Milestones of Flight

Experience the history of flight with the world-class aviation collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, which attracts millions and millions of visitors each year in Washington, D.C.

From the moment the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903 to the modern-day reliance on stealth aircraft and drones, there have been significant advances made in aviation. Milestones of Flight celebrates each era of advancements by showcasing the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's world-class aircraft collection. Authored by Dr. Robert van der Linden, a leading expert on aviation and Chairman of the Aeronautics Department at the NASM, this book is a stunning profile of the advancements in flight from decade to decade, illustrated with beautiful, large-scale photography and enhanced with little-known facts, anecdotes, and insights from major players in the aviation industry.

Climb inside the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis that Charles Lindbergh piloted solo across the Atlantic Ocean, making history. Contrast that with a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. The full-page photos of each milestone-making aircraft are accompanied by timelines to showcase related aircraft as well as sidebars with interesting and little-known facts, stories, and related research.

Milestone categories include:

- Era of Early Flight

- World War I First Fighters

- Long-Range Record-Setting Flight

- Popular Flight

- First Commercial Airliners

- World War II Aircraft

- Experimental Flight

- Cold War Military/Korean Conflict Aircraft

- Commercial Jets

- Modern Military Aircraft

What will the next milestone be?