August 2016
Smithsonian magazine delivers trusted and incisive reporting on history, science, nature, culture and travel.
Features
How Many People Does It Take to Build a Bizjet?
Plenty. And some doing jobs you’ve never heard of.
Inventing the Invisible Airplane
When camouflage was fine art.
The Airshow Star’s Diet and Exercise Plan
Pilots share their fitness secrets (and guilty pleasures).
Welcome to the Night Shift
The Black Widow, the Beaufighter, and the first air war fought in the dark.
Right Outta the Funny Papers
WWII night crews reported mysterious balls of light.
Boeing Unpacked
The history of Colossus in 15 objects.
Kepler’s Children
The scientists searching for other Earths.
The Impossible Flight
London to Sydney: 12,000 miles that started an airline.
Departments
Zika Goes on the No-Fly List
At Dover Air Force Base, crews are trying to keep mosquito stowaways off their cargo airplanes.
Philip Baum, Editor of Aviation Security
An expert on passenger screening says we should be looking for evil intent, not just confiscating scissors and bottles of liquid.
New Eyes on Earth
With its 40 multispectral eyes, the Ceres spacecraft enters a crowded market.
The Spirit of Old Rhinebeck
At the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, it feels like 1927 all over again.