National Air and Space Museum (NASM) has the largest collection of aviation artifacts in the world. The collection began in 1876 and continues to expand each year. Because its original location in downtown Washington limited the number of artifacts that could be placed on display at one time, the Udvar-Hazy Center (UHC) now allows visitors to see things that could not be exhibited before. UHC documents the history of aviation through the exhibition of more than 137 aircrafts, a selection of flight memorabilia, and other artifacts.
The UHC building itself is vast, and designed much like an aircraft hangar. It is so large that you can fit the entire downtown flagship museum into it. It is important to note that the entire place was built adjacent to Washington Dulles International airport. As you come to this museum, I am going to take you on a quick tour of the place and show you some of the highlights, provide some tips for getting the most out of a visit, and let you in on a couple secrets that most people don't think about. But mostly, though it will be hard to do the place justice without actually inviting you to join my tours, I hope to convince you that this is a marvelous tour for aviation nuts, and to get you to join my tour and see it for yourself.
I usually begin my tour by approach the SR-71 Blackbird with reverence and awe. This super-secret spy plane should not be here, this close, in front of everyone, including us. Shouldn't it be locked in some guarded hangar somewhere? For those of us old enough to have followed the SR-71 through its operational history, it seems wrong somehow and yet enticingly exhilarating. Once you get over your shock, you're right up as close as you can get. You can approach close enough to almost touch the wings. Being this close to the SR-71 really gives you a sense of wonder and enlightenment. Not only is the proximity amazing and makes your skin tingle, but you start to see things that you would never have realized from a book or photo.
The SR-71 is broad but flat. The front of the aircraft, especially in the area of height, is small. The cockpit must be very tight indeed. Picturing that small needle nose zipping through the air at more than three times the speed of sounds is astounding. The rear landing gear tires really are silver, impregnated with aluminum. It just looks weird seeing it in person. The surface is not as smooth and perfect as you might think. It is worn and faded after decades of use, a true veteran.
Take a look at the wing and see just how complex its shape is. It's hard to imagine the calculations needed to plan it, especially in the 1960's, when slide rules were in every engineer's pocket. This sleek marvel looks like it was designed around the massive engines. They are the most prominent features of the aircraft, and with their incredibly sharp intake spikes and gaping exhausts, they exude a sense of intense power, even when sitting cold. I'm sure you will note plenty of observations of your own. We walked away from it, towards the other exhibits, with a new understanding of that aircraft, much more tangible and concrete than the abstract stuff we had read about and seen in documentaries. You will get more of the same as we continue our tour.
Once we are taken in the SR-71, we have to decide where to go next. It's not easy, either, as all directions beckon with aeronautical and space-born delights. We are only going to hit the highlights, so we will pick one, and turn right toward the Cold War and Modern Military Aviation. This area of the museum is, admittedly, a little thin. There are more exhibits coming over time, but right now, they have 7 aircraft here. The first pair is a MiG-15 and an F-86 Sabre, two Korea war opponents. They both look a little beaten up and worn, definitely a couple of war heroes. It's not hard to imagine them dueling in the skies when you can see them up that close.
On the other side of the aisle are the MiG-21 and the F-4S Phantom II, displayed together as famous adversaries. Seeing them together puts them into perspective. The MiG is much smaller than the Phantom, and hardly seems capable of holding its own against its more muscular foe. You can look straight into the intakes of these beauties. Moving on we see the only other cold-war jet in the building, an A-6 Intruder in a low-visibility paint scheme.
Next is the X-35B, the Joint Strike Fighter prototype. I was floored when I saw this aircraft here. It's not even in service yet. You can see this bit of history almost before it becomes history. The engine has been removed, but you can still see the front lift fan doors and other interesting bits. This aircraft will supply the Air Force, Marines, and Navy in slightly different versions for decades. It is the largest defense contract ever awarded, amounting to about $200 billion over the next 20 years. And here is the prototype that won the whole thing for Lockheed.
Across the aisle sits a T-33 jet that was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft. It was developed from the single-seat F-80 fighter by lengthening the fuselage slightly more than three feet to accommodate a second cockpit. The T-33 is one of the world's best known aircraft, having served with the air forces of more than 20 different countries for almost 40 years. Many are still in use throughout the world.
Around the corner is a Russian SA-2 missile, it is the same missile that shot down Gary Powers' U-2 over the Soviet Union. Then we see the UH-1 Huey. If you are interested, while staring at the Huey, spin in place 180 degrees and you'll see the museum's extensive collection of aircraft engines, from tiny little three-cylinder radials to the Jumo 004 that powered the Me 262 and other late-war German WWII aircraft. The collection even includes the Lycoming XR-7755, the largest reciprocating piston engine ever built.
