Explore Aviation History

The Museum's premier exhibit, the Space Age Gallery, is anchored by the Apollo 7 Command Module, which spent ten days orbiting the Earth in 1968. Also included in the Gallery is a Moon Rock, space suits, and many other significant items in America's race to space. Special thanks to the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, for many items on long-term loan to the Museum in the Space Age Gallery.

The Cold War Gallery includes numerous aircraft, missiles, and flight simulators from America's longest undeclared conflict between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The Gallery is home to the world's only SR-71 "Blackbird" simulator and one of the few surviving "Regulus II" supersonic cruise missiles.

The General Aviation Gallery covers over 100 years of the non-military aspects of aviation. In addition to the development of the commercial airline industry, the Gallery highlights aviation’s importance to agriculture, law enforcement, corporate travel, sport flying, and many other applications.

Anchored by the first Boeing 737-300 named “The Spirit of Kitty Hawk,” the Southwest Airlines Gallery features a wide array of artifacts documenting the history of this iconic airline, headquartered at Dallas Love Field. Also included in the Gallery are interactive kiosks, an authentic terminal ticket counter, and vintage crew uniforms.

The Braniff Airlines Gallery employs vintage Flight Hostess uniforms, photographs, cabin service items, model aircraft, and other authentic artifacts from hundreds of former employees. This iconic airline first flew out of Love Field in 1929 and was headquartered at the airport from 1942 to 1974.

The World War II Gallery celebrates the heroism and achievement of aviators who contributed so much to the success of the war effort. Included in the Gallery are aircraft, engines, and personnel from the U.S. Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marines as well as the British Royal Air Force and groundbreaking Tuskegee Airmen.

The Golden Age Gallery celebrates the twenty-year period between the two World Wars that saw remarkable advances in aircraft performance, reliability, and utility. Military, commercial, and private aviation all recorded significant progress during this fascinating time of exploration and innovation. Also featured are rare artifacts from the age of the giant airships, which grew from weapons of terror in World War I to luxurious vehicles of intercontinental travel.  

The World War I Gallery displays original artifacts from "The Great War" in which aircraft first saw use in combat during a major conflict. Extensive graphics and highly-detailed model aircraft are supported by authentic military equipment and personal items from actual participants.

The Dallas Love Field Gallery contains artifacts and graphics from the airport's nearly 100-year history. A centerpiece of the Gallery is the Museum's Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny," which served as a training aircraft at Love Field during World War I in 1918. The airport is also the site of the first commercial aviation flight in the state of Texas in 1926.

The Early Flyers Gallery is anchored by a representation of the Wright brothers’ work shed at Kitty Hawk and a full-size model of their first airplane. The Gallery also highlights the achievements of Glenn Curtiss, Louis Bleriot, Lincoln Beachey, and many other early aviation pioneers.