The Museum of Flight Archives contains over 5,000 cubic feet of paper, photographic, and audiovisual materials that document the evolution of manned flight, from the Wright Brothers to modern jet travel to space exploration. We have millions of images, including photographic prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies. Our paper-based materials include maps, charts, drawings, blueprints, log books, diaries, manuscripts, research and technical documentation, correspondence, philately, and ephemera such as airline tickets and luggage tags. Audiovisual materials consist of oral history recordings, videos, and films.


Accessing Materials

To access finding aids for select archival collections, visit our research portal: Archives at The Museum of Flight. To browse digitized materials from our archival, library, and artifact collections, visit our online repository: The Museum of Flight: Digital Collections. Archival collections are accessible in-person by appointment in the Museum’s Kenneth H. Dahlberg Research Center

Some of our projects have been funded and endorsed by outside organizations, including the Council on Library and Information Resources, the United States World War One Centennial Commission, and 4Culture .