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Tracer rounds and rockets rain down on "Yodaville" during a Weapons and Tactics Instructors training exercise.

Military Aviation

Welcome to Yodaville

Population: Zero. Threat level: High
By Ed Darack

From A UH-1N Huey helicopter, Corporal Andy Vistrand, a "Gunrunner" in Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269, scans the countryside of Anbar province from behind a .50-caliber machine gun.

Air War Iraq

From Al Asad Air Base, portraits of U.S. aircraft and crews in the fourth year of fighting.
By the Editors

Major J.T. Bachmann pulls off the gloves and grins after an engine run in the F-35A.

Marine One

Meet J.T. Bachmann, the first USMC pilot to fly the Joint Strike Fighter.
By Michael Klesius

The labor-intensive helicopter requires 32 hours of maintenance for every hour flown — and a ground crew of 98.

Apache

For once, the deadliest helicopter in the world was tapped to save a life.
By Ed Macy

Lieutenant Harold Robinson

Steichen Sent Me

Led by famed fashion photographer Edward Steichen, a group of camera men captured the action of World War II naval aviation.
By Mark D. Faram

F-16s from the Ohio Air National Guard patrol over Iraq during Operation Northern Watch in 2002.

Over the No-Fly Zone

Patrolling over northern Iraq in 2001 felt like driving through a small town with Hell's Angels.
By Randy Gordon

At Northrop Grumman’s model shop in El Segundo, California, Gary Miley applies gel to form a mold he will use to create a model blank.

Martial Arts

Memo to bad guys: Wanna know what U.S. warplanes you’ll tangle with in the future? Visit an aerospace model shop.
By Chad Slattery

A spacious canopy provided excellent visibility.

Legends of Vietnam: Shoulder to Shoulder

The Grumman A-6 was ugly, but it sure could cook.
By Rafael Lima

An SM-3 interceptor rises from a U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser in 2002. Sea-based defenses are attractive for intercepting  shorter-range threats in their midcourse phase.

Can We Stop a Nuke?

From the impossible dream of a space-based shield, missile defense has come down to Earth. But will it work?
By Ben Iannotta

Prairie Wind

In Nowheresville, Nebraska, the Air Force learned a thing or two about turbulence.
By Dave Manoucheri

Comrades carry the body of a Canadian soldier during a ramp ceremony. The author attended such ceremonies for 20 soldiers during his six-month deployment.

Above & Beyond: Canadian Helicopter Force, Afghanistan

By Major Jonathan Knaul

Before each mission, ground crews fed the Thunderchief’s 20-mm Gatling gun with ammunition.

Thuds, the Ridge, and 100 Missions North

How the Republic F-105 got good at a mission it was not designed to fly.
By Carl Posey

Then-Colonel Spector beside an F-16 during transition flight training at Hill
Air Force Base in Utah in 1980.

A&S Interview: Brig. Gen. Iftach Spector

Israeli Air Force Ace, teacher, author
By Peter Mersky

The Quiet One had a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera on its belly that helped the pilots navigate at night.

Air America's Black Helicopter

The secret aircraft that helped the CIA tap phones in North Vietnam.
By James R. Chiles

South Vietnamese refugees walk across a U.S. Navy vessel after fleeing their homes in April 1975.

Getting Out

In April 1975, escaping Saigon meant crowding into a darkened C-130 in the middle of the night.
By Fred Reed

Air Force Col. Arnie Bunch, vice commander of Eglin

Goodwill Mission

To residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast, the Joint Strike Fighter says “Won’t you be my neighbor?”
By Richard P. Hallion

At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, a study subject is wired for a spin in the Dynamic Environment Simulator, a centrifuge that excels in 
inducing spatial disorientation.

The Disorient Express

Despite the best training and technology, why do pilots still die from not knowing which end is up?
By Tom LeCompte

Vi Cowden during her service with the WASPs in the 1940s.

We Represented All Women

During World War II, WASPs proved that an airplane couldn’t tell the difference between a male and female pilot.
By Jonna Dootlittle Hoppes

The kids sent me letters.

Letter From Bagram

Occasional dispatches from our man in Afghanistan.
By John Sotham

The muralist, painter, and author Tom Lea

The Art of War

The paintings of Tom Lea, Life magazine's artist-correspondent during World War II.

Dressed in drone livery, QF-4s are targeted during weapons testing. The testing is done at two Air Force bases, Tyndall in Florida and Holloman in New Mexico. F-4s replaced converted F-106s as the military’s drone of choice. Also droned in their time: F-86 and F-100 fighters and F-102 interceptors.

Where Have All the Phantoms Gone?

How a fighter-bomber-recon-attack superstar ended up as fodder for target practice.
By Ralph Wetterhahn

Warbird Obsession

It's an addiction. Admitting you have it is the first step.

Because France and Spain would not grant the United States overfly rights, the 1986 F-111 raid on Libya required a lengthy detour.

Above & Beyond: Take a Left at Portugal

By James A. Jimenez

Memphis Belle

Restoration: The Memphis Belle

For this famous B-17, surviving 25 missions in World War II was the easy part.
By Mark Bernstein

Heir to the P-47, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is a purpose-built CAS aircraft, one of many types Marines can call on in a jam.

