On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 to Mach 1.06 over the Mojave Desert - with two broken ribs and a sawed-off broomstick in his pocket.
TaildraggerHow a retired Army captain's unconventional tactics turned 112 volunteer pilots and shark-mouthed P-40 Warhawks into the most effective fighter unit in Asia.
TaildraggerHarold Gillam flew Alaska's most brutal conditions for fifteen years before a January 1943 crash in the coastal mountains claimed the territory's most storied bush pilot.
TaildraggerRoscoe Turner won the Thompson Trophy three times between 1934 and 1939, setting a record no pilot ever broke - in an era that was simply too dangerous to last.
TaildraggerThe de Havilland Mosquito was a WWII British bomber built from birch plywood that outran Luftwaffe fighters - a private venture the Air Ministry initially rejected.
TaildraggerOn July 23, 1983, a metric conversion error drained Air Canada Flight 143 of fuel at 41,000 feet - and a glider pilot's instincts saved all 69 people aboard.
TaildraggerBeryl Markham completed the first solo nonstop east-to-west Atlantic crossing on September 4–5, 1936, flying 3,600 miles in 21 hours against prevailing headwinds.
TaildraggerDon Sheldon of Talkeetna, Alaska spent two decades flying climbers onto Denali's glaciers and built the historic Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier in 1966.
TaildraggerThe F4U Corsair was rejected by the Navy for carrier use, given to the Marines, and became the most feared fighter in the Pacific - serving through two wars across 13 years of production.
TaildraggerIn 1924, eight U.S. Army Air Service pilots completed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe in open-cockpit Douglas World Cruisers, covering 26,345 miles in 175 days.
TaildraggerThe Enola Gay's story spans the most consequential bombing mission in history, decades of outdoor neglect, a painstaking restoration, and a museum controversy that cost a director his job.
TaildraggerThe USAF Heritage Flight program pairs privately-owned WWII warbirds with active-duty jets at airshows, bridging eighty years of American airpower since 1997.
TowerWiley Post lost his eye in a 1926 oil field accident, used the settlement to buy an airplane, and went on to fly solo around the world and discover the jet stream.
TaildraggerOn April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly the English Channel - a landmark achievement largely buried by the sinking of the Titanic.
TaildraggerClyde Pangborn completed the first nonstop Pacific crossing in 1931, flying 4,558 miles in 41 hours after deliberately dropping his landing gear over open ocean.
TaildraggerOn December 14, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager departed Edwards AFB and flew nonstop, unrefueled around the world in 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds.
TaildraggerHow an 18-year grassroots restoration brought Doc, a 1944 B-29 Superfortress, from a desert weapons range back to airworthy flight over Wichita.
TaildraggerDon Sheldon pioneered routine glacier landings in the Alaska Range, completing 500+ rescues and supply missions into terrain that stopped other pilots cold.
TaildraggerFrank Luke recorded 18 aerial victories in 17 days in September 1918, becoming America's deadliest balloon buster and the AEF's second-highest scoring ace.
TaildraggerThe Pitts Special biplane transformed American aerobatics into a world-class program - and Aviat Aircraft in Wyoming still builds new ones today.
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