Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

Showing 11 - 20 of 29

December 09, 2021 Air Mail and the Birth of Commercial Aviation Story

In the early days of commercial air flight, airlines struggled to turn a profit and remain afloat. The United States government, hoping to foster the success of commercial airlines, met this challenge by using airplanes to move mail across the country.

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November 28, 2021 Making the Modern Airliner Story

The mid-1930s were a difficult time for airlines. To survive in these challenging times, airlines needed bigger, better, and faster airplanes that could profitably fly passengers as well as mail. By the mid-1930s, the first modern, high-performance airliners were taking to the air. 

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November 26, 2021 Meet Members of the Ninety-Nines Story

In 1929, a group of 99 women pilots decided to form an organization for social, recruitment, and business purposes. Living in a society that limited women's social and economic independence, these group formed for women to mutually support each other in the aviation profession. Thus the Ninety-Nines were born.

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June 10, 2021 AirSpace Season 4, Ep. 9 Chicago Flyer Story | AirSpace Podcast

In the early days of aviation flying was dangerous and expensive. Even if you could afford it, societal barriers in the United States kept many would-be pilots grounded. But in Chicago, the Challenger Air Pilots Association cultivated a community that has since helped thousands of Black pilots learn how to fly. And it all started with a broken down car.

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March 22, 2021 Tingmissartoq! Charles and Anne Lindbergh Tour Greenland Story | Air and Space Photos

Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, hosted the Lindberghs for three weeks in the summer of 1933 and one of their stops was the southern town of Julianehaab, now known as Qaqortoq.

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February 27, 2021 The Dream of Abyssinia: Two Black Aviators and Ethiopia Story | From the Archives

In 1896, Ethiopians had turned back an Italian invasion at Adwa (Adowa), serving as an example of a Black-led country’s defiance of Europe. Taking inspiration from Ethiopia’s long history as an independent Black nation, two Black aviators—Hubert Julian and John C. Robinson—were drawn to Ethiopia by the events of 1935.

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April 05, 2019 A Guiding Light: The Airway Beacon Tower Story | Air and Space Photos

The first pioneering pilots flew the airways during the day without purpose-designed maps. This presented a problem for the U.S. Post Office: Without flying at night, airmail was slower than by railroad and the higher cost of air transport had no value.

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March 28, 2019 The Many Flights of the Czar of Baseball Story | From the Archives

In the wake of the Black Sox Scandal, Baseball was looking to restore its integrity with a leader with his feet firmly on the ground. They elected Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner (or “Czar”) of Baseball.  A long-serving jurist from Chicago, Landis was known for his decisions against big businesses, such as Standard Oil, and for slipping out to Cubs and White Sox games.  But Landis also had his head in the clouds, a true aviation enthusiast!

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February 16, 2018 Janet Bragg: How an Early Black Pilot Soared Above Setbacks Story

Janet Waterford Bragg was a pioneer female African American pilot whose leadership in black pilot organizations in the 1930s paved the way for other aviators. 

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September 29, 2017 Rum Runners to Cocaine Cowboys: Barry Seal and the Legacy of Aerial Smuggling Story

The use of aircraft in smuggling was not simply a niche application, but a booming business through Prohibition and beyond, and one of the first drivers of aerial regulations.

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