Control the Air

On the ground with Marines in Afghanistan, the author sees a different side of close air support.
By Ed Darack

Viewport: Fast Company

From the desk of the Director of the National Air & Space Museum
By J. R. Dailey

USS Intrepid

Restoration: USS Intrepid

Cleaning up an aircraft carrier.
By Phil Scott

One of only two XF-90s ever built.

Nukes vs. Airplanes

Between the F-80 and the F-104, a supersonic pioneer fought the Cold War...in its own way.
By Jorge and Karen Escalona

A gaggle of Hawkeyes operating out of the Naval Air Facility in Atsugi, Japan, takes to the air during a training mission.

Detect and Direct

The Navy's newest Hawkeye gets closer to the fight.
By Preston Lerner

Iranian F-14 pilots were part of an air force that endured 12-hour combat air patrols, a brutal regime, and a ruthless enemy.

Persian Cats

How Iranian air crews, cut off from U.S. technical support, used the F-14 against Iraqi attackers.
By Tom Cooper

Above & Beyond: I Have a Flameout

By Richard G. Woodhull, Jr.

Brooks Bash (center) oversees the training of Iraqi pilots and ground crew.

A & S Interview: Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash

A talk with the commander of the Air Force transition team in Iraq.
By Paul Hoversten

The book that robbed the enemy of his secrets. A key to shapes shows a circle can be a haystack or a gun emplacement.

Portrait of the Enemy

Photographs taken from the world’s first warplanes changed the course of battle.
By Robin White

The P-47D carried eight guns and, on some models, rocket launchers.

Book Excerpt: Hell Hawks!

How P-47s became the tank busters of World War II
By Robert F. Dorr and Thomas D. Jones

Tales of the F-14

More recollections of the fabled fighter.
By airspacemag.com

Debuting in 1915, the petite French Nieuport 11 fighter was based on the design of several pre-war racers.

The Great Warplanes

Portraits of military aviation's first fleet.
By airspacemag.com

A Hawker Hurricane Mark IIC is on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum

Hurricane Walkaround

Aviation historian Ron Dick takes a closer look at an old warbird.
By Diane Tedeschi

The three X-15s shared a hangar with lifting bodies (first three on left) at Edwards Air Force Base during the golden age of flight research.

The Real X-Men

Life came at you fast when you flew the X-15.
By Peter Garrison

The FAA classifies the Osprey as a "powered lift" aircraft-neither airplane nor rotorcraft.

Tilters

You might say that Osprey pilots are neither fish nor fowl.
By John Croft

In a typical two-ship formation, B-1Bs fly a 1998 training mission near Meteor Crater in Arizona, one of the few holes in the ground bigger than a B-1 could make.

The Bone is Back

Too trouble-prone for nuclear alert and sidelined in the first Gulf War, the B-1 is today the busiest bomber in the fleet.
By David Noland

Reader Scrapbook


Send In Your Photos

Check out our scrapbook of readers' aviation and space pictures. Then add your own.

Snapshot


Helo Halo

It's called the Kopp-Etchells Effect.

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Space Station Fly-Around

Space Station Fly-Around

Take a narrated tour of the station with the same animation astronauts use in training.

Lunar Run

How a plasma-powered rocket would shoot for the moon.

The First Lunar Landing

The First Lunar Landing

One of history's great voyages, captured on 16mm film.

Aviation Training in the United States, 1917-18

WW I Pilot Training

Rare footage of Army pilots learning to fly Jennies in 1917.

Armstrongs Close Call

Armstrong’s Close Call

A fiery bailout while training to land on the moon.

Mercury Astronauts Meet the Press, 1959

Mercury Astronauts Meet the Press, 1959

...and answer the question: "What was your least favorite test?"

Marines Test the Joint Strike Fighter

Marines Test the Joint Strike Fighter

A Marine takes the new F-35 for a spin.

On the Prowl

On the Prowl

Climb into the cockpit for a flight in an EA-6B Prowler.

Dodging Missiles

Dodging Missiles

F-105 pilots recall the dangers of flying over North Vietnam.

F-105 Walkaround

F-105 Walkaround

Get a close look at the National Air and Space Museum’s Thunderchief.

PTQ: Put Together Quickly

PTQ: Put Together Quickly

Watch Boeing technicians repair an airliner—in two minutes.

Operation Tumbler-Snapper

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Atomic bombs versus airplanes in the Nevada desert.

In the Magazine

In his portrait of the storied racer Rare Bear and its crew, photographer Tyson Rininger captures the sense of anticipation that surrounds air races. “Something’s coming,” this quiet night scene seems to suggest. “Tomorrow, it’s win or lose.”

November 2009

  • The Bear Is Back
  • Now You See It, Now You Don’t
  • Sweet 17
  • The Shining
  • How the Spaceship Got Its Shape
  • The Book of Hours

View Table of Contents »

Air & Space Interview

A&S Interview:
Burt Rutan

A wide-ranging talk with the magician of Mojave

New Worlds

Confidence Booster

This little known Apollo artifact caused astronauts to rest a little easier.

View full archiveRecent Issues

  • In his portrait of the storied racer Rare Bear and its crew, photographer Tyson Rininger captures the sense of anticipation that surrounds air races. “Something’s coming,” this quiet night scene seems to suggest. “Tomorrow, it’s win or lose.”
    Nov 2009


  • Sep 2009


  • Aug 2009

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Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

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