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An author's journey recounting the first single-day transcontinental flight across the United States in 1924.

Before and during World War II, the Civilian Pilot Training Program trained thousands of licensed pilots and increased "airmindedness" nationwide. 

Some Smithsonian artifacts that memorialize these achievements might be closer to you than you realize. Through collaborations with affiliate organizations, the Smithsonian sponsors traveling exhibitions and loans artifacts to museums throughout the United States and abroad. 

Chauncey Spencer and Dale White were charged with flying to DC to advocate for opportunities for Black pilots.

In 1923, the U.S. Army Air Service announced it was going to attempt a flight around the globe.  

U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lt. John A. Macready and Lt. Oakley G. Kelly made the first nonstop transcontinental flight.

How Calbraith Perry Rodgers became the first person to fly across America.

Fifty years after his death, and nearly 100 since he was thrust into the global spotlight, Charles Lindbergh’s legacy remains complicated.

The mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937 persists to the present day.  

The Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk was a light 1930s biplane fighter aircraft that was designed to launch from the United States Navy airships USS Akron and Macon.