Developed for the USAF as reconnaissance aircraft more than 30 years ago, SR-71s are still the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days.

Hispanics served in ground and seabound combat units, but they also distinguished themselves as fighter pilots and as bombardiers.

In the spring of 1971, big things were in the air for the 190th. The Pentagon announced that the Squadron was to be reequipped, this time to be with RF-4 "Phantom" jets.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which is observed annually on December 7, is a holiday to remember and honor all those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The movie Thirteen Days explains just how threatened the United States was with nuclear war during the fall of 1962. Most Americans know very little about this impending danger that could have destroyed a major portion of our population.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise aerial attack largely on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, and the USA launched by the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy of the task force Carrier Striking Task Force on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941

The P-26A marked a significant step in the evolution of fighter aircraft -- it became the U.S. Army Air Corps' first all-metal monoplane fighter in regular service.

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. The mission was commanded by Charles "Pete" Conrad. It was launched on November 14, 1969, four months after Apollo 11.

Aerial refueling allows aircraft engines to receive fuel while in flight and today is common for many large air forces. It is the equivalent of refueling your car by connecting it to a tanker truck while driving down the highway at high speed.

The creation of Air Combat Command (ACC) on 1 June 1992 resulted in part from dramatic changes in the international arena.

Apollo 11 Anniversary Resources

The Boeing P-12 or F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy.

Aviation history and facts from the month of June

Aviation history facts and events from the month of May

Before World War II, in 1939, jet engines existed only as laboratory items for test. But at the end of the war, in 1945, it was clear that the future of aviation lay with jets. The new engines gave great power and thrust, but were compact in size. They also were simple in their overall layout.

Early Years On Aug. 1, 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established a small Aeronautical Division to take "charge of all matters pertaining to military ballooning, air machines and all kindred subjects.

A list of aviation facts from the month of April

Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr. (30 January 1922 - 25 August 1954) was the top American ace during the Korean War. A native of Dover, New Hampshire, Captain McConnell shot down 16 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s while flying F-86 Sabres with the U.S. Air Force.

At the end of World War I, the aircraft industry took a sharp nosedive. Several wartime aircraft companies closed their doors and others barely survived. One year after the Armistice, 90 percent of wartime production capacity had been eliminated.

The U.S. aircraft industry experienced huge growth during World War II. Moreover, its achievements, some claim, were as important to Allied victory as the military successes on the battlefield. American industry was fortunate in that it could operate without threat of air bombardment or other military damage to factories and without shortages of critical materials. And the industry used those advantages fully.

Aviation history facts and events from the month of March

If residents of Western Nevada had looked high up in the sky on the morning of Oct. 24, 1968, they might have seen the sun glinting off the fuselage of a silver, eight-engine NB-52A Stratofortress as it made a graceful turn over Smith Ranch Dry Lake.

Historical aviation facts and events from the month of February

The Concorde supersonic airliner, built jointly by France and Great Britain, to this day remains the only such supersonic plane to operate successfully in commercial service and has earned its prominent place in aeronautical history.

Early airmail flight was dangerous and its pilots needed to have a considerable amount of the daredevil in them to brave the risks. But whether these pioneers exhibited extraordinary (or perhaps foolhardy) bravery or were merely doing their job, the careers of the members of this "suicide club" were like those of few others.

By the end of the 1920s, biplanes were becoming obsolete and manufacturers turned to building all-metal monoplanes. Boeing Aircraft led this technological revolution with welded steel tubing for fuselage structure. This soon became standard in the industry until it was replaced by monocoque sheet metal structures in the mid-1930s.

Historical aviation facts from the Month of January

The American and European aviation industries began to develop within a few years of each other, but Europe took the first formal steps to establish dedicated aircraft companies in the early decades of the 20th century. During this time, there was a shift from aircraft designers, builders, and pilots all being the same people to having entrepreneurs who ran the business and built the planes and others who flew them.

While Americans and Japanese alike expected the war to end only after a bloody invasion of Japan, the U. S. government was readying a secret weapon that would dramatically affect the war's outcome.

A listing of aviation history facts from the month of December

A listing of aviation history facts from the month of November

Sputnik (translated as “satellite” or “traveling companion of the Earth”), trailing four metal antennas, passed through the skies over the launch site confirming that a human-made moon was now orbiting the Earth. The “Space Age” had begun.

A listing of important aviation facts, events and happenings from October.

The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Force, that fought in World War II.

