A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

The Last Aviation Records (Gallery 108)

During the decade of the late 1970s to late 1980s, there were a number of daring attempts by small groups of aviation enthusiasts to be the first to establish impressive aviation records that had not previously been established. Some of the aircraft used to set these records have been on exhibit in the South Lobby of the Museum.

MacCready "Gossamer Condor"
(1977)

The Gossamer Condor was designed by Dr. Paul MacCready and Dr. Peter Lissaman of California for an attempt at sustained human-powered flight -- something that had never been achieved before in history. The Gossamer Condor was built of thin aluminum tubes covered with mylar plastic. The aircraft was powered by the foot-pedal power of pilot Bryan Allen. A first flight of 40 seconds was made in December 1976. After some more experimentation, practice, and development, in August 1977 Allen successfully flew the Gossamer Condor through a 1.35 mile, figure eight course in 7 minutes, 27 seconds, thereby winning the $95,000 Kremer Prize. Allen achieved a speed of up to 11 mph and developed the equivalent of 1/3-horsepower. Later in 1977, MacCready's follow-on aircraft, the Gossamer Albatrosss was successfully flown, with human power, across the English Channel. Both the Condor and the Albatross are part of the Museum's collection.

MacCready "Solar Challenger"
(1979)

Yet another Paul MacCready-designed aircraft, the Solar Challenger set another milestone in July 1979 by becoming the first aircraft to be powered entirely by solar power. With a 47-foot wing covered with more than 16,000 solar cells, the Solar Challenger, piloted by Stephen Ptacek, took off from a field near Paris and flew the 180 miles across the English Channel and to a landing near Canterbury, England. Ptacek reached an altitude of 11,000 feet and a top speed of 34 mph with the solar cells powering the aircraft's 2.7 horsepower electric motor.

Rutan "Voyager"
(1986)

Perhaps the last great aviation record (at least for powered flight) was set in December 1986 when Dick Rutan (brother of aircraft designer Burt Rutan) and Jeana Yeager flew the Rutan "Voyager" around the world nonstop. After 2 years of extensive tests, the Voyager took off from Edwards Air Force Base, California on December 14, 1986 and landed there 9 days later after a harrowing but complete successful flight. The total distance flown was 24,987 miles at an average speed of 115.6 mph.

Extra 260
(1991)

The Extra 260 is the aerobatic airplane flown by Patty Wagstaff to back-to-back National Aerobatic Championships in 1991 and 1992. She also captured the title in 1993 flying an Extra 300S. With these three championships, Ms. Wagstaff became the first woman to win the national title after the men's and women's competitions were merged in 1972. The Extra 260 that she flew was designed and built by Walter Extra, an aerobatic pilot and aircraft designer in Germany.

"A Cosmic View" by Robert McCall
(1975)

[Photo from a NASM Postcard]

The Museum's South Lobby is lined on its eastern and western walls by two magnificent murals. A Cosmic View, by Robert McCall presents his vision of the formation of the universe in the background, with an Apollo astronaut proudly planting the American flag on the Moon in the foreground. On the opposing wall is Eric Sloane's Earthflight Environment, which captures the ocean of air through which the many aircraft in the Museum flew.

McCall's A Cosmic View forms a perfect bridge to the rest of our Museum tour, which now turns to the history of space exploration, beginning with the Rocketry and Spaceflight gallery.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003