The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum is one of the highlight museums of Washington DCs museum quarter. The museum has an excellent display of some of the United States' aeronautical heritage. The museum is free and located at 655 Jefferson Drive, SW Washington, DC 20560. https://airandspace.si.edu/
The Spirit of Saint Louis and Space One
The Pioneers
This earlier Wright glider has much simpler control surfaces.
Wright glider. This piloted glider was used by the brothers to test their improved flight controls.
The Wright Flyer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer
The Wright Flyer.
The First World War
French Voisin VIII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voisin_VIII
British Royal Aircraft Factory FE 8 pusher. When the Germans introduced the Fokker Eindecker with forward firing interrupter gear, the impact on Allied aircraft was instantaneous. The Fokkers cleared the skies and Allied planes fell from the skies. Pusher aircraft which avoided the challenge of firing through the propeller were rushed into production. Aircraft like the Fe 8 and DH 2 were still inferior to the Fokker. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_F.E.8
Pfalz DXII https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfalz_D.XII
SPAD S XIII. Built by the French company, Societe Pour L'Aviation et ses Derives, the SPAD series were a popular fighter used by many Allied airforces. The US Army Airforce used them extensively during the First World War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAD_S.XIII
German Fokker DVIII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.VII
German Albatross D.V https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V
The 20s and 30s
Lockheed Model 8 Sirus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Model_8_Sirius
US interwar fighter, the Boeing
The Hughes H-1 racer set a world airspeed record in 1935. One of the aircraft's main features is its flush riveting to reduce drag. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-1_Racer
The Hughes H-1 broke the speed record for land planes on 13 September 1935 with an average speed of 352.39 miles per hour over four timed passes. It may seem strange to modern sensibilities, but the fastest aircraft in the world was the Macchi M.C. 72 seaplane, holder of the Schneider Trophy at 440 miles per hour.
The streamlining concepts demonstrated in the Hughes H-1 were put into practice by companies like Northrop, who developed them into the Alpha and Gamma transport monoplane. The Gamma at the Smithsonian was used in a trans-Antarctic expedition in 1935.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Gamma
Northrop Alpha mailplane. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Alpha
Amelia Earhart's Lookheed Vega "Winnie Mae"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Vega
The Second World War
World War Two fighters. North American P51 Mustang below and Italian Macchi C205 above.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_C.202
German Messerschmitt 109G https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109
Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero
North American Mustang P-51D https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang
Bell P-59 Airacomet. This was the US' first jet aircraft. The jet was first flown in 1942 and developed through the war. It was 'ready' in 1944 but its performance was not any better than a piston engine fighter so the contract was cancelled.
Space Flight and the Jet Era
German V1 flying bomb
Apollo moon lander
Northrop M2-F3. The purpose of this experiment was to test the flight characteristics of a wingless, reusable re-entry vehicle for space exploration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F3
The space race display acknowledges the debt the US had to the German rocket scientists.
A monumental moment in history - the Apollo and Soyuz capsules meet in space in July 1975.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo-soyuz/astp_mission.html
The V1 sails over head of the V2.
Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of Saint Louis.
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