Air Transportation

Where do you want to go? The cargo-hauling Airlander can stay aloft for three weeks.

An Airship The Size of a Football Field Could Revolutionize Travel

A new fuel-efficient airship, capable of carrying up to 50 tons, can stay aloft for weeks and land just about anywhere

Airplane Landing

What's the Most Perfect Moment to Buy That Plane Ticket?

You know that the longer you wait to book a flight, the higher ticket prices climb. But when exactly should you book a flight?

Photos: The Rise of the Volocopter

A helicopter has just one rotor to provide lift. This machine has 18

Cancelled Flights

This Winter's Record Number of Plane Cancellations Can't Entirely Be Blamed on Weather

This has been the worst winter for flight cancellations on record

Border Agents Can Search Laptops “Without Reasonable Suspicion”

A U.S. District Court judge says border agents should be allowed to search travelers' laptops

Inside a World War II-era blimp hangar in Tustin, California, the future of aviation is preparing for liftoff.

Photos: The U.S. Military’s Prototype for a Flying Submarine

Capable of carrying 66 tons of cargo, the Aeroscraft could bring airships back to the skies

The Bureau of Air Commerce's inquiry board was tasked with investigating the cause of the accident.

Document Deep Dive: A Firsthand Account of the Hindenburg Disaster

Frank Ward was a 17-year-old crewman when he saw the infamous disaster, but his memories of that day are still strong, 75 years later

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled zeppelin burst into flames, shown here in a colorized photo, above a New Jersey field, killing 35 of 97 riders.

Found: Letters from the Hindenburg

A new addition to the Smithsonian collections tells a new story about the legendary disaster

Packing light for the new year

Traveling Light in the New Year

Don't overpack is a rule to live by. So why not declutter on New Year's Eve

Beijing's "Bird's Nest"

A Prize-Winning Architecture Tour of Beijing

The next Pritzker Prize for architecture will be awarded in the Chinese capital, a tribute to its new crop of award-worthy structures

The stewardesses of Pan Am

TV’s “Pan Am:” A Case of Misplaced Nostalgia

Who doesn't miss the retro glories of the early Jet Age celebrated in the ABC series? But enough with the sexy stewardesses already

Engineer Tad McGeer, at his company's headquarters near Bingen, Washington, played a key role in getting the civilian drone industry off the ground.

Drones are Ready for Takeoff

Will unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—soon take civilian passengers on pilotless flights?

The Lindberghs had to anticipate any emergency on their epic flights.

In Case of Emergency, Pack Snowshoes

In 1933, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh prepared for the worst by packing winter gear before flying over the Arctic

Author Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator Charles Lindbergh, standing outside barn on her farm.

Childhood Memories of Charles Lindbergh

In an excerpt from her memoir, Reeve Lindbergh, the daughter of the famous aviator, recalls her father's love of checklists

While geologist don't know how long the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull could go on for, the last eruption in 1821 went until 1823.

What We Know From the Icelandic Volcano

Geologist Elizabeth Cottrell discusses the effects of the Icelandic volcanic eruption and the work of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program

The cards and letters aboard the Graf Zeppelin bore a distinctive mark on their envelopes: a small image stamped in ink.

Holiday Delivery From the Graf Zeppelin

In 1934, a zeppelin originating in Germany and bound for Brazil carried a cargo of Christmas cheer

The miniature remote-controlled scout plane "helps alleviate the danger of what's over the hill," says aviation expert Ben Kristy.

Under the Radar with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The five-pound RQ-14A takes high-tech reconnaissance to new heights

Seen from the aircraft that Steinmetz calls his "flying lawn chair," a salt-making site at the village of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt in arid northern Niger appears to be a vast work of abstract art. The clay-lined pools hold briny water that slowly evaporates, yielding salt solids that workers truck to southern Niger and Nigeria, where the minerals are given to livestock. The bluish pools bear a salty crust that reflects the sky.

Africa on the Fly

Dangling from a paraglider with a propeller on his back, photographer George Steinmetz gets a new perspective on Africa

Balloon Jupiter had to land after 30 miles; its mail (here) was sent on by train.

Airmail Letter

Stale Mail: The nation's first hot-air balloon postal deliveries barely got off the ground

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A Century of Flight - Taking Wing

From the Wright brothers to the latest robot jets, the past century has been shaped by the men and women who got us off the ground

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