Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Four military jets fly in a diamond formation across a blue sky. On the underside of each jet's wings, "US Navy" is painted in bold yellow letters. White airshow smoke streams from each jet. The moon is visible in the sky.

The Blue Angels Get Their First Female Jet Demonstration Pilot

Air & Space Quarterly talks to Blue Angels pilot Amanda Lee

SR-71 Blackbird on display in a museum

Why the SR-71 Blackbird Never Gets Old

A German fighter aircraft is painted dull grey, with some black markings including a Nazi swastika. A large gun in mounted near the nose of the plane, which has a single large propeller.

Where to See World War II Aircraft Up Close

Speedball Alice, a restored dark green P-51D airplane with white stripes, is parked on a tarmac in the Reno desert, with mountains and blue sky in the background.

The Final Reno Air Show

Walt Disney, an senior man in a white button up short-sleeved shirt, with a tie and slacks, greets a small crowd of people in front of his airplane, which is large enough it extends out of frame and is white with orange and blue stripes.

Yes, Walt Disney’s Private Jet Was Called Mickey Mouse One

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First-Responder Rescue Truck From 9/11 Goes on Display at the National Air and Space Museum

Dorothy Cochrane with Extra 260

Why Would a Museum Hang an Airplane Upside Down?

Sean Tucker Flying Challenger III

Aerobatic Pilot Sean Tucker and Orbis International Will Speak at National Air and Space Museum

Ground crew servicing a group of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks. Presumed to be No. 1 Fighter Maintenance Unit at Kukum Field, Guadalcanal. (Photograph Courtesy of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum)

The Cactus Air Force’s Forgotten Spine: The Royal New Zealand Air Force at Guadalcanal

US Navy blimp L-8 in flight to drop off supplies to the Doolittle Raiders off the coast of California. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

A Special Delivery for the Doolittle Raiders

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver: The “Big-Tailed Beast”

Ruth Law stands in front of her Wright Model B biplane at the New York State Fair, Yonkers, 1913.

Women's Suffrage Stories in the Archives

65 Squadron received eight new Spitfires through the sponsorship of the East India Fund in July 1940. These new Spitfires featured de Havilland constant-speed propellers.

Better Propellers for “The Few”: Desmond Cooke’s Legacy in the Battle of Britain

TWA transferred its entire fleet of five Boeing 307s, along with their flight crews, to the ATC. The airline opened regular transatlantic service in 1942.

Air Transport Command and the Airlines During World War II

Aircraft designer Neal Loving flying his WR-3 near Springfield, Ohio.

Neal V. Loving: Pilot, Engineer, Aircraft Designer

Three WASP at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas.

Flying on the Homefront: Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)

U.S. Army Air Force technical sergeant Ben Kuroki, who served in the Europe and Pacific theaters during World War II.

Ben Kuroki: A Story We All Need to Know

The V-1 (Vergeltungswaffe Eins, or Vengeance Weapon One), was the world's first operational cruise missile. (Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Insitution)

The Myth of the German “Wonder Weapons”

Amelia Earhart flew this Lockheed 5B Vega solo across the Atlantic and non-stop across the United States -- both firsts for a woman. Earhart left a greater legacy than her many record flights. She also helped promote aviation and air travel, especially among women, and proved that a woman could handle an airplane as well as a man.

Transforming the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery

The aircraft that enjoyed what was perhaps the longest and most successful career in air racing history was Steve Wittman's Chief Oshkosh, known in the post-World War II era as Buster. From 1931 until its retirement in 1954, this midget racer set records and took numerous trophies in class races and free-for-alls

The Many Lives of Buster the Air Racer

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