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U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lt. John A. Macready and Lt. Oakley G. Kelly made the first nonstop transcontinental flight.

Not far away is the wreckage of his U.S. Navy Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter, near the barrier islands known as the Outer Banks, my uncle Roy Len Lee’s remains lie at the bottom of the sea. He was one of thousands of Americans who left their families to fight for their country and perished in training.

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, but today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire. We talk to a pilot about what it's like to fly one.

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, but today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire. We talk to a pilot about what it's like to fly one.

Conservators had the rare opportunity to examine the cockpit of the Museum's North American X-15-1, allowing the stabilization of its delicate plastic components. 

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.

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.

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

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

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.