How the B-26 Marauder Flak-Bait flew ~207 combat missions without losing a crewman - and why the Smithsonian is conserving her rivet by rivet.
TaildraggerOn its final flight in 1990, SR-71 Blackbird tail 972 set four world speed records flying LA to DC in 64 minutes, then retired to the Smithsonian.
TaildraggerHow Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis on October 14, 1947 - and why she now hangs in the Smithsonian.
TaildraggerFlak-Bait, the B-26 Marauder that flew a record 207 combat missions, is being conserved at the Smithsonian exactly as she came home.
TaildraggerFlak-Bait flew 207 combat missions in WWII - and the Smithsonian is preserving her battle damage instead of restoring her to shine.
TaildraggerOn March 6, 1990, SR-71 Blackbird 972 flew Los Angeles to Washington in 64 minutes on its final flight to the Smithsonian.
TaildraggerFlak-Bait, the B-26 Marauder that survived 207 combat missions, is being conserved - not restored - at the Smithsonian with every scar intact.
TaildraggerHow Flak-Bait, a B-26 Marauder, flew a record 207 combat missions in WWII and survives today at the Smithsonian.
TaildraggerOn March 6, 1990, an SR-71 Blackbird crossed the US in 67 minutes 54 seconds on its final flight to the Smithsonian.
TaildraggerThe 1924 Douglas World Cruiser Chicago made the first flight around the world - and still hangs in the Smithsonian today.
TaildraggerThe Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was the fastest piston-engined fighter of WWII, reaching ~475 mph - but only around 40 were ever built.
Taildragger