If 2015 taught us anything, it’s that our readers (you!) really enjoy drones, aircrafts, and other things that fly…and fire. We’ve also learned that you’re all really smart (smarter than America!) and passionate about your work. With that said, we’ve had some heated discussions and our comment section has really served as a forum for (friendly) debate, but, all in all, we appreciate the community that you, our readers, have helped build, and we look forward to more in 2016.
Thank you for your dedicated readership, and with that, we present to, our top 10 most read stories from 2015. Happy New Year!
10. 10 Lies Engineers Tell Themselves About Patents
When Chief Technology Officer, Charles W.K. Gritton, of Hillcrest Labs was at CES this year, an audience member asked the panel moderator how patent rights were dealt with in a new Open Source software initiative. When Gritton heard the moderator’s shocking response, Gritton was inspired to uncover the real truth about patents.
9. Watch This Gun Fire At 73,000 Frames Per Second
Everything is more fun to watch in slow motion. You get to focus on the details and capture all those little things you’d normally miss at full speed. Slow mo videos usually are shot at about 48 frames per second, but what if we were to tell you this gun fires at 73,000 frames per second? This video, courtesy of Mythbusters, as Adam Savage says, “It’s just really cool. Yup, it’s really cool.”
8. Here Are Two Guys In Jetpacks Flying Next To A Jumbo Jet
Sometimes you see videos on the internet that force you to say to yourself, “That can’t possibly be safe.” This particular video, however, was carefully choreographed between Emirates A380 (the world’s largest passenger aircraft) and the two thrill seekers wearing jetpacks.
7. Here’s Why You Don’t Fly A GoPro Over A Rattlesnake Pit
GoPros captured some incredible footage in 2015. This rattlesnake pit didn’t make it to GoPro’s handpicked list of top videos this year, but you still thought it was pretty cool.
6. Watch This MiG-29 Come Way Too Close To Another Aircraft
The only good description for the video of this MiG-29, is it’s like watching an aircraft dance. And while it takes great precision to fly an aircraft that close to another plane’s rear door, we can’t help but think this MiG-29 is coming a little too close for comfort.
5. This Is What A MiG-29 Takeoff Looks Like (From Between The Engines)
There are many videos of fighter jets on the internet (and quite a number here on ECN) but this is the first one we’ve seen with this particular angle. This MiG-29 launches off of an aircraft carrier, recorded by a camera placed between the twin engines. Pretty cool if we do say so ourselves.
4. China’s J-20 And J-31 Stealth Fighters Based On Stolen F-35 Documents
The F-35 was a touchy subject for some of you. Many of you argue that the aircraft has been chronically over-budget, behind schedule, and underwhelming in 2015. But perhaps the most controversial F-35 buzz of year was some very confidential information leaked by Edward Snowden.
Particularly when an article released earlier this year leaked some confidential info by Edward Snowden. The document leak claimed that China stole the F-35 designs and used them to influence the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter jets.
3. Engineers: Are You Smarter Than America?
When we challenged you to test your smarts against America, you all brought your A game. Not only did most of you answer the questions with your eyes closed, you even debated the logic behind them. Hats off, readers.
2. Here Is Buzz Aldrin’s Travel Voucher For Apollo 11
Just to show that not even the men who walked on the moon were excused from the drudgery of governmental procedures, Buzz Aldrin assures the world that he too was required to submit a travel voucher. Admittedly, what seems like a normal government paperwork takes on a surreal feel when you read that his travels took him from Cape Kennedy, FL to the moon.
1. This Is Why You Shouldn’t Shoot Down A Drone
Shooting down a drone that’s hovering over your property might seem like a good idea, but as a court case this year shows, it’s definitely not. In 2016, we recommend you don’t shoot down your neighbors drone with a 12-gauage shotgun.