Next, we will take a walk all the way around the World War II Aviation section. This is my favorite section of the museum. You will see the Northrop N-1M, one of Jack Northrop's early flying wing prototypes. Next is the Arado Ar-234 German jet-powered reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. I spent a lot of time looking at this one it's one of my favorites.
Moving along we come to the Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8. This was the bomber variant of the 190, and it looks factory-fresh. Further along is a P-47D Thunderbolt bubble top. You can get a great view of this bird's engine, and it's massive. You can imagine how it thundered down the runway, through the skies, and struck fear into every German train engineer's soul. Around the corner we find a severely distressed P-38 Lightning that was restored to a field-operation appearance. The museum intentionally left this aircraft in a worn condition, to represent the kind of distress a typical aircraft could suffer over the course of its career.
The Japanese war effort is represented by a George, a Seiran, and part of a Nick. The Seiran is a beauty, one of only a couple Japanese aircraft to use a V-12 water-cooled engine. It was carried partially disassembled inside an I-400 submarine specially fitted for the job. The plan was to get the sub near the Panama canal, surface, bring the aircraft on deck, reassemble it and then use it to attack the canal. The war ended before they could try it out, but they managed to build 28 of them. We have looking at the only remaining example. There is also an Oka, a small, jet-powered flying Kamikaze bomb that was dropped from the wing of a Betty bomber.
All of these are fascinating to look at, and imagining them flying sixty or more years ago really puts the effort their pilots, designers, and mechanics went to into perspective. However, they are all overshadowed by the Enola Gay. It is in the middle of this ring of WW II workhorses, propped about 8 feet off the floor on large yellow jack platforms. Walking under the wings, we get a real sense of size this thing was huge. It is also incredibly shiny in its natural metal livery. Most people get conflicting feelings looking at the Enola Gay. Yes, it dropped the first atomic bomb, Little Boy, killing thousands of people at a stroke. But it did help bring the war to a swift end, and there is no doubt that the B-29 is an impressive sight.
Continuing on down the museum we come to the General Aviation Section. There is a lot to see here, but I will point out a couple of the more interesting sights. I know it will be hard to spot, but let's walk over to the Boeing 367-80. This is the prototype that Boeing built for the 707, the first U.S.-produced jet airliner. Although painted in pretty ugly Boeing house colors, it is a wonderful aircraft to see up close. The first impression I get is that this thing does not belong indoors. It's just too big. You can walk around and get a good view of the engines, landing gear, and you can stand right under the nose.
Also nearby is the Boeing 307 Stratoliner. This mirror-polished silver beauty is a streamlined wonder. If you need to comb your hair, you can do it while looking into one of the propeller blades; they are that highly polished. As a side note: Howard Hughes wanted to buy a Boeing 307, but Boeing said no, they were only building a handful for TWA. So Howie bought TWA. There is also a Junkers Ju-52 in black and silver Lufthansa livery, and a Gates Learjet 23, the first Lear, which ushered in the era of private jet aviation.
Next on our route we spotted the sleek, delta-winged Concorde. It's way down at the end, but it's so big you can't miss it. However, we have now walking under the middle of the fuselage. It stretches from one side of the museum to the other, and the main walkway we are currently using passes right under it. Although you cannot go inside, you can get pretty close to anything on the outside. Walking around it requires a fair amount of time. With its delta wing and thin, pointy body, it looks well-suited to the task of carrying about a hundred people at twice the speed of sound. The engines have their thrust reversers set in the deployed position.
Next on our agenda is the McDonnell Space Hangar. A total of 146 large space artifacts are housed in the hangar. The centerpiece of the space hangar is the space shuttle Discovery which you can not miss. I remember many of the early shuttle flights, including the first launch, the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and even the last one in March 2011, like STS-100. Being this close to the Shuttle gives me a sense of pride in what we can accomplish when we work together. Plus it's just so big! You can walk right under the exhaust nozzles.
Having last traveled to low Earth orbit in March 2011, Discovery took to the skies one last time in April 2012, piggybacking on a modified Boeing 747. The shuttle left Florida and landed at Dulles International Airport, where it joined the collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Discovery, the fleet leader of NASA's orbiters, flew 39 successful missions over 27 years, accumulating 365 total days in space.
There are plenty of other excellent space exhibits in there too: Rockets, missiles, engines, space capsules, a full-size Corporal missile, and even the Apollo isolation facility, a modified Airstream trailer used to isolate astronauts after a trip into space. Spend plenty of time here if you have it.
Now that we have done walking around this huge Mecca of aviation, it is time to go home. Everyone who had a part in making this museum come to life, from the curator to the architects, the supporters to the construction workers, the administrative assistants to the restoration technicians, all of them did a phenomenal job on a beautiful tribute to aviation and space flight. I hope this little tour has convinced you that the Udvar-Hazy Center, while tedious to pronounce, is easily worth a visit. I am a very lucky aviation nut indeed, working as a weekend volunteer docent here. If you can not make it here, then perhaps this tour was enough to hold you for a while. In any case, thanks for walking around with me.
