Now On View

Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War resulted in a competition to create advanced technologies aimed at gathering intelligence. Aerial reconnaissance played an important role, and the Lockheed SR-71 was a a direct result of this struggle for supremacy.

Learn about the history and aircraft that are part of general aviation, the civilian aircraft not flown by commercial carriers or the military.

Learn about America's first swept-wing jet fighter, the F-86 Sabre, and its arch rival, the Soviet MiG-15. You'll also find out how helicopters came into their own during these conflicts.

The development of more advanced and precise air power after World War II.

The Wright brothers inaugurated the aerial age with their historic first flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903. The influence of their invention is beyond measure. The transport by air of goods and people, quickly and over great distances, and the military applications of flight technology have had vast economic, geopolitical, and cultural impact around the globe. The Wrights helped fashion a radically new world.  

It's not for military, commercial, or business — sport aviation is all about flying for pleasure. Learn about gliders, homebuilts, ultralights, and more.

Aircraft demonstrating some of the major technological advancements during World War II.

The 1903 Wright Flyer, the world's first successful airplane, serves as the centerpiece of this exhibition, which tells the story of how Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the airplane.

The airplane emerged from World War I recognized widely for its potential as a military weapon. In the United States, Army pilots and Navy and Marine aviators worked to realize their different visions of the airplane’s ultimate role in American defense.

Explore the Universe examines how our ideas about the Universe evolved as we developed new astronomical instruments.

Space Race describes the U.S.-Soviet space rivalry and its aftermath, from the military origins of the Space Race, through the race to the Moon and the development of reconnaissance satellites, to cooperative efforts to maintain a human presence in space.

How Things Fly explains the basic principles that allow aircraft and spacecraft to fly.