CURRENT ISSUE

January 2011

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Features

From the cockpit of a Coast Guard HC-144 patrol plane, the armada surrounding the deep water horizon rig last June appears placid.

The Other Gulf War

After the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 200 aircraft took up the fight to save the coast.

Thomas Keilig manages SOFIA’s telescope and science instruments.

A 747 for Star-gazing

How engineers altered a jumbo jet to carry the world's biggest airborne telescope.

At Kandahar airfield, Afghans and Western coalition members celebrate the activation of the Afghan air force’s second wing.

The New Afghanistan Air Force

How the U.S. military is training Afghans to fly.

The people who flew on the shuttle

Shuttlenauts

The faces behind the visors

Blended wing-body visionary James McDonnell sculpted the XP-67 in the early 1940s, promising a speed of more than 400 mph.

Too Hot to Handle: McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat

Man cannot zoom by blended wing alone; he must have an engine that, well, works.

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The Great Escape

For U.S. airmen trapped in Yugoslavia during World War II, building a secret airstrip was their only way out

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How Things Work: Whole-Airplane Parachute

When everything else fails, or fails all at once, pull the parachute that saves the whole airplane.

The U.S. Navy’s Curtiss NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, in May 1919.

From Kites to the Space Shuttle

A new photo-filled book is a diary of life at the National Air and Space Museum.

Departments

Viewport

Viewport: Our Family Albums

Viewport: Our Family Albums

In the Museum

In the Museum: Flying Outside the Boundaries

In the Museum: Flying Outside the Boundaries

Above & Beyond

Above & Beyond: The Iditarod Air Force

Not all the action in dogsled racing is on the ground

Flights & Fancy

How I Failed “Purdue’s Got Talent”

Aerospace student at Purdue University anticipates graduation

Then & Now

Then & Now: From Airships to Waterslides

The world's largest free-standing building gets a second lease on life

Moments and Milestones

Moments and Milestones: Max Takeoff

Moments and Milestones: Max Takeoff