The UHC building itself is vast, and designed much like an aircraft hangar. It is so large that you can fit the entire downtown flagship museum into it. It is important to note that the entire place was built adjacent to Washington Dulles International airport. As you come to this museum, I am going to take you on a quick tour of the place and show you some of the highlights, provide some tips for getting the most out of a visit, and let you in on a couple secrets that most people don't think about. But mostly, though it will be hard to do the place justice without actually inviting you to join my tours, I hope to convince you that this is a marvelous tour for aviation nuts, and to get you to join my tour and see it for yourself.
I usually begin my tour by approach the SR-71 Blackbird with reverence and awe. This super-secret spy plane should not be here, this close, in front of everyone, including us. Shouldn't it be locked in some guarded hangar somewhere? For those of us old enough to have followed the SR-71 through its operational history, it seems wrong somehow and yet enticingly exhilarating. Once you get over your shock, you're right up as close as you can get. You can approach close enough to almost touch the wings. Being this close to the SR-71 really gives you a sense of wonder and enlightenment. Not only is the proximity amazing and makes your skin tingle, but you start to see things that you would never have realized from a book or photo.
The SR-71 is broad but flat. The front of the aircraft, especially in the area of height, is small. The cockpit must be very tight indeed. Picturing that small needle nose zipping through the air at more than three times the speed of sounds is astounding. The rear landing gear tires really are silver, impregnated with aluminum. It just looks weird seeing it in person. The surface is not as smooth and perfect as you might think. It is worn and faded after decades of use, a true veteran.
Take a look at the wing and see just how complex its shape is. It's hard to imagine the calculations needed to plan it, especially in the 1960's, when slide rules were in every engineer's pocket. This sleek marvel looks like it was designed around the massive engines. They are the most prominent features of the aircraft, and with their incredibly sharp intake spikes and gaping exhausts, they exude a sense of intense power, even when sitting cold. I'm sure you will note plenty of observations of your own. We walked away from it, towards the other exhibits, with a new understanding of that aircraft, much more tangible and concrete than the abstract stuff we had read about and seen in documentaries. You will get more of the same as we continue our tour.
Once we are taken in the SR-71, we have to decide where to go next. It's not easy, either, as all directions beckon with aeronautical and space-born delights. We are only going to hit the highlights, so we will pick one, and turn right toward the Cold War and Modern Military Aviation. This area of the museum is, admittedly, a little thin. There are more exhibits coming over time, but right now, they have 7 aircraft here. The first pair is a MiG-15 and an F-86 Sabre, two Korea war opponents. They both look a little beaten up and worn, definitely a couple of war heroes. It's not hard to imagine them dueling in the skies when you can see them up that close.
On the other side of the aisle are the MiG-21 and the F-4S Phantom II, displayed together as famous adversaries. Seeing them together puts them into perspective. The MiG is much smaller than the Phantom, and hardly seems capable of holding its own against its more muscular foe. You can look straight into the intakes of these beauties. Moving on we see the only other cold-war jet in the building, an A-6 Intruder in a low-visibility paint scheme.
Next is the X-35B, the Joint Strike Fighter prototype. I was floored when I saw this aircraft here. It's not even in service yet. You can see this bit of history almost before it becomes history. The engine has been removed, but you can still see the front lift fan doors and other interesting bits. This aircraft will supply the Air Force, Marines, and Navy in slightly different versions for decades. It is the largest defense contract ever awarded, amounting to about $200 billion over the next 20 years. And here is the prototype that won the whole thing for Lockheed.
Across the aisle sits a T-33 jet that was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft. It was developed from the single-seat F-80 fighter by lengthening the fuselage slightly more than three feet to accommodate a second cockpit. The T-33 is one of the world's best known aircraft, having served with the air forces of more than 20 different countries for almost 40 years. Many are still in use throughout the world.
Around the corner is a Russian SA-2 missile, it is the same missile that shot down Gary Powers' U-2 over the Soviet Union. Then we see the UH-1 Huey. If you are interested, while staring at the Huey, spin in place 180 degrees and you'll see the museum's extensive collection of aircraft engines, from tiny little three-cylinder radials to the Jumo 004 that powered the Me 262 and other late-war German WWII aircraft. The collection even includes the Lycoming XR-7755, the largest reciprocating piston engine ever built.
Next, we will take a walk all the way around the World War II Aviation section. This is my favorite section of the museum. You will see the Northrop N-1M, one of Jack Northrop's early flying wing prototypes. Next is the Arado Ar-234 German jet-powered reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. I spent a lot of time looking at this one it's one of my favorites.
