The Flight Deck

The Museum of Flight•www.museumofflight.org

Technology

Diverse, thought-provoking stories from the world aviation and space exploration. Presented by The Museum of Flight.

Last refreshed: July 23rd, 2025 at 6:13 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Remembering Apollo Astronaut Dick Gordon

Episode 7: Remembering Apollo Astronaut Dick Gordon Dick Gordon passed away in November 2017, and author and volunteer Jake Schultz had the honor of recording Gordon’s oral history few months prior to learn about his experiences as an astronaut. In this episode, Gordon talks spaceflight, corvettes, and football. He recalls the differences between the Gemini and Apollo missions. Gemini’s Titan II rocket was an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) designed to get you into orbit as fast as pos...

May 01, 2018•11 min

Shouting At Hitler

Episode 6: The Personal Courage Series: Shouting at Hitler Show Notes: In this second installment of our Personal Courage series, B-17 pilot Dick Nelms takes us on one of his missions and shares how he and his comrades dealt with fear and other realities of war. From a young age, Dick loved planes and when the time came to participate in the war effort, he knew he wanted to fly. And it’s a good thing he did: his 35 missions contributed to the final Allied victory. Dick looks back on his time in ...

Apr 17, 2018•12 min

When We Chose To Go To The Moon

Episode 5: When We Chose to Go to the Moon How did a bunch of Houston high school students help President Kennedy drive the United States towards putting a man on the Moon? In September 1962, Bob Salling, one of our docents, was pulled out of school along with tens of thousands of other Houston high school students to hear a speech by President Kennedy at Rice University. Salling remembers that “a lot of people didn’t like Kennedy, a lot of parents didn’t like Kennedy, and by extension their chi...

Apr 03, 2018•19 min

A Brief History Of Legroom

Episode 4: A Brief History of Legroom Has your airplane seat felt a little tight lately? It’s not just you—it’s the evolution of legroom on passenger planes, and it’s not getting any roomier. We talk to Marva Semet to discuss how this battle for inches came about. Semet finds that spaces weren’t always so tight on in the early days of aviation, when flying itself was a luxury for the very few. During the 1940s, airlines realized that “the more people they could fit into an aircraft, the better.”...

Mar 09, 2018•12 min

Galactic Mix Tape Vol. I

Episode 3: Galactic Mixtape Vol. 1 What’s on the cassette tape that can be found at the end of our Apollo (http://www.museumofflight.org/Exhibits/Apollo) exhibit? We chat with exhibit developer Peder Nelson to learn more about this mysterious aerospace artifact. The mix tape belongs to the widow of Pete Conrad, who brought it with him on Skylab 1. As it turns out, Conrad was a huge country music fan! In order to uncover the playlist, Nelson had to pay a visit to GT Recording, who was able to acc...

Mar 09, 2018•16 min

WASPs

Episode 2: WASPs The Women Airforce Pilots did not let anyone stand in their way of serving their country during WWII. These women flew and delivered planes to assist in the war efforts, but their struggles and achievements have gone unrecognized for years. After WWII, the U.S government sealed all documents relating to the WASPs. Our guest Diane Belanger is an expert on the history of WASPs and tells us about their work—ferrying newly built warplanes to be used overseas—and the one of the women...

Mar 09, 2018•16 min

The Spacewalker

Episode 1: The Spacewalker What’s it like repairing a billion-dollar solar panel while hurtling 4.67 miles per second through space? Our guest this week, Scott Parazynski, shares the answer with us as we discuss his experiences as an astronaut, mountaineer, and physician to aerospace icon John Glenn, who he likes to describe as a “space rookie.” As an Eagle Scout, Parazynski understands that accomplishing huge goals—like being an astronaut and climbing Mt. Everest—is the result of completing sma...

Mar 09, 2018•14 min

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