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Air & Space Magazine

The DC-8 lost its left outboard engine and 19 feet of wing and fell 500 feet in 10 seconds, but landed safely.

The Calculators of Calm

Just how far out of their way will airlines go to give you a smooth ride?

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In the Dark

A mysterious force is tearing the universe apart!

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Save the Mentor!

T-34 owners are the latest to prove the value of good old-fashioned American ingenuity.

The RQ-5 Hunter filled the services' UAV role in the '90s and since March 2003 has supported coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Send in the Global Hawk

In combat trials, the RQ-4A unmanned reconnaissance aircraft showed intelligence analysts what it means to have eyes like a Hawk.

Voskhod 2 was Leonov's first spaceflight. Before becoming a cosmonaut, he flew MiGs.

The Nightmare of Voskhod 2

A cosmonaut remembers the exhilaration — and terror — of his first space mission.

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Uncommon Force

All the action of Red Flag air combat exercises comes to movie screens through the magic of IMAX(r)

Hush Kits

Engineer to airplane: Stifle

In 2001, a titanium motor casing from a Delta II ended up in Saudi Arabia.

The Things That Fell to Earth

How NASA can predict when space junk will fall in your back yard.

The Bv 138 attacked convoys, resupplied U-boats, and swept for mines mostly in Scandinavian waters.

Fork-tailed Devils and Flying Shoes

What does the Northrop P-61 have in common with Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne?

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Prop Art

Why posters made of paper can be worth more than gold.

Hughes’ first record-setter was a Boeing 100A, a civilian version of the Army’s P-12B pursuit aircraft. In January 1934 Hughes won the Sportsman Pilot Free-For-All at the Miami, Florida All- American Air Meet, averaging 185.7 mph over a 20-mile course.

Howard Hughes’ Top Ten

Wealthy beyond measure and weird beyond belief, Howard Hughes was an aerospace leviathan.

Pointers and illuminators that project infrared light, invisible to the human eye, enable ground commanders and combat controllers in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify targets and designate them for pilots with NVGs.

Dancing in the Dark

Night vision goggles can save a pilot’s life or, if he hasn’t had adequate training, take it.

One of the most beautiful restorations hangared at Flabob is a 1928 Stearman C3B owned by Ron Alexander.

The People and Planes of Flabob

This California airport is hallowed ground for homebuilders and Hollywood stunt pilots alike.

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Explorers Wanted

Hey, kids! The NASA Administrator says you’re going to Mars! (Do your homework.)

Sterling’s Breguet came with conventional landing gear; he later replaced it with pontoons. “We were somewhat anxious about the results,” he recounted.

Contact

Tales from the era when the Air Age met the Stone Age.

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Crown Jewels

What gives the restored warbirds of the Flying Heritage Collection their sparkle?

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Beached Starship

Some say that Beech and Raytheon’s turboprop failed because it tried too much, too soon.

Twenty-five victims were never found, including Bill Fortenberry. For years, his son Ken believed the navigator was awaiting rescue on a desert island.

The Mystery of the Lost Clipper

The Civil Aeronautics Board and the FBI abandoned the case 47 years ago, but two amateur detectives are still looking for the cause of the Pan Am 944 crash

Resplendent in U.S. Navy Blue Angels livery, a Marine Corps C-130T fires its jet-assisted takeoff bottles, which add 8,000 pounds of thrust for a super-short takeoff.

50 Years of Hercules

As utilitarian as a bucket and just as plain, Lockheed’s C-130 has flown almost everything to almost everywhere.

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Tiny Turbines

Ever seen a radio-controlled model aircraft do 300 mph? Visit Metropolis, Missouri, this fall.

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