He accepted a curatorial position with the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in 1974, and prepared exhibitions for the opening of that building in 1976.
Crouch was appointed by then-president William J. Clinton to chair the federal advisory board planning activities commemorating the first flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in 2003.
He also participated in and worked to resolve the issues over the Enola Gay bomber being displayed at the National Air and Space Museum.
Crouch is the author of some fifteen books and many articles, primarily on topics related to the history of flight technology.
In 2005 he won the AIAA Gardner-Lasser Literature Prize for the book Wings: A History of Aviation From Kites to the Space Age.