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 1 - 10 of 248

January 23, 2025 From Active Aircraft to Artifact Story | AirSpace Podcast

All the military aircraft and some of the civilian ones in our collections have to be demilitarized before they go on display or into storage.

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December 18, 2024 The P-3 Orion Was Made for Hunting Submarines Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Wherever Soviet submarines went during the Cold War, they were likely being watched by P-3 Orions. 

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December 18, 2024 How Active Volcanoes Can Put Airplanes in Danger Story | Air & Space Quarterly

A global warning system keeps active volcanoes from shutting down commercial aviation.

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December 18, 2024 The Fascinating History of a P-61 Black Widow Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The fully restored P-61 black widow is on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

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December 18, 2024 A Beautiful Restored Biplane Represents a Future That Never Was Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk was a light 1930s biplane fighter aircraft that was designed to launch from the United States Navy airships USS Akron and Macon.

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October 10, 2024 AirSpace Season 9 Episode 11: Flak-Bait, Ooh Ha Ha! Story | AirSpace Podcast

During WWII one plane survived more missions than any other in Europe. Named 'Flak-Bait,' this medium bomber was saved from the scrap heap after the war and immediately donated to the Smithsonian. However, public display and outdated restoration techniques have taken a toll on the plane.

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September 23, 2024 The Birth of Military Aviation Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The National Air and Space Museum’s World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation gallery will highlight the war's central role in defining the nature of military aviation and the remarkable experiences of World War I aviators.

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September 23, 2024 Jumbo Jet Story | Air & Space Quarterly

How the National Air and Space Museum acquired the Boeing 747 for America by Air exhibition. 

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September 12, 2024 AirSpace Season 9, Episode 9: Birds of a Feather Story | AirSpace Podcast

It's a bird? It's a plane? Its a guy pretending to be a bird?? We have a very odd aircraft in the collection. 

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August 09, 2024 The Martin K-III Kitten Story

When the K-III’s designer James Vernon Martin offered the diminutive aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum in 1924, he presented it as “the first aeroplane in the entire world to incorporate the retractable chassis.”  The aircraft is a one-of-kind, experimental World War I era single-seat scout biplane.

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