Huff-Daland Duster Now Located at the National Air & Space Museum

The Huff-Daland Duster is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC on the National Mall. Huff-Daland Dusters Inc. – the forerunner to Delta Air Lines – is the first known aerial application business established that conducted the first commercial dusting of crops with its own specially built aircraft, the Puffer.

The museum just completed a five-year $250 million renovation and receives roughly 1.9 million visitors per year. That’s more than the Udvar-Hazy Center, where the Huff-Daland Duster resided for the past several years before moving to the downtown DC museum. This is even greater exposure for visitors to learn about the early beginnings of the aerial application industry. Delta Air Lines donated this aircraft to the museum in 1968. The museum is free to visit, however, you must obtain a timed entry for the day of your visit. Learn more here.

The National Air & Space Museum is the largest of the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and it is committed to educating and inspiring people to foster appreciation for the importance of flight to humanity. Over the years, the Smithsonian has acquired other aircraft that have conducted aerial application work, including the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny and most recently, the Air Tractor 400A Dusty Crophopper, donated by Rusty & Lea Lindemann to commemorate the aerial application’s 100th anniversary. Both aircraft are currently on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

To learn more about Huff-Daland and the history of the aerial application industry, purchase Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application, which commemorates the industry’s 100th anniversary. Also, the recently released Speed, Safety, and Comfort: The Origins of Delta Air Lines, written by James John Hoogerwerf, former Delta Boeing 767 captain and aviation historian, on the history of Delta.