CURRENT ISSUE
August/September 2021
Features
:focal(1053x419:1054x420)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/65/78/6578b1d5-d9ca-45e4-a7b7-8a0ffaac580d/24a_jj2021_leonardoluna-122_live.jpg)
We All Fly
Our readers share their own adventures in the air.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/aa/3e/aa3e34a5-3243-4c71-9af7-0722751332cc/07-2r_as2021_barnstormerandrewking__dsc5563_live.jpg)
The Barnstormer
It’s one of the oldest professions in aviation, and it requires more than flying skill.
:focal(1366x1028:1367x1029)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/0a/a1/0aa111cc-e1e1-453b-8d7e-7feab50f12d4/15k_as2021_weallflygallerypreview-waf_entranceviewrevised2_live_copy.jpg)
What is General Aviation?
A New Gallery Tells You All You Need to Know
:focal(973x1152:974x1153)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/66/b9/66b9724c-d1e1-4241-aa26-ab4282b2aa99/05-2b_as2021_passengerseatbelts_maryevans_11956039_live.jpg)
How the Airline Industry Got Wise to Seat Belts
The complex history of a simple safety device.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/5c/5a/5c5af263-a2e1-4f7d-8f8c-302cf060833b/06-2c_as2021_b26replacesfpo06-2c_live.jpg)
Light 'Em Up
During World War II, Marlboro Country reached all the way up to 40,000 feet.
:focal(2035x1048:2036x1049)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/8b/72/8b72ea6e-4cf9-4fad-b58c-dbc5094ba725/08-2d_as2021_dykedeltahomebuilt_dykedeltan18dw_0013_live.jpg)
All Wing and All Heart
Some homebuilts create a movement. This one created a family.
:focal(631x358:632x359)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/39/80/3980e9ee-5f52-4016-8dc3-b757fc938f26/04-2f_as2021_partofhistory-eisenhower_live.jpg)
Ike Learns to Fly
How Dwight D. Eisenhower got his ticket punched.
Departments
Comfortable in the Air
From the Acting Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
A Helicopter Hovers on Mars
Ingenuity’s operator describes the helicopter's historic first flight
The Boomer’s View
The best seat in the house for one of military aviation’s most critical maneuvers.
Australia to England, Alone
Maude “Lores” Bonney flew halfway around the world just a few years after Lindbergh’s celebrated solo flight.