Suspended in the NASM Golden Age of Flight Hall. Built in 1927, this Mailwing was the prototype for Pitcairn mail planes that led to the creation of Eastern Air Lines. First use of the type as a mail plane was by Texas Air Transport on Contract Air Mail Route 21. The PA-5 was successful on the CAM 19 New York-Atlanta route, flying mail by night in seven hours, one-third the time it took by train. Eastern Air Lines used this aircraft till 1934. It was sold and converted to carry passengers, being repurchased and restored as a gift for Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker till donated in 1957 to NASM.

Flight deck of AA "Flagship Vermont" on display at NASM. Last of the piston engine Douglas airliners, the DC-7 came about due to the need by American Airlines to match TWA's L-049 Constellation that outpaced AA's DC-6. The newly designed DC-7 had R-3350 engines similar to the L-049 but with four-bladed propellers. Its fuselage was like the DC-6B but stretched by 40 in. Capable of cruising at 360 mph, the DC-7 had excellent range, covering LA to NYC in 8 hr and the westbound leg in 8 hr 45 min. AA placed an order for 25 DC-7s that met the development cost, later adding nine more aircraft.

Suspended in the Golden Age of Flight Hall at NASM. This homebuilt racer with a Continental C-85 engine was designed by Steve Wittman. Originally named "Chief Oshkosh," it was heavily modified and renamed "Buster." It had a long racing career from 1931-54 in the National Air Races and other events, usually finishing in the top five in its class. The aircraft was displayed in Building 24 at Silver Hill before moving to the Mall. Wittman designed several aircraft during his career, being inducted posthumously in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Oshkosh Airport was renamed in his honor.

On display at the Sea-Air Gallery at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Delivered to the USN in 1944, this is the sixth SBD-6 of 450 built, which was the last production model. It was identical to the SBD-5 but fitted with the more powerful 1,350 hp Wright R-1820-66 engine, making it slightly faster with a better service ceiling and range. The armored shield for the twin .30-cal machine guns is visible, as is the Yagi radar antenna under the wing. The carburetor intake scoop on top of the cowl has been deleted on this variant which is painted in the standard three-color camouflage.

"Glamorous Glennis" suspended at Smithsonian NASM. This was the first aircraft to go supersonic on 14 Oct 1947, flown by Capt C. Yeager. The X-1 was dropped around 23,000 ft. by a modified B-29 flown by Maj R. Cardenas. After climb the flight plan was to reach Mach 0.97 but the sound barrier was crossed that day to attain a speed of Mach 1.06 after levelling off at 43,000 ft. The X-1 was powered by a 26.5 kN Reaction Motors XLR11-RM3 rocket engine with four combustion chambers burning LOX and ethyl alcohol. The combustion chambers could be turned on and off individually but not throttled.

On display in a tight space at NASM, Washington, D.C. 'Yellow 7' with a blue-red Reichsverteidigung band was flown by 49-victory ace Obfw Heinz Arnold who was wingman to Maj Rudolf Sinner of III./JG7. The wing was named "Nowotny" in honor of 258-victory ace Maj Walter Nowotny who headed Kdo Nowotny, the first jet fighter unit till he was shot down. JG 7 was equipped with the Me-262 from Dec 1944 till its surrender in May 1945, scoring victories till the end. After its capture at Lechfeld in 1945, this Me-262 was shipped under Op Lusty to the USA where it was numbered FE-111 for evaluation.

This aircraft was displayed in the Smithsonian Collection. It has been in storage for many years, but was back on display by 2008.

One of two C.202 survivors, on display at the National Air and Space Museum. The Folgore was a successor to the C.200 Saeta. Using a German Daimler-Benz DB 601 in-line engine, the Folgore was superior to the P-40 and Hurricane in North Africa. When supplies dried up, a license-built copy of the DB 601 called the Alfa-Romeo R.A.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone (Monsoon) powered the Folgore. This Folgore is painted in the markings of 90° Squadriglia, 10° Gruppo, 4° Stormo from North Africa.

On display in the Golden Age of Flight Hall at NASM, Washington, D.C. Howard Hughes set a new world speed record on 13 Sep 1935 by flying the H-1 at 567 km/h. On 19 Jan 1937 he broke the transcontinental US speed record with an incredible avg. speed of 535 km/h. Hughes used low aspect ratio wings and moderate aspect ratio wings respectively for each record. He had a large part in the outstanding design features that included the close-fitting bell-shaped engine cowling, retractable landing gear and flush rivets to reduce drag. Hughes flew almost all the Racer's forty-four hours of flying time.

On display in the Golden Age of Flight exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum. This Staggerwing was built on July 3, 1936. It once belonged to E.E. Aldrin, father of astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, among the nineteen different owners. After World War II, the aircraft was refitted with a 225-hp Jacobs L4-MB engine. It was donated to the NASM in 1981.

The second of three D-558-2 Skyrockets built by Douglas for the US Navy's supersonic research. This was the first Mach 2 buster aircraft with Scott Crossfield taking it to Mach 2.005 on November 20, 1953 during NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics - renamed NASA after 1958) testing. It was the Skyrocket's only Mach 2 flight.