The Culver Cadet was an American two-seat light monoplane aircraft, and later a radio-controlled drone, produced by the Culver Aircraft Company.

A listing of important aviation facts, events and happenings from September.

Aviation facts from the month of August.

At 1410 on 5 December 1945, five TBM Avengers comprising Flight 19 rose into the sunny sky above NAS Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Turning east the formation headed out over the Atlantic on the first leg of a routine exercise from which neither the 14 men of Flight 19 nor the 13-man crew of a PBM Mariner sent out to search for them were ever to return.

Aviation history facts that happened in July.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, the airplane was hardly more than a dangerous plaything employed at fairs and circuses. Its potential was regarded lightly, when not contemptuously dismissed.

At about 2:10 p.m. on the afternoon of 5 December 1945, Flight 19, consisting of five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers departed from the U. S. Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on an authorized advanced overwater navigational training flight.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days.

The fundamental key to success in aerospace flight test and evaluation is the individual member of the flight test team: the flight test pilot, of course, but nowadays the trained flight test engineer and navigator as well.

The first swept-wing airplane in the U.S. fighter inventory, the F-86 scored consistent victories over Russian-built MiG fighters during the Korean War, accounting for a final ratio of 10-to-1.

In the second half of the 20th century, the aircraft carrier became a symbol of the United States’ position as a superpower.

James "Jimmie" Doolittle is today most famous for his audacious B-25 bombing raid on Tokyo in the opening months of America's entry into World War II, an attack featured in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.

In 1940, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of Japan’s Imperial Navy informed his government that if Japan went to war, he would "guarantee to put up a tough fight for the first six months, but I have absolutely no confidence as to what might happen if it went on for two or three years."

As pilot of one of the most famous flights of WW II, which brought about a quicker surrender from the enemy and a reduction in the loss of Allied lives, and for his leadership and skill with both airplanes and people in times of stress, Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. is enshrined with honor into the National Aviation Hall of Fame

Humanity has been using rockets in warfare since the Chinese discovered gunpowder late in the first millennium.

NASA made aviation history with the first and second successful flights of a scramjet-powered airplane at hypersonic speeds - speeds greater than Mach 5 or five times the speed of sound.

The B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most famous airplanes ever built.

It takes thousands of people and thousands of man-hours to build a new type airplane, but the flight test and certification is where the rubber meets the road.

Perhaps the best way to define general aviation is to begin by listing what it is not. General aviation is not military aviation and it is not scheduled commercial aviation. To a great extent, all other uses of aviation in the United States fall into the category of general aviation.

When World War II ended in August 1945, the U.S. government cancelled most orders for bomber aircraft, which had been a mainstay of the aircraft industry. Total industry production dropped from 96,000 airplanes in 1944 to 1,330 military aircraft in 1946.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as the U.S. government agency most responsible for advancing flight-related technology.

When NASA received three SR-71s from the Air Force in 1990, Bohn-Meyer's expertise and F-104 experience made her an easy choice for one of two flight engineer slots for the aircraft.

Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager embody the very spirit and character of the word "pioneers." In December 1986, they became the first people to circumnavigate the world, nonstop, without refueling their plane, the Voyager.

Jimmy Doolittle excelled at every aspect of aviation. A daredevil pilot, aeronautical engineer, combat leader, and record-holder, Doolittle was a multi-talented pioneer.

The Boeing B-9 bomber was the earliest plane based on the Monomail design.

Throughout his career, Yeager displayed distinguished courage and performed several extraordinarily brave deeds.

Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, has died. He was 84 years old.

The all-metal, single-wing P-26, popularly known as the "Peashooter," was an entirely new design for Boeing.

The Lockheed Company, one of the giants in the modern aerospace industry, began in 1912 when the Loughead brothers, Allan and Malcolm, formed the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company in San Francisco.

For more than a half-century, some of aviation’s most amazing innovations and top developments have come from two places: the U.S. Air Force and the annual EAA AirVenture fly-in convention.

Sporting a distinctive V-shaped or “butterfly” tail, the Beechcraft Bonanza set the standard for the stylish yet well-equipped aircraft for the private pilot, albeit one who could afford to fly in relative luxury.

The United States Air Force became a separate military service on September 18, 1947, with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947. The Act created the United States Department of Defense, which was composed of three branches, the Army, Navy and a newly created Air Force.

By the end of the 1920s, biplanes were becoming obsolete and manufacturers turned to building all-metal monoplanes.

