Showing 21 - 30 of 747

A black and white photo of a young man in front of a cargo jet

September 08, 2025

Fred Smith’s Bold Vision

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Frederick W. Smith was the longtime CEO and chairman of FedEx, a company he founded more than 50 years ago. 

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Air traffic controllers in a control tower at work.

September 07, 2025

Operation Air Safety and the Founding of PATCO

Story

Lasting nearly two months, Operation Air Safety was the first time that a group of federal employees used a nationally coordinated job action to obtain an agreement on working conditions. PATCO's actions also helped secure additional air traffic control funding—Congress added emergency money to the FAA's hiring budget shortly after the slow-down started—and contributed to the passage of legislation providing overtime pay for controllers.

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Vintage black-and-white photograph of a person with a bicycle standing beside a large seaplane on a tarmac, with a hangar building in the background.

August 22, 2025

The Tadpole Clipper: A Fully Operational 3/8 Scale Aircraft

Story

How many modelers have ever heard of, let alone built, a fully operational 3/8-scale aircraft capable of carrying an onboard pilot?

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World War II aircraft silhouette with the words HOME FRONT graphically overlaid. The background is green and the Museum and AirSpace logos are featured.

August 14, 2025

How Wartime Aviators Learned to Fly

Story | AirSpace Presents: Home Front

Before and during World War II, the Civilian Pilot Training Program trained thousands of licensed pilots and increased "airmindedness" nationwide. 

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A young white man in a World War I military uniform poses with his arms crossed in front of a biplane.

July 30, 2025

What Did It Mean to Be a Flying Ace?

Story

The term “ace” emerged in World War I to refer to an aviator who shot down five or more enemy aircraft.  

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A picture of four women in flight gear walking confidently away from a plane. Overtop the image is a purple wash and the AirSpace logo.

July 22, 2025

AirSpace Revisited: Fly Girl

Story | AirSpace Podcast

The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were a huge part of civilian aviation during WWII. Ahead of our new limited series, Home Front, we've brought back our season four episode where we highlighted the heroic service and enduring legacy of WASP. 

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A woman in a pink sweater with amputated legs smiles while sitting on the wing of an airplane.

July 16, 2025

Three History-Making Aviators with Disabilities You'll Want to Know

Story

Americans with disabilities have made history flying almost since the airplane was invented.

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A close-up, head-on view of the nose and cockpit section of a gray U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender aircraft parked in an aircraft boneyard, with mountains in the distant background.

June 24, 2025

Air Crews Remember the Reliable KC-10 with Affection

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

After 44 years of excellence as a tanker, the U.S. Air Force retires the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender. 

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A white man in his early 50s is wearing a dark gray suit with a blue shirt and tie. His hands are clasped in front of him. He is standing inside a museum display hangar with several types of military airplanes parked behind him.

June 24, 2025

How a Military Veteran Became a Museum Professional

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

An interview with Patrick Leonini, the supervisor of photography at the National Air and Space Museum.

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An upward-looking shot shows a dark-colored, single-engine Stinson Reliant monoplane with red markings on its wing, suspended indoors from the ceiling of a multi-story building with a glass atrium roof.

June 24, 2025

See These Pioneering Air- and Spacecraft in Your Town

Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Some Smithsonian artifacts that memorialize these achievements might be closer to you than you realize. Through collaborations with affiliate organizations, the Smithsonian sponsors traveling exhibitions and loans artifacts to museums throughout the United States and abroad. 

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