Rebecca Maksel

Rebecca Maksel is a senior associate editor at Air & Space.

Captain Frank Frakes, in a 1934 publicity photo.

Frank Frakes, Plane Crasher

An airshow act inspired by automobile demolition derbies

The C-5 Gets An Overhaul

How the Air Force is improving its main beast of burden.

To exit more quickly during an emergency, leave your luggage behind. And high heels—which can puncture evacuation slides—should be removed.

Those Safety Instructions in Your Airplane Seat Pocket? Nobody Understands Them.

An FAA survey found comprehension levels as low as 18 percent.

Delivering Discovery

The venerable space shuttle’s last trip: to the National Air and Space Museum.

Did you think Quasimodo was disabled by his bell-ringing gig? He may have been a victim of "Helo Hunch," or poor cockpit sitting posture.

The Helicopter Pilot’s Dreaded “Helo Hunch”

Flying helicopters is a musculoskeletal nightmare.

B-2: The Inside Story

American airpower's “Man of Steel”

An LC-130 of the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing gets a jet-assisted takeoff from Camp Summit, Greenland, in 2011.

The Dump Truck of Airplanes

When you're stuck on the Greenland ice, you want the LC-130.

Rubye Berau (left) with her human cargo, parachutist Babe Smith, circa 1930s.

The “Squadron of Death”—That Performed in High Heels

The forgotten aviation career of Rubye Berau

Carla Dove (left), Nancy Rotzel (far right), and Marcy Heacker use the National Museum of Natural History's bird collection to identify birds involved in birdstrikes.

What Bird Species Is Most Likely to Hit an Airplane? (It’s Not the Canada Goose)

Birdstrikes cause millions of dollars worth of damage each year. Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove is searching for a remedy.

Sophie Blanchard's August 15, 1811 ascent marking the birthday of Napoleon.

Napoleon’s Favorite Balloonist

How Sophie Blanchard became France’s “aeronaut of official holidays”

Proposing at the Museum

Want to make your engagement memorable? Pop the question under the SR-71.

The original team. Should we worry that Joe's dog tags are as big as his head?

Guys and Dolls: G.I. Joe Is 50

On this day in 1964, Hasbro introduced an American icon.

Artist’s concept of a Martian farm.

When the Nearest Help is 34 Million Miles Away

A trip to Mars will be the riskiest journey we've ever attempted.

Best Children’s Books of 2013

This year's best aviation- and space-themed books for young readers

The SR-71 was a joy to fly, says Buz Carpenter. “You knew that the pictures you were taking and the electronic information you were collecting were vital to the president.”

Some of the airplanes in the National Air and Space Museum stir personal memories.

Buz Carpenter tells us all about it.

On March 18, 1910, Harry Houdini made three flights in his Voisin, the third lasting about three and a half minutes.

The Hunt for Houdini’s Airplane

Amateur detectives have found clues to the fate of the magician’s biplane.

Orville, Katharine, and Wilbur Wright return from England in 1909.

Katharine Wright’s Knickers Too Risqué To Be Exhibited

Neil Armstrong's spacesuit and the Barefoot Bandit's pilot handbook also are among the items that museums can't—or won't—show you

This rare poster from 1909 is expected to fetch between $15,000 and $20,000

Rare Wright Brothers Posters Survive Because They’re “So Damn Pretty”

Remarkable Wright brothers posters come up for auction

Three times larger than a standard balloon, Nadar's Géant featured a two-story gondola. Visitors flocked to see it on display at London’s Crystal Garden in 1863.

Flight of the Giant

In 1863, the world's first aerial photographer launched the world's largest balloon. It didn't go so well.

Self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, ca. 1510.

A rare da Vinci codex on birdflight goes on display at the National Air and Space Museum

Leonardo da Vinci, Birdwatcher

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