For the past eight years, aerobatic aviator Sean D. Tucker has performed daring tricksin his Oracle Challenger III. Now, it’ll become part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.

Pilot Katherine Stinson flipped the conventions of her era on their head--literally and figuratively--when she became the first female pilot to fly the loop on July 18, 1915.

To celebrate the RAF’s 100th anniversary, get to know a bit about these British aircraft, their owners, and what drew their pilots to flight.

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. 

Aerospace pioneers make all kinds of new discoveries during their careers—some even find that special someone along the way.

On October 4, 2017, Shaesta Waiz became the youngest woman to fly solo around the globe in a single-engine plane. Before completing her historic flight, the Afghan refugee visited the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum to share her story and what helped her succeed. 

Aviator Shaesta Waiz and her Dreams Soars, Inc, "Dream Team" promoted STEM education to girls from DC Metro Public Schools at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Ariel Tweto is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, but getting her blood pumping isn’t the only reason she flies. Last month, Tweto flew for a purpose — to raise awareness about aviation — as she participated in her first air race, the Air Race Classic.

On May 21, 1937, record-setting pilot and celebrity Amelia Earhart set out to become the first woman to fly around the world. By July 2, she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, had flown more than 35,406 kilometers (22,000 miles). They intended to make three final but long over-water flights across the Pacific Ocean to complete the voyage: from New Guinea to Howland Island, Howland to Hawaii, and Hawaii to San Francisco, California. Instead, they disappeared en route to Howland Island.

Not to be upstaged by the balloonist Jacques Alexandre César Charles, who launched the first hydrogen balloon in on August 1783, the brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier sent a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft in a wicker cage dangling beneath a hot air balloon. The flight took place on September 19, 1783, before an enormous crowd, including the Royal family, gathered in front of the royal Palace of Versailles.