combat fighters.
Open Skies for All: Captain McQuillan, who worked as both engineer and pilot in the Royal Air Force, has developed the Aeroleg, a not-so-innovative name for a pretty innovative product, which allows paraplegics to fly. The captain's design helps those without the use of their legs not only control the foot pedals of a helicopter, but gives them a gentle touch.
Efficient Driving Pleasure: At this year's New York International Auto Show, BMW is combining its eDrive with its xDrive to deliver efficient driving pleasure. According to BMW, the Concpt X5 eDrive is the next logical step towards a radical reduction in fuel con-sumption and emission in the sports activity vehicle (SAV) environment.
I Just Want to Fly: On March 20, 2014, Dassault Aviation organized a first of its kind formation flight, including a nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle, a Rafale twin-engine fighter, and a Falcon 7X business jet. The occasion marks the first time in the world that a combat drone flew in formation with other aircraft. The entire operation lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes and took the patrol out over the Mediterranean to a range of several hundred kilometers.
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