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They are all soaring above war memorabilia and donated artifacts (caps, flight indicators, goggles, guns and more) on display in glass cases, illustrated and framed propaganda posters on the

walls, and a 1917 boxy Ford ambulance replica that puttered along as the Wright Brothers’ patent lifted and America was catapulted into the golden age of flight. Where World War I saw

pilots as honored huntsmen, the decades that followed brought out the joy of flight, with excitement, play and the promise of endless new records to be set — evident in the exhibits that

fill the next gallery. Here, you're on eye level with World War I veteran and daredevil Clyde Pangborn as he steps from a speeding Lozier automobile onto a rope ladder dangling from the

single-engine Curtiss JN-4D biplane (affectionately nicknamed the “Jenny,” and flown by the Army to deliver air mail) passing low overhead, its 43-foot wingspan barely out of reach.

Pangborn was just one of many jobless aviators at the end of the Great War who turned to air stunts to make a living. Known as barnstormers, these fearless (and reckless) men and women

walked the wings of planes midair, performing acrobatics and giving the public a taste for the awe of being airborne, before the birth of commercial flights. Chance Vought F4U Corsair Alamy

Stock Photo SPEEDING INTO WORLD WAR II A new age of daredevils take to the sky as you enter World War II, greeted by an explosion of technology and aviation sophistication that far

outstripped the motorized kites of the early century, thanks in part to the four global factions trying to outdo each other. The competition created far-from-perfect results, as evidenced by

the engine of a German plane on display — which was 100 mph faster than anything the U.S. could produce but could only withstand a few hours of flight before burning up. The Allies

retaliated with two classical fighters: the North American P-51D Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI. Already one of the war's great crafts with a full suite of speed, firepower

and maneuverability, the Mustang hit new performance levels when a Rolls Royce Merlin engine (also on display) replaced the original Allison V-1710 engine, transforming the plane into a

superior supercharged weapon that could provide full fighter coverage to bombers, turning the tables for the Allies. THE JET AGE AND BEYOND From there, the Jet Age awaits in the final

gallery. Here, a squadron of MaxFlight simulators doubles down on the sense that you're stepping into the future. As you climb into an open cockpit and assume gunner or pilot (or both!)

position to navigate training exercises, carrier landings and full aerial rolls, the gallery's aircraft feel neatly at home around you. The blue bullet of an F/A-18 A Hornet Blue Angel

1 at the rear, and the Douglas A-4B Skyhawk, Vietnam's primary attack bomber, fully equipped to refuel other craft in-flight and the first to carry nuclear weapons, close by. Even the

partially exposed Pratt & Whitney J58 single-spool turbojet engine on display feels as though it might take flight, dropped into the Lockheed A-12 Blackbird out in front of the museum

and powering it from Los Angeles to D.C. in one hour, four minutes, at Mach 3-plus speed, with you in the pilot seat. As you gently pull back on the yoke and climb higher, muscle memory

kicks in — today, you're just another bird in the sky. DIRECTOR'S TIP: Don't miss the Chance Vought F4U Corsair in the World War II Gallery. It's painted in honor of

marine aviator, professional baseball player and Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman, often known as “The Colonel.” He's the only Major League Baseball player to have served in

aerial combat in two different wars: World War II and the Korean War.