Airplanes

On January 9, 2023, Spanish aeronautic engineer Juan de la Cierva became the first person to fly an autogiro.

How Quixote’s Windmills Inspired a Spanish Inventor to Envision Vertical Flight

The autogiro finds new fans a century after its first liftoff

Pure Structural Color is made of several extremely thin sheets of non-conductive material. These layers are stacked together and imprinted, or stamped, with a nano-scale pattern of rods with curved ends. This pattern scatters light into colors that are visible from all directions, and different hues can be produced by changing the dimensions of the pattern.

This British Zoologist Wants to Reinvent Color

Andrew Parker has produced some of the brightest hues in the world. So, what’s his secret?

Travelers won't have to squeeze all of their liquids into tiny containers when traveling through United Kingdom airports starting in 2024.

U.K. Airports Will Ease Restrictions on Liquids and Laptops in Carry-On Bags

Starting in 2024, travelers won't need to limit liquids to travel-size containers

Giving a nod to previous human flight and exploration is a tradition of space travel.

Ten Strange and Amazing Historical Artifacts We’ve Launched to Space

As spaceflight catapults us into a high-tech future, several missions have made sure to honor the past

With the door open to give the telescope a clear view, SOFIA cruised through the Earth's stratosphere at 38,000 to 45,000 feet.

Unique NASA Observatory Will Make a Final Flight—to a Museum

SOFIA, a 38,000-pound telescope inside an airplane, spent eight years observing the universe in infrared

The dilapidated jet has been sitting at the Roswell Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico, for decades.

Elvis Presley's Private Jet Is Going Up for Auction

The famous singer bought the JetStar in 1976, a year before his death

The federal government employs a total of 5,159 dogs, but only about 7 percent come from the United States.

U.S. Faces Bomb-Sniffing Dog Shortage

The pandemic has exacerbated an already short supply of specially-bred canines that detect explosives

The top ten toys rated by Purdue University engineers help children build spatial reasoning, problem solving, coding and design thinking skills, among others.

Engineers Pick the Ten Best STEM Toys to Give as Gifts in 2022

Children can build strategy, critical thinking and resilience during expert-approved play

Ontario International Airport in southern California

You Can Now Meet Friends and Family at the Gate at This California Airport

Ontario International Airport's new program allows non-ticketed individuals to venture beyond security

The Wright Flyer is among the iconic artifacts held at the Smithsonian. When visitors come to see it, they tend to fall silent, says curator Peter Jakab. “People often recognize that they’re standing in front of something special.”

How the Wright Brothers Took Flight

The remarkable story of how the duo grew to become world-changing inventors and international celebrities

Mechanical engineer Xiulin Ruan helped develop the world's whitest paint.    

The World’s Whitest Paint May Soon Help Cool Airplanes and Spacecraft

The ultra-white color reflects up to 97.9 percent of sunlight and may reduce our reliance on air conditioning

Among the eight exhibitions opening October 14, 2022, is "The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age," featuring the museum's iconic 1903 Wright Flyer.

A New Look for the National Air and Space Museum

Follow the October reopening of America’s most-visited museum with exclusive coverage from Smithsonian magazine

Virgin Atlantic’s uniforms

Virgin Atlantic Is Dropping Its Gendered Uniform Policy

The change is part of a growing movement to make travel more inclusive

Six years after Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the first airplane in 1903, the Army purchased the Wright Military Flyer for $30,000.

After the Wright Brothers Took Flight, They Built the World's First Military Airplane

The 1909 Military Flyer is the centerpiece of the "Early Flight" exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum

Heart Aerospace's ES-30, a regional electric airplane with seats for 30 passengers

Electric Planes Are Taking Flight

More airlines are ordering battery-powered aircraft to help reduce their environmental impact

The Bell X-1, a miracle of form and function.

How the Bell X-1 Ushered in the Supersonic Age

The speeding-bullet design propelled Chuck Yeager into history

Researchers tracked one moth for just under 56 miles, marking the longest distance an insect has been continuously tracked.

How Migrating Death's-Head Hawkmoths Fly Along a Straight Path

No prior study had continuously monitored wild, nocturnal migrating insects

In the aftermath of the disaster and for decades to follow, numerous theories emerged. The men had been captured by the Japanese. They had been murdered by a stowaway. They had killed each other in a fight over a woman. They had simply fallen out of the blimp.

The 80-Year Mystery of the U.S. Navy's 'Ghost Blimp'

The L-8 returned from patrolling the California coast for Japanese subs in August 1942, but its two-man crew was nowhere to be found

Between March 19 and April 17, 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock (above: at the start of her journey at Ohio's Port Columbus Airport) flew her single-engine Cessna 180, dubbed "Charlie," solo around the globe setting a world record.

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

When the National Air and Space Museum reopens October 14, Geraldine Mock’s Cessna 180 soars in the new exhibition, "We All Fly"

In the upcoming exhibition, "Nation of Speed," the Sharp DR 90 Nemesis (above: museum workers install the aircraft in the new gallery) will go on view when the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum reopens this fall. 

How the Nemesis Air Racers Redefined Speed

For Jon and Patricia Sharp, crafting and flying the sleek airplanes was as much about sport as it was about ingenuity

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