Aviation History

Dreams of flight are as old as humankind itself. […]

As always, Beryl Erickson, the first pilot of the B-36 Peacemaker and the B-58 Hustler (among other aircraft), is well prepared. He has carefully assembled a half dozen or so stacks of photographs on two couches in his living room. […]

As military aviation struggled to find its place in the period between the world wars, budget restraints, disorganization, and politics almost destroyed the fledgling Air Service. […]

Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. […]

In 1934, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that forced aircraft manufacturers to separate from airline companies. […]

The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official national museum of the United States Air Force and is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, east of Dayton, Ohio […]

Throughout the 1930s, new bomber aircraft emerged in all countries. However, these older models were inadequate to carry out the theories of strategic bombing. […]

The Library of Congress and its American Folklife Center invite you to join us in the Veterans History Project. […]

When World War II ended in August 1945, the U.S. government canceled its orders for bomber aircraft. Boeing plants that had been producing the B-17 and B-29 bombers in large numbers shut down and soon, 30,000 Boeing employees were out of work. […]

General aviation airplanes have historically served the public’s needs for personal and business travel, as well as for sport and recreational aviation. […]