Airplanes

One of the two balloons that will be used for tethered flights Saturday at the Udvar-Hazy Center was made especially for the museum and donated recently by Adams Balloons LLC.

A Recently Acquired Hot-Air Balloon Reminds a Smithsonian Curator of Another Tale of Ballooning Adventure

At the Udvar-Hazy Center this weekend, see the Smithsonian’s new modern hot-air balloon

An Airbus A300 jumbo jet like this has been sunk off the Turkish coast to create an artificial reef.

Turkey Sunk an Airplane to Turn It Into a Reef

An Airbus jumbo jet will soon become home to all sorts of sea life

Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn leaving their plane, "Pistol Packin' Mama," at the four-engine school at Lockbourne AAF, Ohio, during WASP ferry training.

Female WWII Pilots Can Now Be Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Seventy-five years later, WASPs have won one last battle

The bombing site as seen from above.

During the Cold War, the Air Force Dropped an Unarmed Nuke on South Carolina

Amazingly, none of the Gregg family of Mars Bluff were seriously hurt, not even the cat

After 36 Years, Archivists Finally Found the Wright Brothers’ Airplane Patent

The missing patent was found safe and sound in a Kansas storage facility

What Are You Flying Over? This App Will Tell You

Flyover Country uses maps and geology databases to identify features of the landscape as a plane flies over them, no Wifi necessary

A prototype airplane lavatory by Boeing uses UV rays to zap germs.

The Sky Might Soon Be Flush With Self-Cleaning Bathrooms

A new Boeing prototype lavatory zaps germs with UV rays

New Graphic Novel Writes the Wright Brothers' Sister Back Into History

Four students journey back to the birth of aviation in 'The Wrong Wrights'

A Detachable Airplane Cabin and Other Strange Aviation Ideas

A recently unveiled concept for a removable, parachute-equipped airplane cabin is only the latest in a long line of far-out designs

In 2003, Air France donated Concorde F-BVFA to the Smithsonian. The aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, D.C., and New York and had flown 17,824 hours.

When Concorde First Flew, It Was a Supersonic Sight to Behold

The aircraft was a technological masterpiece, but at one ton of fuel per passenger, it had a devastating ecological footprint

Metal microlattice

This Metal Is 99.9 Percent Air

A new metal "microlattice" is strong yet incredibly light, lending itself to a wide variety of aerospace, automotive and medical uses

High in the sky, aerosols from airplane exhaust become encased in ice and form the bright contrails seen in a plane’s wake.

Airplane Contrails May Be Creating Accidental Geoengineering

Dissipating haze from plane exhaust alters how sunlight reaches the Earth and may be unintentionally affecting our climate

Air Force One is Getting a Makeover

The best presidential perk is about to get even better

Powers with a model of his cold war-era U-2, known as the "Dragon Lady." He was freed in an exchange for a Soviety spy in Germany in 1962.

Gary Powers Kept a Secret Diary With Him After He Was Captured by the Soviets

The American fighter pilot who's the focus of Bridge of Spies faced great challenges home and abroad

JetBlue Goes Green with a Farm at JFK Airport

The airline hopes to produce herbs and around 1,000 pounds of blue potatoes each season

An Ercoupe flies over the nation's capital.

The Rise and Fall of the Plane "Anyone Could Fly"

It was billed as the "Model T" of airplanes. So what happened?

Nine American Airports for Art Lovers

Your layover just got better

The World’s Largest Aircraft Might Lose its Title to a Blimp

This despite having a wingspan almost as long as a football field

Why Airplane Seats Come With Barf Bags

One of the last remaining luxuries of airplane travel

You Might Actually Want a Layover at These Seven Airports

From nap pods to real-time flight tracking, these airports have features that will surely please passengers

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