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Air & Space Magazine

Airborne with a group of wingsuit flyers at last October's Z-Flock 3.5 event.

A Flock of Wingsuiters

Airborne with a group of wingsuit flyers at last October’s Z-Flock 3.5 event.

Portable melters (here, a Snow Dragon 5400) can go to the snow, eliminating the need for airports to haul snow great distances.

Where Does All the Airport Snow Go?

Clearing runways in winter is no small operation.

In August of 1961, engineer John Houbolt gave one of many presentations to the Space Task Group [at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, where he worked]. In attendance was Jim Chamberlin, the brilliant designer of the Canadian Avro Arrow fighter.

Lunar Landers That Never Were

The road to the moon was paved with good intentions.

A pilot waits somewhere in the south Pacific for a rescue plane in April 1944.

The Smithsonian Survival Guide

Tales of downed pilots led to one of the Institution’s most important contributions to World War II.

"It's a pretty wonderful thing to have something like the moon all to yourself with a robot for awhile," says William "Red" Whittaker of Carnegie Mellon University.

Google the Moon

Famed roboticist Red Whittaker may have the inside track to win the next moon race.

One photo returned from Genesis II last summer was a birthday surprise for Bigelow's 15-year-old granddaughter Blair: her name stitched on the spacecraft's fabric exterior.

Mr. B’s Big Plan

Robert Bigelow has put two mini-space stations in orbit. Now comes the hard part.

Eleven years after restoration began, it’s now a regular at fly-ins throughout the Midwest (above, the Blakesburg, Iowa antique aircraft fly-in).

Restoration: Fleet Model 8

Three brothers, an inspiring teacher, and the airplane in the barn.

Beneath a replica Piper PA-12 wing, sits this Breezy pilot Matt Hlavac, near San Diego.

Out in the Breezy

With little fanfare (and less structure), the Breezy homebuilt spreads the message: Flying is fun.

X-rays enter Chandra’s pairs of nested mirrors.

How Things Work: Chandra X-Ray

The Chandra X-Ray Telescope, explained.

A trio of Sport class racers skim the high desert.

Air Racing 101

A course in handling the course at the National Championship Air Races.

A NASA program that ended in 2005 generated little more than this artist's conception of the perfect easy-to-fly personal air car.

My Other Car Is a Podcopter

Bumper sticker in the year 2015? 2025? Ever?

Staff Sergeant Robin Walker (left) reports no foreign objects in the inlets to Staff Sergeant Greg Slavik piror to takeoff from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Unconventional Weapon

What we learned about stealth technology from the combat career of the F-117

Photographs from Concorde reprinted with permission from Zenith Press.

Sleeping Beauty

A last, longing look at the Concorde.

Wernher von Braun (in suit) with German officers in 1941.

How Much Did Wernher von Braun Know, and When Did He Know It?

Michael J. Neufeld talks about his new book, Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War.

The Air France Concorde on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

Where to See a Concorde

There are just three on display in the United States. Here’s where to find them.

Lemuel C. Shattuck works as a cropduster on the Great Plains.

Finding Fred McConnell

Aviation in the heartland has fewer than six degrees of separation.

None

A Short (Very Short) History of the F-19

What airplane came in a little box and never flew?

Pilots of the Sopwith Camel complained that the engine, guns, fuel tank, and pilot were clustered too close. They didn't know the airplane's very shape generated drag that hampered its performance.

What the Red Baron Never Knew

Computer analysis of World War I aircraft shows precisely why some were deadly and others, death traps.

Balloons drew big crowds in turn-of-the-century Paris.

Taking Advertising to New Heights

Balloons drew big crowds in turn-of-the-century Paris.

The last moon mission ended 35 years ago today.

The End of Apollo

The last moon mission ended 35 years ago today.

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