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Airplanes

An early B-52.

In 1957, The U.S. Flew a Jet Around the World to Prove it Could Drop a Nuclear Bomb Anywhere

The B-52 bomber that made the flight was part of a new bomber class that was still proving its worth

The Heinkel He-280, the world's first jet fighter, was developed in Nazi Germany during World War II.

Since First Successfully Used More Than 75 Years Ago, Ejection Seats Have Saved Thousands

The faster an airplane is moving, the harder it is to get out of: that’s why ejection seats are so important

A modern flight data recorder, a.k.a. a "black box." Despite the name, these recorders are typically painted orange.

On This Day, The Black Box Proved Its Worth

The Park Slope plane crash was a tragedy, but it proved the importance of the flight data recorder

Boeing N2S

Take to the Skies in One of These Restored Vintage WWII Airplanes

Earn your wings and experience a slice of aviation history from the cockpit of a historic aircraft

Obi the parrotlet

New Research

How a Goggle-Wearing Parrot Could Help Future Robots Fly

By flying through a haze and lasers, Obi the parrotlet helped researchers figure out how much lift birds produce

The Sikiorsky JRS-1 "was right in the middle of it,” Robinson says. “She went out along with other airplanes from the (Navy) Utility Squadron One searching for the Japanese fleet.”

At Pearl Harbor, This Aircraft Risked It All to Find the Japanese Fleet

The Sikorsky JRS-1 flew right through the middle of it on December 7, 1941

An FBI photo of the airplane D.B. Cooper hijacked.

Cool Finds

You Can Help Try to Track Down D.B. Cooper’s True Identity by Digging Through FBI Files

A crowdsourced project is trying to identify the infamous skyjacker once and for all

Don't be like this guy. Read our roundup of tips on the best ways to prevent and reduce stress during your airplane trip.

The Science of How to Fly Stress-Free Over the Holidays

From getting to the airport to avoiding lost luggage, a little research can help you have a stress-free plane trip

The process involves speeding up the fermentation of wood sugars. The resulting alcohol is then converted into jet fuel.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could Wood Scraps Fuel Planes?

Alaska Airlines powered a cross-country commercial flight using a new biofuel derived from wood waste

OK Go for launch: Andy Ross, Tim Nordwind, Damian Kulash Jr. and Dan Konopka

American Ingenuity Awards

How OK Go Has Revolutionized the Music Video

To pull off one of their most daring videos, they needed a borrowed Russian transport jet, spreadsheets and calculus, and a lot of motion-sickness medicine

In the team's new approach, the whole shape of the wing can be changed, and twisted uniformly along its length, by activating two small motors that apply a twisting pressure to each wingtip.

NASA’s New, Super-Efficient Airplane Wing Comes With a Twist

The agency and several universities have designed a flexible wing that could reduce the cost of building and fueling airplanes

A replica of the lost Mark IV nuclear bomb at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

Trending Today

Diver Found Possible Inactive 1950 Nuke Off the Coast of British Columbia

The purported bomb was discovered by a man searching for sea cucumbers

A 1933 Oil painting of the ill-fated aviator by Howard Chandler Christy.

Cool Finds

What to Make of Renewed Claims That Amelia Earhart Died as a Castaway

Reexamination of data from a 1940 skeleton, suggests that the long forearms may match those of the missing aviator

Cornelia Fort was one of 1,074 women to fly for the Army Air Forces in the war.

A Pearl Harbor Disappearance May Finally Have Been Solved

Flight instructor Cornelia Fort faced a close call on that infamous day, but her plane was thought to have been lost to history

Cool Finds

Capsules Reveal Once Highly Classified Pieces of WWII Air Campaign

Two shipping barrels opened by the Commemorative Air Force contain one of the more intriguing technologies of the second world war

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Can This App Cure Your Fear of Flying?

No, you’re not plummeting from the sky. But the SkyGuru app can help explain why it might feel that way, using real-time flight data

After just moments in the air, flight 1549 collided with a flock of geese.

Smithsonian Expert Fills in the Missing Science Behind the Movie “Sully”

Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove shares her story of analyzing the bird remains or “snarge” scraped from the engines of flight 1549

Fuselage from Flight 93, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, September 11, 2001

Remembering 9/11, From a Scrawled Note to a Scrap of Fuselage

How objects both ordinary and extraordinary help us reflect on the devastation

New Research

Science Officially Debunks Chemtrails, But the Conspiracy Will Likely Live On

A panel of 77 atmospheric scientists and geochemists weigh in on the controversial streaks in the sky

This drone is designed to start controlled burns of grassland.

10 New Ways to Use Drones

From fighting wildfires to coaching people on their tennis game, the aerial devices are becoming a tool of choice

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