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.

How did you become a pilot for the SR-71 Blackbird? Buzz Carpenter knows. He started flying the SR-71 in 1975 after a week-long interview process that included an astronaut physical. Buzz shares what it was like becoming a Blackbird pilot, how pilots used their 580-degree windows to heat up their lunches, and how the aircraft got the nickname Habu.  

Working on the Museum’s Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall gave us a unique opportunity to take a close look at many of the objects that have been on display since the gallery opened in 1976. The renovation of the gallery also allowed our photographers a rare opportunity to capture some very unique views of our aircraft, inside and out. This close inspection helped us uncover and rediscover interesting stories and facts. This is true of the Spirit of St. Louis, the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh famously piloted across the Atlantic.