The Cessna Citation is a marketing name used by Cessna for its lines of business jets. Rather than one particular model of aircraft, the name applies to several "families" of turbofan-powered aircraft which have been produced over the years.

The Boeing Company, established by William Boeing, was the most successful company to get its start during the World War I era.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards.

The first missile warning satellites were born in the early days of the space race.

A unique aspect of the Korean War was the Pacific Airlift, the longest aerial supply line in history.

For almost 50 years, beginning soon after the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union have prepared for war. Fortunately, none was declared and no shot was ever fired.

Located in America's heartland, airmanship in the Wichita area began in the first decade of the century.

Dreams of flight are as old as humankind itself.

As always, Beryl Erickson, the first pilot of the B-36 Peacemaker and the B-58 Hustler (among other aircraft), is well prepared. He has carefully assembled a half dozen or so stacks of photographs on two couches in his living room.

As military aviation struggled to find its place in the period between the world wars, budget restraints, disorganization, and politics almost destroyed the fledgling Air Service.

Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated.

In 1934, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that forced aircraft manufacturers to separate from airline companies.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official national museum of the United States Air Force and is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, east of Dayton, Ohio

Throughout the 1930s, new bomber aircraft emerged in all countries. However, these older models were inadequate to carry out the theories of strategic bombing.

The Library of Congress and its American Folklife Center invite you to join us in the Veterans History Project.

When World War II ended in August 1945, the U.S. government canceled its orders for bomber aircraft. Boeing plants that had been producing the B-17 and B-29 bombers in large numbers shut down and soon, 30,000 Boeing employees were out of work.

General aviation airplanes have historically served the public's needs for personal and business travel, as well as for sport and recreational aviation.

The Gulf War was an anomaly compared to other wars of the second half of the 20th century.

In 1930, Boeing created the revolutionary Monomail, which made traditional biplane construction a design of the past.

The second decade of the twentieth century marked the beginning of the U.S. aircraft industry. Growth was slow though and companies remained small until the United States started supporting the needs generated by World War I.

Today, members of this generation are again answering a call, this time to restore a piece of the history they lived, as volunteers restoring the last B-29 bomber.

The concept of an international space station can be traced back to the mid-1800s when U.S. clergyman Edward Everett Hale wrote of a polar-orbiting satellite, built from 12 million bricks.

Dreams of spaceflight and its conquest are as old as humankind itself. These dreams were transformed into reality on April 12, 1961, when 27-year-old Flight Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first human to venture into space.

The F-16 introduced many successful technologies. Fly-by-wire and relaxed static stability gave the F-16 a quantum leap in air combat capability over other fighters when it was introduced and this technology still makes the aircraft an unmatched competitor today.

All eyes on the ground are fixated on the vintage World War II Stearman as it plummets from the sky, spiraling downward toward certain disaster.

Imagine stunt pilots and air racers whizzing through the sky at breakneck speeds for your entertainment.

The O-2, produced for the U.S. Army Air Service, was the first of a series that remained in production for nine years.

The Douglas World Cruiser was one of the most famous of the early Douglas airplanes.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces and other military organizations.

The Douglas DT Bomber was the company's first military contract, forging a link between Douglas and the U.S. Navy.

Aircraft designer Albert W. Mooney founded the company that bears his name, not once but twice, with vastly different levels of success.

The Cloudster was the first Douglas product. It was also the first airplane in history to airlift a useful load exceeding its own weight.

The model 40a was the first Boeing airplane to carry passengers, with room for two people in a tiny cabin, as well as cargo space for mail.

In 1928, Boeing introduced America's first airliner designed specifically for passenger comfort and convenience.

Early in 1928, Boeing built two new fighter biplanes using bolted aluminum tubing for the fuselage's inside structure.

The Model 15 (PW-9) was the first successful Boeing-designed fighter.

In January 2000, The Boeing Company purchased Hughes Electronics Corporation’s space and communications business and its related operations, originators of the Surveyor spacecraft and satellites 376, 601 and 702.

The Model C training seaplane was the first "all-Boeing" design and the company's first financial success.

The B-1 was a "pusher-style" flying boat, with its engine at the rear.

To attract new business, Boeing expanded its territory beyond aviation.

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy committed America to landing a person on the moon before the end of the decade.

While the Orbiter mapped the moon, Boeing engineers mapped the speed of sound.

By the late 1940s, technology had advanced to the point of making the jet engine practical.

