Abstract: An improved air bearing assembly for rotatably supporting a rotary table of a machine on a fixed base. The bearing assembly includes a fixed annular bearing member which has an upper face and a lower face. The upper face has a surface area which is greater than the lower face. A rotatable annular bearing member is positioned in nesting and rotational relationship with the fixed bearing member. The rotatable bearing member has an upper surface and a lower surface with the lower surface having a greater surface area than the upper surface. The bearing members are operatively positioned and received in a space provided between the base and the rotatable table.