Video Provides a Terrifying Look at Verruckt, the World's Tallest and Fastest Waterslide

Verruckt means insane in German, and that's exactly what this crazy water slide is, at 17 stories high. It's taller than Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty from toes to torch, as well as twice the height of the tallest wave ever surfed. Before even reaching the ride, you'll need to climb a towering 264 stairs, and then, a specially designed raft will take you and three other riders plummeting down in speeds excess of 65mph. This attraction is set to open in May 2014 at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City.

According to Layne Pitcher, Schlitterbahn's director of marketing and sales: "Verruckt is designed to attract adrenaline junkies who are always looking for that next biggest, coolest thrill. The company decided to go with four-person rafts because they want to encourage people to share the experience. It's more fun if someone is screaming in your ear."

Source:

Read More

Video Shows the Aeromobil Flying Car Successfully Take to the Skies

Stefan Klein, an automobile designer / engineer from the Slovak Republic, has successfully completed the first flight of his Aeromobil Version 2.5. About 20-years in the making, this flying car prototype boasts a unique design with folding wings and a propeller in the tail.
 

This is essentially a propeller-driven aircraft that also functions as an automobile, and here's what Gizmag has to say:

The aviation aspects seem to be prominent in the design, with a streamlined cockpit, super light weight, and sleek tail fins in the back.

Propulsion is provided by a 100 hp Rotax 912 water cooled engine mounted behind the seats, with drive shafts leading both aft to the propeller and forward to the two front wheels for driving.

The Aeromobil fits into a standard parking space and can be refueled at the same gas station as all the other cars. The structure is a steel tube frame with a carbon fiber composite shell, a configuration familiar to fans of racing cars.

Source:

Read More

Video Shows Boeing X-51A WaveRider Scramjet Hitting Mach 5.1

For those who don't already know, the Boeing X-51A WaveRider is essentially an unmanned scramjet aircraft for hypersonic flight testing. On May 1, 2013, the X-51 performed its first fully successful flight test on its fourth test flight.

The X-51 and booster detached from a B-52 and was powered to Mach 4.8 by a booster rocket. It then separated cleanly from the booster and ignited its own engine, accelerating to Mach 5.1.

The flight lasted for 240 seconds until it ran out of fuel, breaking the record for longest air-breathing hypersonic flight. Researchers collected flight telemetry data for 370 seconds. The Air Force Research Laboratory believes the successful flight will serve as research for practical applications of hypersonic flight. This test signified the completion of the program.

Source:

Read More