As markets evolved, so did Boeing jets.

By 1983, the recession began to ease off, and the 1,000th 737 rolled out from the Renton plant.

As the '70s began, a number of factors came together to push Boeing into a crisis.

By the late 1950s, the technologies forged in the fires of World War II had impacted every aspect of business and manufacturing.

The years immediately following the end of World War II rocked with change. The military canceled its bomber orders; Boeing factories shut down and 70,000 people lost their jobs.

The first in a series of articles chronicling the Boeing company during World War II.

Following the Depression, 1934 antitrust legislation prevented airframe manufacturers from owning mail-carrying airlines.

After Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris in a Ryan monoplane in 1927, there was a tremendous surge of interest in aviation.

The Boeing Airplane Company began 1923 in a race with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to design the best pursuit fighter.

After the war ended Nov. 11, 1918, the military did not order more aircraft. Civilian biplanes were not selling either.

On July 15, 1916, Boeing incorporated his airplane manufacturing business as Pacific Aero Products Company; a year later, he changed the name to the Boeing Airplane Company.

The first B & W, completed in June 1916, was made of wood, linen, and wire.

In 1903, two events launched the history of modern aviation. The Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and William Boeing, born Oct. 1, 1881, in Detroit, Michigan, left Yale engineering college for the West Coast.

The B-47 was the country’s first swept-wing multi-engine bomber. It represented a milestone in aviation history, and a revolution in aircraft design.

In response for the Army's request for a large, multiengine bomber, the B-17 (Model 299) prototype, went from design board to flight test in less than 12 months.

By the 21st century, the B-52 was in its fifth decade of operational service. The eight-engine, 390,000-pound jet was the country’s first long-range, swept-wing heavy bomber.

Boeing submitted the prototype for the B-29 long-range heavy bomber to the Army in 1939, before the United States entered World War II.

A brief look at Raytheon/Beech Government work history

1996 to 2000. A brief history of Beechcraft and Raytheon, part 6 and the final installment in the series.

1989 to 1995. A brief history of Beechcraft and Raytheon, part five in the series.

Based In Part Upon the Book: Borne On The South Wind, A Century Of Kansas Aviation

1958 to 1986. A brief history of Beechcraft and Raytheon, part four in the series.

A brief record of Learjet's progression skyward.

1949 to 1956, the Post War Years. A brief history of Beechcraft and Raytheon, part three in the series.

1938 to 1947, The War Years. A brief history of Beechcraft and Raytheon, part two in the series.

1924 to 1937, a short history of Beechcraft and Raytheon Aircraft. The first in a series of special reports, reprinted courtesy of Raytheon Aircraft.

War created demand for aircraft workers, housing

One magazine at the time likened it to a storm sweeping across the Kansas Plains and into Wichita - "a $62 million tornado in a town of 120,000."

The debriefing papers are aging, maps detailing missions getting brittle, snapshots of old buddies beginning to fade.

On Sunday, July 20, 1969, a 38-year-old man changed history by stepping onto the moon.

For two straight days in late March 1926, Wichita postal carrier F.D. Long tried to drive to Rose Hill to deliver the mail.

The warning signs began appearing during the summer of 1929. The warning signs began appearing during the summer of 1929.

Former World War II fighter pilot keeps his memories on display

All around Wichita, in converted garages or machine shops or tool sheds or back yards, would-be millionaires stitched together new airplanes.

Russell Jump is wearing leather aviator togs and stands proudly next to his wartime "Jenny" biplane in the old sepia-colored photo.

The following timeline originally appeared in the Wichita Eagle Newspaper in the late 1990's.

From the moment the first plane soared over Chicago in 1910, people were inspired to build contraptions that other people swore would never fly.

Once Orville and Wilbur Wright proved, in 1903, that flying was possible, every hotshot who could scrape up lumber and sheets wanted to soar with the birds.

History Trivia and Fun Facts

Unique among the industry, nowhere else will you find the concentration of top-name general aviation aircraft manufacturers co-located within such a tight geographic boundary.

History Trivia and Fun Facts

AIAA launched the Evolution of Flight campaign to mark the 100th anniversary of flight and lay the groundwork for the next 100 years of innovation in aviation and space technology.

Mark your calendars for this vast historic event: 14-17 July 2003 at the Dayton Convention Center in Dayton, Ohio.

On April 8, 1920 a Laird Swallow, the first commercially produced airplane in the United States, made its first flight over Wichita, Kansas.