From Granta, Javier Marias on airships and fear of flying. From Air & Space, an article on the electric airplane: Quiet, smooth, dependable — shouldn’t we be flying these by now?; and look at the perfect airplane: Fast, green, and quiet. Flights are the fastest-growing polluter in transport, and 95% of the world’s population has never been on a plane — do the rest of us have a right to fly? From Salon, Patrick Smith answers all your questions about in-flight horrors; an article on how we're blowing airline security: The TSA wastes a lot of time and money on an inefficient fight against the wrong enemy; a look back at some of the worst airline-related terrorism of the '70s, '80s and '90s; and are we safer than we were eight years ago?: We're still looking for pointy objects when we should be looking for bombs. Flying is now safer than at any time since the Wright Brothers, but beware the looming threats: exploding laptops, runway chaos, and cockpit rookies. Are some airlines just too dangerous to fly? The answer just might be yes. An interview with flight psychologist Reiner Kemmler: "We are more and more at the mercy of technology". A review of Fly by Wire: The Geese, the Glide, the Miracle on the Hudson by William Langewiesche (and more and more). From The New Yorker, Judith Thurman is still searching for Amelia Earhart. Enough About Amelia: She was an interesting, adventurous, and accomplished woman who lived and died unconventionally — but so did many of her peers. Here are five things Alain de Botton learned as Heathrow's philosopher-in-residence (and more and more). A look at the world's strangest airport attractions, from teeth cleaning to “4-D” movies.
