In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

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  • SPAD VII

    The famed American volunteers of the French Lafayette Escadrille were flying the SPAD VII in February 1918 at the time they transferred to the U.S. Army Air Service, becoming the 103rd Aero Squadron. Several other U.S. units also used the SPAD VII, although most American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

  • Meeting the Challenge: The Wright Brothers

    Although heavier-than-air powered flight posed more difficult problems than other methods of flight, it also held the greatest potential. To achieve heavier-than-air flight, the problems of control and aerodynamic lift had to be solved, along with the development of a lightweight engine for

  • Wright Brothers, 1909-1910

    On June 20, 1909, the Wrights returned to Washington with a new and somewhat improved airplane, the 1909 Flyer. Official trials began on July 27 when Orville Wright flew 1 hour, 12 minutes, 40 seconds with Lt. Lahm on board as observer. The final trial flight was made on July 30 when Orville flew

  • Tragedy Strikes

    Tragedy struck during a flight on Sept. 17, 1908, when the right propeller on the 1908 Flyer fouled a guy wire, causing the plane to crash to earth. Orville Wright was seriously injured, while Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, along on the flight as a passenger, was fatally injured, thus becoming the first

  • Wright Brothers, 1908

    Orville Wright brought the 1908 Flyer to Fort Myer, Va., on Aug. 20, 1908. Beginning on Sept. 3, he made public flights almost daily, and as the word spread, people flocked to Fort Myer in droves. On Sept. 9, he stayed aloft more than an hour, establishing a record, and later the same day he took

  • Wright Brothers, 1907

    President Theodore Roosevelt heard of the Wrights and their flying machine and directed the U.S. Army to investigate their claims of having flown. This interest led to meetings with the Wrights, and on Dec. 23, 1907, Specification No. 486 was issued for a "Heavier-than-air Flying Machine." On Feb.

  • Mastering Flight at Huffman Prairie

    During 1904-1905, the Wrights continued researching the mysteries of flight at Huffman Prairie near the Simms Station trolley stop (now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio). In September 1904 Wilbur Wright reached a significant milestone. After ascending over Huffman Prairie in the Flyer

  • Conquering the Sky: Dec. 17, 1903

    Pictured is the take-off of the 1903 Wright Flyer on the world's first powered, sustained and controlled heavier-than-air flight on Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Piloted by Orville Wright, the airplane remained aloft for 12 seconds and flew a distance of 120 feet in a straight line.After

  • Original 1903 Wright Flyer Fabric

    The world's first successful, controlled, powered, manned heavier-than-air craft, the Wright 1903 Flyer, made only four flights, all on Dec. 17 of that year, before a gust of wind overturned it and damaged it extensively. Rather than repair it, the Wrights developed improved versions, but

  • Wright Brothers, 1903

    By 1903, the Wrights had solved two of the three basic problems associated with developing a successful flying machine -- lift and control. The problem of adding a lightweight power plant for propulsion remained.In the summer of 1903, they built a 40-feet, 4-inch span airplane that incorporated all