When I was blogging about the Kansas Cosmosphere a few months ago, I noticed that with the exception of the Wright Flyer I didn't have any images in my photo galleries of the most important milestones of flight on display in Washington. I have been to the National Air and Space Museum many times, but the most complete set of images I have was taken in 1999 with a one-megapixel Kodak DC-210+ digital camera. The images from this Stone Age device don't measure up to what a modern camera can produce, which is why I didn't have them posted. But for most of these milestones I don't have anything better, and they are worth a look.

In particular, I think this one from 1999 is interesting because it shows in one image (clockwise from top) the X-1 that broke the sound barrier, the X-15 rocket plane that flew at Mach 6, the Wright Flyer, the Apollo 11 command capsule Columbia, a replica of the Viking Mars lander, and the Spirit of St. Louis. The last time I was at the museum nearly two years ago, the Wright Flyer was not in this view because it had been moved to a separate room for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight.

Milestones of Flight

Seven 1999 images have been added to the Air and Space gallery. I have also added three images to the Backyard Habitat gallery following an encounter with a flock of wild turkeys today. For details see The Turkey Diaries.