CURRENT ISSUE
January 2011
Features
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/The-other-gulf-war-FLASH.jpg)
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.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Major-Surgery-FLASH.jpg)
A 747 for Star-gazing
How engineers altered a jumbo jet to carry the world's biggest airborne telescope.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/The-New-Afghanistan-Air-Force-FLASH.jpg)
The New Afghanistan Air Force
How the U.S. military is training Afghans to fly.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/ce/56/ce56b4df-c37d-4d0a-a42f-b2984555eee7/30_jsc2011-e-205613.jpg)
Shuttlenauts
The faces behind the visors
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Too-Hot-to-Handle-FLASH.jpg)
Too Hot to Handle: McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat
Man cannot zoom by blended wing alone; he must have an engine that, well, works.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/The-Great-Escape-FLASH.jpg)
The Great Escape
For U.S. airmen trapped in Yugoslavia during World War II, building a secret airstrip was their only way out
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/plane%20parachute-flash.jpg)
How Things Work: Whole-Airplane Parachute
When everything else fails, or fails all at once, pull the parachute that saves the whole airplane.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/From-Kites-to-the-Space-Shuttle-FLASH.jpg)
From Kites to the Space Shuttle
A new photo-filled book is a diary of life at the National Air and Space Museum.
Departments
In the Museum: Flying Outside the Boundaries
In the Museum: Flying Outside the Boundaries
Above & Beyond: The Iditarod Air Force
Not all the action in dogsled racing is on the ground
How I Failed “Purdue’s Got Talent”
Aerospace student at Purdue University anticipates graduation
Then & Now: From Airships to Waterslides
The world's largest free-standing building gets a second lease on life