CURRENT ISSUE

July 2010

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine image Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine mobile image

Features

Titan Air

Titan Air

Saturn's mysterious moon may have airplanes in its future.

The 609th Air Commando Squadron flew out of Nakhon Phanom airfield in eastern Thailand.

Truck Killer

For one mission in Vietnam, the best aircraft for the job was a bomber from World War II

Dale Snodgrass is known as a virtuoso of the F-14 (left, with squadron ops officer Dirk Hebert at right, in 1990).

The Real Top Gun

Nobody handled a Tomcat like Snort

Although an F-107A pilot would have had difficulty checking his six, he probably could have outrun his adversary. In 1956 tests, the aircraft reached Mach 2.

Century Series Wannabe

North American F-107A

Over its 35-year career, the F-15C (here on a training mission over the Pacific Ocean) remains the air combat champ, with 104 victories and no losses.

The Last Gunslinger

The F-15C is the only dedicated dogfighter left in the U.S. military fleet. Why isn't the Air Force replacing it?

One of his early photos is of the 1937 M-156 flying boat, which Glenn Martin offered to Pan American World Airways. Instead, Aeroflot took one — the only one.

Tribute to an Aviation Journalist

If you read airplane magazines, you've seen Howard Levy's photographs.

A crew member filmed cloud behavior.

Climate Control

Irving Langmuir tried to change the world one storm at a time.

The shuttle main engine is the most tested large rocket engine in the world. In 1996, a turbine component (displayed here by a NASA scientist) underwent airflow tests to help engineers create more eff

Evolution of the Space Shuttle

How 30 years changed the world's most complex flying machine.

For the wounded on Luzon in 1945, the Sikorsky R-6A transport doubled as an ambulance.

Medevac From Luzon

A small band of helicopter pilots risked their lives to rescue wounded soldiers during World War II.

STS-130-reflection-flash.jpg

Sightings: Cause for Reflection

Endeavour lights up the sky—and water—in Florida.

Departments

Viewport

Viewport: Building a Wall of Support

Viewport: Building a Wall of Support

J.R. Dailey
In the Museum

In the Museum: Honor Roll

In the Museum: Honor Roll

Above & Beyond

Above & Beyond: It’s All Sawdust and Mirrors

Above & Beyond: It’s All Sawdust and Mirrors

Phil Scott
Oldies and Oddities

Oldies and Oddities: A Different Kind of Hybrid

Oldies and Oddities: A Different Kind of Hybrid

Peter Garrison
Then & Now

Then & Now: Business Models

Then & Now: Business Models

Roger A. Mola
Moments and Milestones

Moments and Milestones: Mile-High Man

Moments and Milestones: Mile-High Man