Moving along we come to the Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8. This was the bomber variant of the 190, and it looks factory-fresh. Further along is a P-47D Thunderbolt bubble top. You can get a great view of this bird's engine, and it's massive. You can imagine how it thundered down the runway, through the skies, and struck fear into every German train engineer's soul. Around the corner we find a severely distressed P-38 Lightning that was restored to a field-operation appearance. The museum intentionally left this aircraft in a worn condition, to represent the kind of distress a typical aircraft could suffer over the course of its career.
The Japanese war effort is represented by a George, a Seiran, and part of a Nick. The Seiran is a beauty, one of only a couple Japanese aircraft to use a V-12 water-cooled engine. It was carried partially disassembled inside an I-400 submarine specially fitted for the job. The plan was to get the sub near the Panama canal, surface, bring the aircraft on deck, reassemble it and then use it to attack the canal. The war ended before they could try it out, but they managed to build 28 of them. We have looking at the only remaining example. There is also an Oka, a small, jet-powered flying Kamikaze bomb that was dropped from the wing of a Betty bomber.
All of these are fascinating to look at, and imagining them flying sixty or more years ago really puts the effort their pilots, designers, and mechanics went to into perspective. However, they are all overshadowed by the Enola Gay. It is in the middle of this ring of WW II workhorses, propped about 8 feet off the floor on large yellow jack platforms. Walking under the wings, we get a real sense of size this thing was huge. It is also incredibly shiny in its natural metal livery. Most people get conflicting feelings looking at the Enola Gay. Yes, it dropped the first atomic bomb, Little Boy, killing thousands of people at a stroke. But it did help bring the war to a swift end, and there is no doubt that the B-29 is an impressive sight.
Continuing on down the museum we come to the General Aviation Section. There is a lot to see here, but I will point out a couple of the more interesting sights. I know it will be hard to spot, but let's walk over to the Boeing 367-80. This is the prototype that Boeing built for the 707, the first U.S.-produced jet airliner. Although painted in pretty ugly Boeing house colors, it is a wonderful aircraft to see up close. The first impression I get is that this thing does not belong indoors. It's just too big. You can walk around and get a good view of the engines, landing gear, and you can stand right under the nose.
Also nearby is the Boeing 307 Stratoliner. This mirror-polished silver beauty is a streamlined wonder. If you need to comb your hair, you can do it while looking into one of the propeller blades; they are that highly polished. As a side note: Howard Hughes wanted to buy a Boeing 307, but Boeing said no, they were only building a handful for TWA. So Howie bought TWA. There is also a Junkers Ju-52 in black and silver Lufthansa livery, and a Gates Learjet 23, the first Lear, which ushered in the era of private jet aviation.
Next on our route we spotted the sleek, delta-winged Concorde. It's way down at the end, but it's so big you can't miss it. However, we have now walking under the middle of the fuselage. It stretches from one side of the museum to the other, and the main walkway we are currently using passes right under it. Although you cannot go inside, you can get pretty close to anything on the outside. Walking around it requires a fair amount of time. With its delta wing and thin, pointy body, it looks well-suited to the task of carrying about a hundred people at twice the speed of sound. The engines have their thrust reversers set in the deployed position.
Next on our agenda is the McDonnell Space Hangar. A total of 146 large space artifacts are housed in the hangar. The centerpiece of the space hangar is the space shuttle Discovery which you can not miss. I remember many of the early shuttle flights, including the first launch, the Challenger and Columbia disasters, and even the last one in March 2011, like STS-100. Being this close to the Shuttle gives me a sense of pride in what we can accomplish when we work together. Plus it's just so big! You can walk right under the exhaust nozzles.
Having last traveled to low Earth orbit in March 2011, Discovery took to the skies one last time in April 2012, piggybacking on a modified Boeing 747. The shuttle left Florida and landed at Dulles International Airport, where it joined the collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Discovery, the fleet leader of NASA's orbiters, flew 39 successful missions over 27 years, accumulating 365 total days in space.
There are plenty of other excellent space exhibits in there too: Rockets, missiles, engines, space capsules, a full-size Corporal missile, and even the Apollo isolation facility, a modified Airstream trailer used to isolate astronauts after a trip into space. Spend plenty of time here if you have it.
Now that we have done walking around this huge Mecca of aviation, it is time to go home. Everyone who had a part in making this museum come to life, from the curator to the architects, the supporters to the construction workers, the administrative assistants to the restoration technicians, all of them did a phenomenal job on a beautiful tribute to aviation and space flight. I hope this little tour has convinced you that the Udvar-Hazy Center, while tedious to pronounce, is easily worth a visit. I am a very lucky aviation nut indeed, working as a weekend volunteer docent here. If you can not make it here, then perhaps this tour was enough to hold you for a while. In any case, thanks for walking around with me.