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Air & Space Magazine

Practicing with a mockup of the Spirit rover n the "sandbox" at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Freeing Spirit

NASA’s Mars rover prepares to escape the worst trouble of its life.

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Not Your Father’s World War II Movie

Ready to experience World War II in “4-D”? Head over to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans for the opening of Tom Hanks’ latest production, Beyond All Boundaries.The 35-minute film takes viewers from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day, and will be shown exclusively in the museum’s newly expanded …

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Video: Indoor Helicopter

Robot aircraft keep getting smaller and smarter. This one, built by a team at MIT, won the International Aerial Robotics Competition 5th mission challenge, which required that it enter a building, find its way around (through hallways and open windows), and send video back to home base. All autonom…

A Joyride Through the Grand Canyon

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Helo Halo

It’s called the Kopp-Etchells Effect.

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Strike Out

Yes, our avian brothers committed feathered mayhem in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic The Birds, but is that any reason they should continue to be chucked into aircraft engines?Here’s the deal: All aircraft have to pass certification tests proving that the airplane can continue operating in the eve…

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Passing the Torch

Shuttle watches the future blast off.

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“Whatever you do, DON’T pull the striped handl…”

Last Wednesday, an as-yet-unnamed joyrider in a South African Air Force Pilatus PC-7 Mk. II turboprop inadvertently triggered his ejection seat while over Langebaanweg Air Force Base in the Western Cape Province. The passenger was blasted through the canopy within seconds, much to the astonishment …

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Happy Birthday, Jane’s!

Remember the Dewoitine D 26, the single-seat, single-engine parasol fighter trainer? Wondering how many were ever built? Open your trusty Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, and you’ll learn that 11 were produced for the Swiss Air Force.Jane’s will also tell you the first flight of the Douglas B-66 De…

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

Above & Beyond: Canadian Helicopter Force, Afghanistan

Like a runner waiting for the starting gun, the famous Grumman F8F-2 (without wingtips) looks ready.

The Bear Is Back

The winning-est Bearcat in air racing steps up once more to the starting gate.

“Any intelligent person who can learn to drive a car will be able to fly a postwar helicopter after a few easy lessons,” Frank Piasecki confidently told the Los Angeles Times in 1944. Piasecki’s PV-2 is shown here on display at the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, top.

In The Museum: A Helicopter in Every Garage

In The Museum: A Helicopter in Every Garage

Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois’ log of flying the U.S. Army’s first airplane is in the Library of Congress.

The Book of Hours

A peek into the logbooks of history’s notable pilots.

With highly trained engineers coming to the United States from abroad, chances are good that we’ll see more naturalized citizens in line for the Wright Trophy.

Moments and Milestones: The American Way

Moments and Milestones: The American Way

Tufts on the Jetwing fuselage and vertical stabilizer would reveal airflow patterns.

Oldies and Oddities: Blown Away

Oldies and Oddities: Blown Away

The fiery tail of a Terrier-Orion rocket draws a line in the sky near Fairbanks, Alaska, where the Poker Flat Research Range has supported studies of the aurora for 40 years.

The Shining

What we still have to learn about the Northern Lights.

The arrival of a Sikorsky H-19 was a big day for the program — project leader Heinz Lettau’s wife Katharina and sons Ulrich (in front seat) and Ludwig (in back) saw it at the open house. Locals called it the “flying windmill.” Tragically, it crashed before the tests began, killing Lettau’s fellow scientist Guenter Loeser.

Prairie Wind

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

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October 2009 Sightings

October 2009 Sightings

The Mercury space capsule during a 1959 wind tunnel test.

How the Spaceship Got Its Shape

In the 1950s Harvey Allen solved the problem of atmospheric entry. But first he had to convince his colleagues.

Every October, the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee, calls Staggerwings back; in their D17F, Alan and Patty Russell heed the call.

Sweet 17

When a Staggerwing casts its spell, it can surprise even Olive Ann Beech.

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