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Air Transportation

Engineer Tad McGeer, at his company's headquarters near Bingen, Washington, played a key role in getting the civilian drone industry off the ground.

Drones are Ready for Takeoff

Will unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—soon take civilian passengers on pilotless flights?

The Lindberghs had to anticipate any emergency on their epic flights.

In Case of Emergency, Pack Snowshoes

In 1933, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh prepared for the worst by packing winter gear before flying over the Arctic

Author Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator Charles Lindbergh, standing outside barn on her farm.

Childhood Memories of Charles Lindbergh

In an excerpt from her memoir, Reeve Lindbergh, the daughter of the famous aviator, recalls her father’s love of checklists

While geologist don't know how long the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull could go on for, the last eruption in 1821 went until 1823.

What We Know From the Icelandic Volcano

Geologist Elizabeth Cottrell discusses the effects of the Icelandic volcanic eruption and the work of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program

The cards and letters aboard the Graf Zeppelin bore a distinctive mark on their envelopes: a small image stamped in ink.

Holiday Delivery From the Graf Zeppelin

In 1934, a zeppelin originating in Germany and bound for Brazil carried a cargo of Christmas cheer

The miniature remote-controlled scout plane "helps alleviate the danger of what's over the hill," says aviation expert Ben Kristy.

Under the Radar with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The five-pound RQ-14A takes high-tech reconnaissance to new heights

Seen from the aircraft that Steinmetz calls his "flying lawn chair," a salt-making site at the village of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt in arid northern Niger appears to be a vast work of abstract art. The clay-lined pools hold briny water that slowly evaporates, yielding salt solids that workers truck to southern Niger and Nigeria, where the minerals are given to livestock. The bluish pools bear a salty crust that reflects the sky.

Africa on the Fly

Dangling from a paraglider with a propeller on his back, photographer George Steinmetz gets a new perspective on Africa

Balloon Jupiter had to land after 30 miles; its mail (here) was sent on by train.

Airmail Letter

Stale Mail: The nation’s first hot-air balloon postal deliveries barely got off the ground

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A Century of Flight - Taking Wing

From the Wright brothers to the latest robot jets, the past century has been shaped by the men and women who got us off the ground

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Comet’s Tale

A half century ago, the first jet airliner delighted passengers with swift, smooth flights until a fatal structural flaw doomed its glory

B class blimp

Blimps: Big, Beautiful & Everywhere You Look

What good are they? Well, they make people smile and dogs bark. Isn’t that good enough?

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