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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  • Wright Brothers, 1902

    Between the fall of 1901 and the summer of 1902, the Wrights developed and tested more than 50 airfoil sections on a modified bicycle and in a homemade wind tunnel. At last they had solved the problem of calculating lift.Using the tables they developed, the Wrights built a 32-foot span glider. In

  • Wright Brothers, 1901

    Encouraged by their experience with their first glider, the Wrights built a 22-foot span glider in 1901. It followed the basic design of their first glider but incorporated a pilot's hip-cradle for operating the wing-warping control cables. The Wrights flew this glider at Kill Devil Hills in the

  • Wright Brothers, 1900

    Bicycles to Flyers After limited success in the printing business, Wilbur and Orville Wright decided to sell and repair bicycles. They opened up the first of several bicycle shops in 1893, and three years later, the Wrights began building bicycles of their own design. The successful bicycle business

  • Wright Bicycle

    This bicycle sprocket hub and sprockets from the Wright Bicycle Co. are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Wrights later used a bicycle-type chain drive in their early airplanes. Also on display are a composting stick and metal type from the Wright printing

  • Charles E. Taylor (1868-1956): The First Aviation Mechanic

    Charlie Taylor was a brilliant, self-taught mechanic who made a crucial contribution to the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane. When a suitable engine was not available for the first flight, he designed and built the first successful airplane engine in only six weeks. This made the Wright

  • Wright Brothers 1901 Wind Tunnel

    This is a replica of the wind tunnel designed and built by the Wright Brothers in the fall of 1901 to test airfoil designs. The blower fan, driven by an overhead belt, produced a 25 to 35 mph wind for testing the lift of various planes and curved surfaces. Aerodynamic tables derived from these tests

  • Kellett K-2/K-3 Autogiro

    Before World War II, aeronautical engineers sought to build an aircraft capable of making short takeoffs and landings. Eventually, their efforts produced the helicopter, but they also pursued a less common design -- the autogiro. Like helicopters, autogiros used a rotary wing to produce lift.

  • U.S. Army Ballooning Renewed

    The rise of civilian sport ballooning and the personal interest of two Signal Corps balloon pilots, Lt. Frank P. Lahm and Capt. Charles DeForest Chandler, renewed the U.S. Army ballooning program.U.S. Army balloonists participated in the Gordon Bennett balloon competition, in which the team that

  • Creation of the Aeronautical Division

    On Aug. 1, 1907, at the recommendation of Maj. George O. Squier, Brig. Gen. James Allen, Chief Signal Officer (1906-1913) of the U.S. Army, established the Aeronautical Division under his office, placing Capt. Charles D. Chandler in command. He tasked this embryonic organization with "all matters

  • Fairchild PT-19A Cornell

    Fairchild developed the PT-19 in 1938 to satisfy a military requirement for a rugged monoplane primary trainer, and it went into quantity production in 1940. In addition to those manufactured by Fairchild, the Aeronca, Howard and St. Louis Aircraft Corps. produced Cornells. Fleet Aircraft Ltd.