Chris Klimek

Chris Klimek is a writer and podcast host for Smithsonian.

The blackened “laser-scarring” on the hull of this full-scale Star Wars prop is an example of the kind of camera-friendly damage conservators take pains to preserve.

The 'Star Wars' Starfighter Will Soon Be a Museum Piece

This full-size movie prop helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the Galactic Empire.

Pan American Airlines bought Excalibur III from Charles F. Blair in 1953 and donated it to the National Air Museum. It underwent a soup-to-nuts restoration in 1977.

Undistinguished in Combat, This Mustang Became More Famous as a Racer

Stunt pilot Paul Mantz’s speedy P-51, <i>Excalibur III</i>.

The Gulfhawk flew again, briefly, in airshows of the 1960s before being donated, in accordance with Al Williams’ wishes, to the Smithsonian in 1969.

Al Williams Made History With his Aerial Performances Between the Great Wars

His ride: the Curtiss 1A Gulfhawk

The Museum’s Huey served with four units in Vietnam between 1966 and 1970. Though now painted in National Guard livery, it retains an XM52 smoke generator similar to the one it carried for the 11th Combat Aviation Air Battalion.

More Than Just a Helicopter, the “Huey” Became a Symbol of the Vietnam War

The Bell UH-1H Iroquois was a single-engine workhorse.

Director-star George Clooney confers with David Oyelowo and Tiffany Boone during the filming of a spacewalk sequence at London's Shepperton Studios.

In George Clooney's <i>The Midnight Sky</i>, the Crew of a Planetary Exploration Mission Faces an Impossible Choice

Actors David Oyelowo and Demián Bechir discuss their roles as astronauts investigating a potentially habitable Jovian moon.

Baldwin painted each of his half-dozen “Red Devil” pusher biplanes a bright scarlet, though some claim their demonic moniker was awarded after an airfield mishap moved the designer to a memorable flight of profanity.

For a 1910 Biplane, the Baldwin 'Red Devil' Was a Speed Demon

Descended from a Glenn Curtiss design, this speedster had a short run.

The Museum’s F-86A was assigned to the 4th Fighter Interceptor Group at Langley Air Force Base in Virgina in July 1949, and shipped out for action in Korea in December 1950. It flew its combat sorties from Kimpo Air Base near Seoul.

The F-86 Sabre, Hero of the Early Jet Age

America’s first swept-wing fighter won the skies over North Korea.

The Mitchell U-2 Superwing at the National Air and Space Museum features a Cuyuna UL2-11 two-cylinder, 35-hp engine. Its builder, Frank Marsh, first flew the ultralight in 1987 and donated it to the Museum in 1989.

The Mitchell U-2 Superwing Showed How Versatile an Ultralight Can Be

Plus, you could build it yourself.

The Museum’s M-1 was a two-seat Sperry Sport Plane when donated, but the Smithsonian converted it to the M-1 configuration that was used to dock with an airship, installing a skyhook and painting it in the livery of Sperry Aircraft No. 22.

The Tiny M-1 Messenger Was Designed to Replace Motorbikes on the Battlefront

Say hello to my little friend.

Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack as an air-traffic controller and an airline captain who must talk a jittery pilot through a risky landing. With faces like these, no one is kidding around.

Forty Years Ago, <em>Airplane!</em> Created a New Species of Comedy

Frequently imitated but never surpassed, this seriously funny disaster flick made a mockery of itself.

Co-creator and star Steve Carell and a cast of comedic ringers can't cover up the clunky writing and uneven tone of "Space Force."

Steve Carell's Netflix Comedy Series <i>Space Force</i> Should've Waited For More Favorable Launch Conditions

Carell and <i>The Office</i> creator Greg Daniels reunite for a satire that hasn't yet reached orbit.

John and Annie Glenn with President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

A Prize-Winning Song Written by Two Utah High Schoolers Celebrates the Enduring Love of Annie and John Glenn

Annie Glenn died this week, two years after finalists in an NEA songwriting competition paid tribute to her and her astronaut husband.

NASA's Lindsay Aitchison says spacesuits have been given much-improved flexibility and durability over the decades, but as seen in the speculative future of "Ad Astra," they don't look much different than they did in the Gemini era.

With the New Movie <em>Ad Astra,</em> James Gray and Brad Pitt Offer a "Plausible" Vision of Late-21st Century Space Travel

Shuttle astronaut Garrett Reisman helped writer-director Gray make his space adventure authentic(ish).

In 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, Spencer Tracy (at right) played Jimmy Doolittle, who led the April 1942 air raid.

What the Movies Taught Us About World War II

The biggest war in human history inspired hundreds of movies. One of them had to be the best.

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