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

Fact Sheet Search

  • General Electric J35-A-17D

    Originally developed by the General Electric Co. at the end of World War II, the J35 was the USAF's first axial-flow turbojet engine. In 1947 GE transferred responsibility for the production of the engine to the Allison Division of General Motors.The J35 engine powered two important USAF fighters,

  • General Electric J31

    Note: This engine is on display in the National Aviation Hall of Fame.The J31 (General Electric designation I-16) was the first turbojet engine produced in quantity in the United States. It was developed from the original American-built jet engine, the General Electric I-A (which was a copy of the

  • Allison V-3420

    The V-3420 is a 24-cylinder double-vee, twin-crankshaft, liquid-cooled engine derived from the V-1710, a 12-cylinder engine that powered such World War II aircraft as the Lockheed P-38, Bell P-39 and the Curtiss P-40.Essentially, the V-3420 is two V-1710 engines mounted on a single crankcase with

  • Allison T40

    The unusual Allison T40 turboprop engine combined two T38 gas turbine power sections that drove a common gearbox (turboprop engines typically have only one gas turbine power section). A unique version, the XT40-A-1, powered the experimental XF-84H aircraft. While most T40 engines drove

  • AFRL Pulsed Detonation Engine

    AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) personnel developed this Pulsed Detonation Engine (PDE) in the 2000s using mostly inexpensive, off-the-shelf automotive components. The engine worked by detonating the fuel-air mixture in repeated, controlled explosions. The resulting shockwaves created a peak

  • Republic YRF-84F FICON

    Please note: This aircraft is in storage.The museum’s YRF-84F participated in two U.S. Air Force experimental programs, the development of the F-84F fighter-bomber and later testing of the “parasite” fighter concept.The museum’s YRF-84F was the prototype of the F-84F Thunderstreak, which became a

  • Boeing YQM-94A Compass Cope B

    The YQM-94A was a high altitude, long-range, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) tested in the 1970s. It was designed for long-endurance photographic reconnaissance and electronic surveillance missions.Piloted from the ground, the YQM-94A received guidance signals through a radio link. A television and

  • Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II

    The YF-23A competed in the late 1980s/early 1990s against the YF-22A in the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program.During the late 1970s, a new generation of Soviet fighters and Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) prompted the US Air Force to find a replacement for the F-15 Eagle air superiority

  • Hawker Siddeley XV-6A Kestrel

    The British-built Kestrel was a prototype Vertical/Short TakeOff and Landing (VSTOL) aircraft successfully tested in the 1960s. An improved version, known as the Harrier, became the world's first operational VSTOL fighter when it entered Royal Air Force (RAF) service in 1969.The first Kestrel began

  • Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3

    The product of a 1951 joint U.S. Air Force-U.S. Army initiative, the Bell XV-3 became the world's first successful Vertical Short TakeOff and Landing (VSTOL) tilt-rotor aircraft. By combining the takeoff and hovering capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, the