Planes

Results 1 - 15 of 15
Tuskegee Airmen PT 13D

The Tuskegee Airmen Plane's Last Flight

The final voyage of a World War II biplane evokes the exploits of the legendary fighting force
November 2011 | By Owen Edwards

Jimmy Leeward

Tragedy at the Reno Air Races

Air and Space editor Linda Shiner reports on her meeting with pilot Jimmy Leeward and what it was like in the pits that day
September 19, 2011 | By Linda Shiner, Air and Space magazine

Sully Sullenberger

Q and A: Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 talks about that fateful day, being a pilot and his future
November 2010 | By Megan Gambino

Java Island Indonesia

An American Who Died Fighting for Indonesia's Freedom

Bobby Freeberg, a 27-year-old pilot from Kansas, disappeared while flying a supply-filled cargo plane over the Indonesian jungle
March 23, 2010 | By Simon Montlake

Amelia Earhart

Flying With America's Most Famous Female Aviators

Dozens of talented women preceded Amelia Earhart, and thousands have followed, and each has her own groundbreaking story to tell
October 22, 2009 | By Patricia Trenner

SR-71 aircraft

The Ultimate Spy Plane

The SR-71 Blackbird, now featured in the Transformers movie sequel, was faster than a rifle bullet and flew 16 miles above the earth
July 2009 | By Owen Edwards

A Boeing 707 disturbs a colony of sooty terns during takeoff

The Perils of Bird-Plane Collisions

When airlines want to investigate dangerous bird strikes against planes, they turn to the head of the Smithsonian’s Feather Identification Lab
January 16, 2009 | By Sarah Zielinski

Sky King

Pan Am founder Juan Trippe turned Americans into frequent fliers
November 2007 | By Owen Edwards

Seeking Friendlier Skies

Can radar networks eliminate airplane turbulence?
September 01, 2007 | By Eric Jaffe

The Lindberghs piloted this tandem seat, single-engine aircraft, outfitted to Charles

Sky Writer

Anne Morrow Lindbergh chronicled the flights made with her celebrated husband
November 2006 | By Owen Edwards

Crash Junkie

Flight instructor Craig Fuller scales mountains, combs deserts and trudges through wilderness to track down old airplane wrecks
November 2003 | By Reed Karaim

By the fall of 1902, the Wright brothers (near Kitty Hawk in October of that year) had solved the most vexing problems of human flight, namely lift and control, with a succession of gliders. Now they were finally ready to focus on propulsion.

To Fly!

A new book traces the Wright brothers' triumph 100 years ago to an innovative design and meticulous attention to detail
April 2003 | By James Tobin

As the fabric-covered plane came to a halt, frenzied sou-venir hunters tore at it, putting French officials on guard. Hailed in his home state of Minnesota, the 25-year-old pilot hated the nickname Lucky, bestowed on him after the flight. After sleeping in splendor at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, he awoke to a life, he said, "that could hardly have been more amazing if I had landed on another planet." On an old postcard kept by the Richards family, Tudor Richards has written, "We saw him land!"

We saw him land!

In a long-lost letter an American woman describes Lindbergh's tumultuous touchdown in Paris—75 years ago this month
May 01, 2002 | By Smithsonian magazine

Langley's Feat--and Folly

The Smithsonian Secretary assembled a devoted team, a remarkable engine and a plane that wouldn't fly
November 1997 | By Edwards Park

Howard Hughes

A silver speedster from the 1930s evokes the golden age of flight, a pair of world-class speed records and the early triumphs of Howard Hughes' ultimately tragic life
February 1995 | By Timothy Foote


Advertisement


Advertisement