Air & Space Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine

In 1964, a trio of RA-5Cs had central Florida covered.

Restoration: Mach 2 Heavyweight Champion

The North American RA-5C Vigilante.

November 2002

A live-fire test on a North American F-86. During the Vietnam War, engineers looked for ways to toughen aircraft against ground fire and surface-to-air missiles.

Shoot ‘Em Up

Sometimes you have to destroy the aircraft in order to save it.

November 2002

In 1957 midshipmen launched an N3N from the Severn River in Annapolis.

In the Museum: Sailors’ Delight

November 2002

The author surveys the forbidding Laotian terrain from a C-46.

Above & Beyond: Ration of Luck

November 2002

Sergei Rachmaninoff (center) was instrumental in getting the Sikorsky S-29A airliner off the ground. Igor Sikorsky (left) had labored with Baron Nicholas Solovioff (right) and a dwindling workforce to launch the 14-passenger transport.

Oldies and Oddities: Sikorsky’s Piano Man

November 2002

Moments and Milestones: Airfairs

November 2002

A Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan strategic bomber.

Air War in the Falklands

Grand miscalculations, unknown odds, miserable weather, vast distances—and unlikely adversaries

September 2002

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Slept Here

Following in the footsteps of the man who invented space travel.

September 2002

How Things Work: Ring Laser Gyros

September 2002

Images of the glider in flight (here, a CG-4 prototype) don’t capture the human drama of a CG-4 mission, as the museum’s finished display does.

A Waco’s Happy Ending

How an abandoned World War II glider found love in Long Island.

September 2002

You'll get lounges, athletic facilities, and a room with a view. Just don't open the windows.

Ticket to Orbit

Don’t just sit there. Get out and see the world!

September 2002

Restoration: Soggy Stratoliner

Boeing 307

September 2002

The Unemployment Line

Where airliners go when they’re out of work.

September 2002

False color image of Jupiter's great red spot, as seen by Galileo's camera using near-infrared filters.

A Galileo Gallery

Postcards from our last visit to Jupiter.

September 2002

One of Reno’s most coveted prizes is a pit pass, which allows the audience to get up close and personal with the musclebound Unlimiteds.

Reno Enters the Jet Age

They’re not as fast as the top Unlimiteds, but the national air racing organization is gambling on jets to boost attendance.

September 2002

In the Museum: The Papers of Crocker Snow

September 2002

Above & Beyond: Nights Over North Vietnam

A former South Vietnamese Air Force commander shares his military experiences in a new book

September 2002

Flights & Fancy: Kids Stuff

September 2002

Moments and Milestones: Ten Most Wanted

September 2002

The Man Who Could See Air

Richard Whitcomb changed the shape of wings to come.

July 2002