CURRENT ISSUE
September 2020
Features
Escape From a Speeding Shuttle
They said it couldn’t be done. But it was.
Love Letter to the RV-8
Happy 25th Birthday to one of the world’s most popular kitplanes.
The Surrender Spectacle
General Douglas MacArthur was a war hero—and an old soldier who knew how to put on a show.
To Be the Fastest Biplane
The long battle between classic and cutting-edge.
What Are U.S. Airlines Missing? Women.
Despite recruiting efforts, the number of women in airline cockpits has increased in the last decade by a dismal one percent.
In the Skies Over Titan
NASA returns to Saturn’s largest moon with a rover that can fly.
Department of Lost Causes
The airplanes and artifacts that museum curators dream of finding.
Departments
Someplace Like Home, Sort Of
Of all the exotic worlds in our solar system, this one may be the most irresistible.
Signs of Civilization
A NASA-funded project will search for technosignatures that might indicate the presence of advanced alien cultures.
Terry Virts
The NASA spaceflight veteran talks about what happens to astronauts when they live in space for months.
The Day We Killed 23 Tanks
In Operation Desert Storm, the A-10 Warthog was primitive, but it got the job done.
Pass the Torch of Aviation History
Help the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum transcribe the William J. Powell collection.
Mitchell U-2 Superwing
This unique kitplane showed how versatile (and fun) an ultralight can be.