The act of dive bombing during World War II was a death defying trial of skill and nerve. You aimed your aircraft down, four miles above the ocean, and plummeted at speeds of up to 275 miles per hour.

The Terrifying Physics of World War II Dive Bombing (3:43)

During the battle of Midway, dive bomber Dusty Kleiss scored a direct hit on the Japanese carrier Hiryu by anticipating its next move: he aimed for where he thought it was going, rather than where it actually was.

U.S. Pilot Scores a Direct Hit on the Carrier Hiryu (2:56)

The sinking of the Titanic and the ensuing loss of life was horrific enough to prompt major action: in 1914, 16 nations formed an international patrol to scour the oceans for icebergs.

The Loss of the Titanic Led to "Iceberg Patrols" in the Atlantic (2:34)

Dusty Kleiss is a bonafide American hero: a veteran pilot of the Battle of Midway, and one of the most effective dive bombers in U.S. military history.

This Pilot Was the Unsung Hero of the Battle Of Midway (2:30)

Investigators suspect that a design flaw in old 737s—later fixed by Boeing— may have caused the September 14, 2008 crash. But was it addressed in Aeroflot-Nord Flight 821?

Was Flight 821 Brought Down by a 737 Design Flaw? (2:47)

720 million years ago, life on Earth was just about to take off. But a violent volcanic eruption in Northern Canada may have slowed down the process, thanks to clouds of ash that blotted out the sun.

Did a Volcano Eruption Slow the Development of Life? (3:00)

F/A-18 Hornets, crop dusters, Corsairs, a VariEze lookalike, raceplanes, a blimp! Planes has them all. Sure theyre cartoons and they talk, but we dare you to watch this clip without smiling.

Planes Trailer (2:33)

When we read on photographer Eric Curry's Web site that he views certain machines as metaphors for values of character, honor, integrity and pride, we thought his approach would be the perfect way to illustrate the affection many Earth-dwellers have come to feel for NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers, which, having long outlasted their life expectancies, are still transmitting from the Martian surface.In this slideshow, Curry explains how he built our March 2010 magazine cover, shot by carefully lit shot.

Painting With Light (4:04)

In 1998, during eight tests including this one with an SR20 out of Ocotillo Wells Airport in California, engineers and pilots from Cirrus Aircraft and Ballistic Recovery Systems took the plunge. They fine-tuned many items, including how the whole-airplane parachutes rocket extracts the system, and how the slider, the white ring that travels down the cords, keeps the parachute from opening too quickly, which would damage the chute and airplane.After each deployment, the SR20 released the parachute and returned to the airport rather than stranding itself in the desert. This meant that guides had to be added to the empennage to prevent damage to the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. "Design of the test harness and parachute release mechanism were nearly as difficult as the design of the recovery systems itself," says Jay Yeakle, a Cirrus engineer. Less complex was the animal tracking system used by wildlife management groups that located the abandoned parachutes.

Whole-Airplane Parachute (0:24)

If the spinning 38-foot tiltrotors of the V-22 Osprey look odd, theyll soon become more familiar. The U.S. Marine Corps begins operational use of the aircraft in September 2007. The Osprey can transport 24 combat troops or up to 20,000 pounds of cargo. With its vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities, it can fit in tight spots like a helicopter, but can fly twice as fast. In this video, distributed by V-22 manufacturer Boeing during the 2007 Paris Airshow at Le Bourget, the Osprey is seen doing its thingflying like an airplane, taking off like a helicopter, and dropping commandos like Pez. Variants of the V-22 will be ready for use by the Air Force and Special Operations Command in 2009. Video: Boeing

Osprey in Flight (4:26)

The X-47B, an unmanned combat vehicle built as a demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy, had its inaugural flight at California's Edwards Air Force Base on February 4, 2011. The Navy hasn't committed to an operational vehicle, but is planning for the X-47B to make an unmanned aircraft carrier landing in 2013. Video: US Navy/Northrop Grumman

X-47B First Flight (1:04)

One of James McDonnell's early concepts, the XP-67 Moonbat was a blended-wing-body design whose performance, thanks to anemic engines, was stamped FAIL. But get a load of the demo flight (and stellar landing) filmed by the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Technical Service Command in 1944. Video: U.S. Army Air Corps

The XP-67 Moonbat (2:08)

The crew of Apollo 11 had made history by landing on the moon and coming back to Earth in one piece. But before the celebrations could begin, they would have to spend some time in quarantine

Why the Apollo 11 Crew Was Quarantined Upon Return (2:59)

To prepare him for landing the lunar module, Neil Armstrong practiced on a training vehicle right here on Earth. It was designed to replicate flying within a gravitational pull that was 1/6 that of Earth

How Neil Armstrong Trained to Land the Lunar Module (2:13)

After the success of Apollo 11, NASA unveiled an ambitious agenda for more missions into space. But interest among the public was beginning to drop—and the Nixon administration balked at the high costs

Why Interest in Space Travel Waned After Apollo 11 (2:48)

Considered one of the most appealing fighters ever built, Lockheeds XF-90 enjoys a first-rate reputation with aviation enthusiasts something of a surprise, given that only two were ever built. While researching and writing Lockheeds Missing Link for our June/July 2008 issue, authors Jorge and Karen Escalona compiled rare footage of the XF-90 at Muroc (now Edwards) Air Force Base in California in 1949. The footage, which has no sound, includes scenes of the first XF-90 prototype being trucked to Muroc, and a brief glimpse of engineers attaching ribbonlike strips to the wing to gauge airflow patterns during preflight tests. Also seen are ground crews affixing Jet-Assisted Takeoff (JATO) canisters to the aircraft (to provide additional thrust) before Tony LeVier, Lockheeds chief test pilot, takes it for a spin. The Escalonas write: The XF-90s dashing good looks earned it movie-star status throughout the 1950sfar beyond its operational lifeattracting readers and advertisers to prominent aviation periodicals and comic books of the time. Video: Courtesy Jorge and Karen Escalona

Test Flying the XF-90 (3:45)

The Convair XFY-1 Pogo, the first airplane to accomplish a vertical takeoff, transition to forward flight, and change back to a vertical landing. Video: airspacemag.com

The Pogo Landing (0:12)

Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds will be on view at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC from September 13 through October 22, 2013. The exhibit's curator, Peter Jakab, explains the importance of this rare work.

Codex on the Flight of Birds (2:10)