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Articles on Flying

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A Cinnamon-Chested Bee-Eater is released after being ringed at the National Museum of Kenya. Luke Dray/Getty Images

3-D techniques shed light on what makes a bird’s lungs so efficient

An understanding of bird biology is the starting point for conservation efforts. 3-D reconstructions of biological structures greatly add to this understanding.
The hijacking of U.S. aircraft – like the three hijacked in 1970 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – made it impossible for American policymakers to ignore the threat. Bettmann/Getty Images

D.B. Cooper, the changing nature of hijackings and the foundation for today’s airport security

From 1968 to 1974, US airlines experienced 130 hijackings. But it was Cooper’s hijacking-as-extortion plot that captured the public’s imagination – and inspired a copycat crime wave.
The jet stream can have a big impact on how long a plane ride will last. Aeroprints via Wikimedia Commons

Why does it take longer to fly from east to west on an airplane?

When planes fly from east to west, they are flying against a river of air called a jet stream. These air currents can make your flight longer or shorter, depending on which way you are going.

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