Claire Chennault, the American Volunteer Group, and the Shark-Nose P-40 That Fought a War Before America Did
The Flying Tigers flew combat against Japan before America entered WWII, led by a tactical genius the Army had discarded and proven right.
The Hangar
Aviation history and storytelling with Taildragger. Warbird restorations, legendary pilots, famous flights, and the stories that shaped aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Space Shuttle.
Don Sheldon, the Talkeetna Air Service, and the Glacier Landings on Denali That Made a Super Cub Immortal
Don Sheldon pioneered glacier landings on Denali for over two decades, building the techniques and standards that Alaska mountain aviation still relies on today.
Edwin Musick, the Martin M-130 China Clipper, and the Eight Thousand Miles of Open Pacific That Pan American Airways Crossed in November of Nineteen Thirty-Five
On November 22, 1935, Edwin Musick flew the Martin M-130 China Clipper from California to Manila, completing the first scheduled transpacific air crossing in history.
Flak-Bait, the Martin B Twenty-Six Marauder That Flew Two Hundred Seven Combat Missions, and the Smithsonian Restoration That Took Decades to Complete
Flak-Bait, a Martin B-26 Marauder, flew 207 combat missions in WWII - more than any other American aircraft - and now sits at the Smithsonian bearing every mark it earned.
Frank Luke, the Arizona Balloon Buster, and the Seventeen Days That Made the Second-Greatest Ace of the First World War
Frank Luke Jr. scored 18 aerial victories in 17 days in 1918, making him the second-highest American ace of WWI through the most dangerous attack runs of the war.
Ivan Gates, the Gates Flying Circus, and the Man Who Turned Barnstorming Into a Brand
Ivan Gates built America's most famous flying circus in the 1920s without ever piloting a plane - transforming surplus WWI Jennys into a nationwide spectacle.
Lincoln Beachey, the Man Who Owned the Sky, and the Death Dive That Stopped a World's Fair
Lincoln Beachey was the most famous aviator in America before his death at 28 - his flying redefined what aircraft could do and built public trust in aviation.
Operation Chastise, the Bouncing Bomb, and the Night Six-One-Seven Squadron Broke the Ruhr Dams
On 16 May 1943, RAF 617 Squadron flew nineteen modified Lancasters at 60 feet to breach the Ruhr dams in one of aviation's most precisely engineered raids.
The Lady Be Good, the B-24 That Flew Past Its Base in the Dark, and the Desert Mystery That Took Sixteen Years to Solve
The Lady Be Good, a WWII B-24 Liberator, was found intact in the Sahara 16 years after a faulty radio compass led its crew to bail out 240 miles inside the desert.
The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the Mach-Three Bomber That McNamara Cancelled, and the One Survivor Standing in the Dayton Museum That Still Stops People Cold
The XB-70 Valkyrie - America's only Mach-3 strategic bomber - was cancelled by McNamara, lost one airframe in a midair collision, and survives today in Dayton.
The Vought F4U Corsair, the Inverted Gull Wing, and the Fighter the Navy Rejected Before the Marines Made It Famous
The F4U Corsair was rejected by the U.S. Navy for carrier operations in 1942, then became one of WWII's most lethal fighters - and stayed in combat through Korea.
Wiley Post, the Winnie Mae, and the Solo Flight Around the World That One Eye Never Should Have Made
Wiley Post flew solo around the world in 1933 with one eye, a mechanical autopilot, and an elastic cord - then built the first pressure suit in aviation history.
Bessie Coleman, the Caudron Brothers' School in France, and the First License No American School Would Issue
Bessie Coleman became the world's first Black female pilot in 1921 by crossing the Atlantic to train in France after every American flight school refused her admission.
Chuck Yeager, the Bell X-One Glamorous Glennis, and the October Morning at Muroc When the Sound Barrier Broke
On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first person to exceed Mach 1 in the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis - with two cracked ribs and a piece of broomstick.
Doc the Boeing B Twenty-Nine Superfortress, the Sixteen-Year Desert Rescue, and the Wichita Volunteers Who Put Her Back in the Air
Doc the B-29 Superfortress spent 44 years in the Mojave Desert before volunteers restored her to flight in 2016 - one of only two airworthy examples of the Pacific War's decisive bomber.
Harold Gillam, the Weather Witch of Alaska, and the January Mountain That Stopped the Best Bad-Weather Pilot in the North
Harold Gillam was Alaska's most feared bad-weather pilot - until a January 1943 mountain in southeastern Alaska ended his legendary career and stranded five survivors for 32 days.
Igor Sikorsky, the Vought-Sikorsky Three Hundred, and the September Morning That Built the Helicopter
On September 14, 1939, Igor Sikorsky flew the VS-300 in Stratford, Connecticut, proving the single-main-rotor design that defines nearly every helicopter built since.
Jimmy Doolittle, the Guggenheim Full Panel, and the September Morning at Mitchel Field That Made Blind Flying Possible
On September 24, 1929, Jimmy Doolittle completed the first fully hooded instrument flight at Mitchel Field, proving pilots could navigate safely without any visual reference to the outside world.
Ormer Locklear, the Wing Walker From Fort Worth, and the Hollywood Night That Killed the Greatest Showman in Barnstorming
Ormer Locklear was barnstorming's greatest showman - a Fort Worth carpenter who turned wing walking into art before dying on camera in 1920.
Tex Johnston, the Dash Eighty, and the Barrel Roll That Sold the Boeing Seven Oh Seven
On August 7, 1955, Boeing test pilot Tex Johnston rolled a prototype 707 twice over Lake Washington - a moment that became one of aviation's most legendary stories.