Aircraft
Military, commercial and experimental vehicles designed for flight in the Earth’s atmosphere
Home Sweet Duralumin
A Buckminster Fuller design was grounded in aerospace technology.
November 2012 |
By Nick D’Alto
Cuba During the Missile Crisis
Fifty years later, Cubans remember preparing to fight the Americans.
November 2012 |
By Rafael Lima
Ode to the Bubble
The Bell 47, famous as the star of “Whirlybirds,” was the DC-3 of helicopters. Could it make a comeback?
November 2012 |
By Mark Huber
Who Was Fatty Pearson?
A World War II British foot soldier’s best friend in the air, and the man who rescued Ernest Hemingway.
November 2012 |
By Tim Belknap
Flying in Comfort
75 years ago, the Army Air Corps’ XC-35 launched the pressurized cabin.
November 2012 |
By George C. Larson
The Eye of the Beholder
For its innovation and emphasis on inner beauty, the Hondajet deserves a recent design award.
October 12, 2012 |
By George Larson
Artifacts on the Road
A gallery of traveling air- and spacecraft loaned out by the Smithsonian.
September 18, 2012 |
By Heather Goss
Carlotta, the Lady Aeronaut
An 1880 balloon jaunt ends with our heroine up a tree.
August 16, 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Last of Their Kind
Airplanes without equal at the National Air and Space Museum.
August 2012 |
By Patricia Trenner
Soul of the Skyraider
A U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation pilot describes what it’s like to fly three generations of ground attack aircraft.
August 14, 2012 |
By Linda Shiner
One-and-Onlies: The Complete List
All the Smithsonian’s one-of-a-kind aircraft
August 14, 2012 |
By Patricia Trenner
Let George Fly the Plane
Autopilot is one of the greatest inventions ever for pilots. But have we paid a price?
August 10, 2012 |
By Steve Satre
What’s Under the Thames?
Almost 100 aircraft were lost in the river during World War II alone, and it's not certain how many are still to be recovered.
July 27, 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
London’s Armed Rooftops
As the world's athletes put on their game face, the British Army prepares for aerial attack.
July 24, 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
To the North Pole…by Balloon
115 years ago today, three Swedish explorers set off on the only attempt ever to reach the Pole by balloon.
July 11, 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Gyroplanes Swarm in Florida
The Annual Bensen Days fly-in welcomes rotorheads.
July 2012 |
By Bill Wilson
Summer at the Smithsonian
Planning a visit to the Museum? We provide some helpful hints.
July 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Bait and Switch in Libya
Naval aviators push Qaddafi's buttons in a 1981 exercise.
July 2012 |
By Commander Thompson E. Sanders U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Short Strips and Flying Pigs
When flying in Papua, be prepared for surprises.
July 2012 |
By Nate Gordon
