The Smithsonian Book of Air & Space Trivia is a Godsend for the Aviation and Space Travel Buff

By Mark Rhodes

What was the world’s first military airplane? (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum)Serious space history and aviation geeks are not an easy group to stump.  However, with The Smithsonian Book of Air & Space Trivia (www.smithsonianbooks.com) there will be ample opportunity for even the most sophisticated and well-read space and aviation buffs to be challenged.  This concise but thoroughly researched volume covers a wide range with categories such as pioneers of aviation, commercial flight, aviation and space travel in popular culture, female aviation, military aviation and controversies in aviation history and lore.  

All of the sections are interesting, but I found the section on aviation in popular culture particularly fascinating. For instance, the helicopter in the opening credits of M*A*S*H* was a vintage Bell H-13 Sioux which was utilized in the Korean War as an air ambulance.  

To say anymore would be to give away the challenge and sense of historical and cultural discovery that this book Which flamoyant pilot flew with his pet lion? (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum)entails. The work has some great photos (more than 100) and the broad array of topics covered make it suitable for any age.

Answers: 1909 Wright Military Flyer, Roscoe Turner, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eileen Collins.

Who was the first woman in the U.S. to earn a glider’s license? (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum)Who was the first woman to hold the position of commander on a space shuttle mission? (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum)