Curators and historians from the National Air and Space Museum trace the history of flight, from humanity’s early aspirations for aerial transit, to 12 breathtaking seconds at Kitty Hawk, to the advances that came with global combat, and how jet engines and digital technology are opening a new future for aviation.
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Flight since the Jet Age revolution has been informed by digital technologies. Fly-by-wire and computational fluid dynamics have improved efficiency and performance while space-based navigation and surveillance have created operational efficiencies and improvements in safety. The resulting advances in autonomy have opened new avenues for drones in war and commerce that are yielding dramatic changes in daily life and international affairs.
Aircraft curator Roger Connor reveals how the advent of vertical takeoff and landing technologies is opening long-held visions of mobility that are independent of existing airport infrastructures while rapid developments in electric flight and alternative fuels provide the promise of future flight that is both more versatile and sustainable.
Additional Sessions of the History of Flight Series
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