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National Air and Space Museum

Red hot molten lava and thick dark dust spew from the ground while a small white. single-propeller aircraft flies overhead.

How Active Volcanoes Can Put Airplanes in Danger

A massive aircraft with four propellers sits on a wet tarmac reflecting the bright red and white lights of the surrounding air base. The night sky above is cloudy, though some bright stars are visible.

The P-3 Orion Was Made for Hunting Submarines

A white man in his 30s stands in front of a restored biplane displayed on a polished concrete floor inside a museum. He is wearing glasses and a dark suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie.

A Beautiful Biplane Represents a Future That Never Was

A military airplane painted in black sits on an airport ramp at sunset.

A P-61 Black Widow Pilot Finds a Way to Survive the Horrors of War.

A 65-year-old Black woman sits in the left seat of an airliner cockpit. She is smiling and wearing an airline captain's uniform, including a white shirt and a hat.

Meet the U.S. Air Force's First Black Female Pilot

A white man in his early 70s stands inside a museum gallery. He is wearing glasses and smiling. Behind him, is the nose and forward fuselage of a Boeing 747 airplane. The 747 is painted in a red, gray, and white paint scheme.

How to Display a 747 in a Museum

Three men sit under the shade of a massive airplane wing; one of the men is wearing an officer's hat. Two huge aircraft are parked in the background, both are painted black. Behind them is a lush island landscape. The photo has been given a green tint.

A World War II Veteran Recalls the Adventure of Patrolling the Pacific Aboard Flying Boats

Silver twin engine flying boat over a vast ocean. A small boat leaves it's wake below.

Flying Boats Were Once the Luxury Liners of the Air

A composite of multiple images. In the background is a landscape of pine trees and fields. Over it in speia tone is an image of pilots in military uniforms. In the foreground is a grey airplane, banked in a turn.

Did the Nazis Kill German Test Pilot Melitta von Stauffenberg?

A sleek jet aircraft painted red, white, and black flies over an air base in the desert.

Does a Fighter Pilot Have to Be Human?

On a black background is a white, angular-shape aircraft with no cockpit. The opening for the jet engine air intake is the front of the aircraft. Painted in black letters on the rear fuselage is: "Boeing Phantom Works." The right wing is marked: "X-45A."

A Drone Named Elsie May Becomes a Museum Artifact

Four military jets fly in a diamond formation across a blue sky. On the underside of each jet's wings, "US Navy" is painted in bold yellow letters. White airshow smoke streams from each jet. The moon is visible in the sky.

The Blue Angels Get Their First Female Jet Demonstration Pilot

SR-71 Blackbird on display in a museum

Why the SR-71 Blackbird Never Gets Old

A German fighter aircraft is painted dull grey, with some black markings including a Nazi swastika. A large gun in mounted near the nose of the plane, which has a single large propeller.

Where to See World War II Aircraft Up Close

Speedball Alice, a restored dark green P-51D airplane with white stripes, is parked on a tarmac in the Reno desert, with mountains and blue sky in the background.

The Final Reno Air Show

Walt Disney, an senior man in a white button up short-sleeved shirt, with a tie and slacks, greets a small crowd of people in front of his airplane, which is large enough it extends out of frame and is white with orange and blue stripes.

Yes, Walt Disney’s Private Jet Was Called Mickey Mouse One

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First-Responder Rescue Truck From 9/11 Goes on Display at the National Air and Space Museum

Dorothy Cochrane with Extra 260

Why Would a Museum Hang an Airplane Upside Down?

Sean Tucker Flying Challenger III

Aerobatic Pilot Sean Tucker and Orbis International Will Speak at National Air and Space Museum

Ground crew servicing a group of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks. Presumed to be No. 1 Fighter Maintenance Unit at Kukum Field, Guadalcanal. (Photograph Courtesy of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum)

The Cactus Air Force’s Forgotten Spine: The Royal New Zealand Air Force at Guadalcanal

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