Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography

From Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography
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This photograph, perhaps the most famous in aviation history, was taken at about 10:35 on the morning of December 17, 1903. It shows the world’s first airplane taking off for the first time. Orville Wright is piloting the machine, while Wilbur runs along beside. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 101) U.S. Air Mail pilot William C. “Wild Bill” Hopson strikes a cocky pose before a flight from Omaha to Chicago in 1921. Hopson earned a reputation for disobeying Post Office flight regulations. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 117) The Aquabelles from the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and Army Air Corps officers pose on the wing of Boeing’s experimental XB-15 bomber. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 157) Robert Goddard shows off one of his A-series rockets in front of his workshop in Roswell, New Mexico, in the mid-1930s. He gave the Smithsonian a rocket almost identical to this one in 1935. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 174)

Three U.S. military rockets stand on display before the Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building, circa 1960. In those days, the area outside the museum building became known as Rocket Row. (National Air and Space Museum, p. 198) The Rutan SpaceShipOne is in the museum’s collection. (Dane A. Penland, p. 266) Not designed to be disassembled, the B-29 Enola Gay posed interesting problems during restoration, which took more than 300,000 man-hours. (National Air and Space Museum Collections Management, p. 362) Nearly a decade after its opening, almost 200 aircraft can be viewed each day at the Boeing Hangar. (National Air and Space Museum Collections Management, p. 368)