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<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Air Transportation | smithsonianmag.com</title><link>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/air-transportation/</link><description>RSS feed for Air Transportation</description><atom:link href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/air-transportation/" rel="self"/><language>en</language><lastBuildDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><item><title>When a Team of Meteorologists and Combat Pilots Set Out to Understand Thunderstorms, They Made Flying Safer for Everyone</title><link>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/when-team-meteorologists-combat-pilots-set-out-understand-thunderstorms-made-flying-safer-everyone-180988841/</link><description>The sky was a very dangerous place in the early days of commercial aviation. By flying into storms to learn how they worked, these experts made air travel and weather forecasting much more predictable</description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/when-team-meteorologists-combat-pilots-set-out-understand-thunderstorms-made-flying-safer-everyone-180988841/</guid><enclosure length="13410209" type="image/jpeg" url="https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/7mwtuXS7fMRbSuJHewSPBPti-8k=/420x240/filters:focal(3000x2000:3001x2001)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/a6/f6/a6f69982-d239-479d-b8ed-1442d130b16b/opener_-_mitch_dobrowner_lightning_strikes.jpg"/></item></channel></rss>