Drove down to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center today. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum doesn’t have enough room at its location on the National Mall, so they built the Udvar-Hazy annex near Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia to display more of their collection. It opened in December 2003, but I hadn’t made it out there until today. Visiting the Udvar-Hazy Center is a must do if you have any interest in aviation, as the collection of aircraft assembled in this giant hangar is truly impressive.
SR-71 down below
Boeing 707 and the Concorde
Recognizer that B-29? It’s the Enola Gay, the bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945.
Space Shuttle Enterprise – NASA’s first shuttle, built for atmospheric test flights. It was originally supposed to be named “Constitution”, but a bunch of Star Trek fans waged a letter writing campaign and NASA caved-in to nerd pressure, thereby naming the shuttle “Enterprise” (sorry, I can’t stand Star Trek).
Concorde supersonic airliner. DC to London in 3.5 hours.
This is what computers used to look like…and you couldn’t even play games on them.
Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, the plane Steve Fossett used for his record breaking solo nonstop flight ’round the world.
North Vietnamese propaganda rocket
MiG-15 used in the Korean War.
A-6 Intruder. This was one of my favorite planes as a kid, probably because of the movie.
This would probably be the first thing I would purchase after spending time in a Soviet prison, too.
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom), rocket powered kamikaze aircraft.
Rest of the photos are here.
From Tony Sidoti:
I tried to stop by there one day on my way back to Dulles after a TDY, but I was too cheap to pay $20 for parking, so I went and found a Starbucks to read a book and pass the time before my flight. Big mistake. That place is amazing.
BTW, I wasn’t a Star Trek fan until I came out to Iraq. I just finished watching the Star Trek Enterprise box set. 4 seasons for $14 bones at the Haji mart. I really enjoyed it. More realistic than the other shows.
Damn, I sound like a uber nerd now.
From Benjamin Goddard:
I like your site!
I also like that you appreciate Star Trek!
Are you on Facebook?
From dean pacey:
fantasic pitures
From Chris:
Thank you for posting these photos. You are a good photograhper.
From Emad:
the space shuttle enterprise looks awesome…thank u!