Aviation museum in Virginia, United States
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center , also called the Udvar-Hazy Center , is the
Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at
Washington Dulles International Airport in the
Chantilly area of
Fairfax County, Virginia . It holds numerous exhibits, including the
Space Shuttle Discovery , the
Enola Gay , and the
Boeing 367-80 , the main prototype for the popular
Boeing 707 airliner.
The 760,000-square-foot (71,000 m2 ; 17-acre; 7.1 ha) facility was made possible by a $65 million donation in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by
Steven F. Udvar-Házy , an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the
International Lease Finance Corporation , an
aircraft leasing corporation.
[2] The main
NASM building, located on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C., had always contained more artifacts than could be displayed, and most of the collection had been stored, unavailable to visitors, at the
Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in
Silver Hill ,
Maryland . A substantial addition to the center encompassing restoration, conservation and collection-storage facilities was completed in 2010. Restoration facilities and museum archives were moved from the museum's Garber facility to the new sections of the Udvar-Hazy Center.
[3]
Architecture and facilities
Entrance view with observation tower
Designed by
Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum , who also designed the
National Air and Space Museum building, the Center required 15 years of preparation and was built by
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
[4] The exhibition areas comprise two large
hangars , the 293,707-square-foot (27,286.3 m2 )
Boeing Aviation Hangar and the 53,067-square-foot (4,930.1 m2 )
James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The
Donald D. Engen Observation Tower provides a view of landing operations at adjacent
Washington Dulles International Airport . The museum also contains an
IMAX theater.
[5] A
taxiway connects the museum to the airport.
[6]
An expansion of the Udvar-Hazy Center is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials. On December 2, 2008, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center received a gift of $6 million for phase two from
Airbus Americas Inc. — the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008.
[6]
The wing includes:
The
Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar — spacious enough to accommodate several aircraft at one time with a second-floor viewing area designed to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look.
[7]
Archives — the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight will be housed in a single location for the first time, providing researchers with ample space and equipment.
[6]
The Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory — provides conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts.
[6]
Collections processing unit — a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts.
[8]
A further expansion of the collections center was approved in December 2016.
[9] The addition will be made up of three additional storage modules on the south side of the building.
[10]
Main exhibition display area
Collection
The center was opened on December 15, 2003. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the
National Mall , including:
[5]
The
Enola Gay , the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress which dropped the first
atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan
The orbital spacecraft
Space Shuttle Discovery was put on public display in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar on April 19, 2012, replacing the atmospheric test vehicle,
Space Shuttle Enterprise .
[11]
A first-generation
tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) that hangs directly above Discovery
The
Gemini 4 space capsule
The
Friendship 7 space capsule
A
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
reconnaissance aircraft
An
Air France
Concorde supersonic airliner
A United States Air Force
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation ,
[12] the military version of the
Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") airliner
The
Boeing 367-80 ("Dash-80") jet transport, which was the prototype for the
KC-135 tanker and the
707 airliner
The only surviving
Bell XV-15 experimental tiltrotor craft
A
PGM-11 Redstone rocket
A
SAM-N-2 Lark like the one which scored the first successful United States surface-to-air missile interception of a flying target
The only surviving
Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger , the
USAAS 's first messenger aircraft
The Langley Aerodrome A, an early attempt at powered flight by Smithsonian Secretary
Samuel Pierpont Langley
The
Northrop N-1 experimental aircraft
The only surviving
Boeing 307 Stratoliner , the ex-
Pan Am Clipper Flying Cloud
One of two surviving German
Heinkel He 219 Uhu
night fighters
The only surviving German
Dornier Do 335 Pfeil
[13]
fighter
The only surviving German
Horten Ho 229 prototype
flying wing jet fighter/
bomber
The only surviving German
Arado Ar 234 Blitz jet bomber
The only surviving German
Horten H.VI flying wing aircraft
One of three surviving German
Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket-powered interceptors
The only surviving Japanese
Nakajima J1N 1-S Gekko
The only surviving Japanese
Aichi M6A1 Seiran
The only surviving Japanese
Kyushu J7W Shinden
One of four surviving
Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighters
One of two surviving
Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters
A
Bede BD-5 , single-seat, home-built aircraft that was somewhat popular in the 1970s (5J version is the smallest crewed jet aircraft)
The
Beck-Mahoney Sorceress , known as the "winningest" racing biplane in aviation history
A British
Hawker Hurricane fighter
A Japanese
balloon bomb like the one that killed six U.S. civilians in Oregon during
World War II
Lockheed Martin X-35
Joint Strike Fighter , prototype of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter involved in the
Gulf of Sidra incident (1989) .
The
Gossamer Albatross , which was the first man-powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel
The primary special-effects miniature of the "Mothership" used in the filming of
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer piloted by
Steve Fossett for the first solo nonstop and nonrefueled circumnavigation of Earth
The first aircraft operated by
FedEx , a
Dassault Falcon 20
A piece of fabric from the
LZ 129 Hindenburg that survived the
Hindenburg disaster .
Mercury-Atlas 10 unused
Project Mercury spacecraft
U.S. Coast Guard
Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopter
A
Sikorsky JRS-1 twin-engine aircraft, one of only three surviving aircraft from the
Attack on Pearl Harbor
A
Launch Entry Suit
A
Vought RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft
A
McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II fighter
A Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter
The
NASA Pathfinder , an early solar powered aircraft
A
Piasecki PV-2
helicopter
A French
Caudron G.4 bomber
A German
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F fighter/bomber
A British
Westland Lysander
Army cooperation aircraft
A
CASA 352L transport
A
Republic F-105D Thunderchief
fighter-bomber
A
Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter
Darryl Greenamyer's
Grumman F8F Bearcat "Conquest I" racing aircraft
The
North American P-51C Mustang "Excalibur III" fighter
A
North American F-86 Sabre fighter
A
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter
A
Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter
A Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 "Fishbed" fighter
A
Beechcraft Bonanza
A
Beechcraft Model 18
A
Bell 47 helicopter
A
Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter
A
Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter
A
Boeing-Stearman Model 75 biplane
trainer aircraft
A
Grumman A-6E Intruder
ground-attack aircraft
A
Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk fighter
A
Vought F4U-1D Corsair fighter
A
Piper J-3 Cub
A
Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk II
An
Aeronca C-2
ultralight aircraft
The
Stanley Nomad
glider
An
Arrow Sport A2
A
Space Systems/Loral
FS-1300 communications satellite, previously a ground spare for
Sirius Satellite Radio
The
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission payload that flew on
STS-99 .
Bob Hoover 's
Shrike Commander
Gondola of
Breitling Orbiter 3 ,
[14] the first balloon to fly around the world non-stop
Gondola C-49 of
Goodyear Blimp Columbia (N4A), class
GZ-20 , and Gondola of
Goodyear Pilgrim
[15]
[16]
A
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka kamikaze aircraft
A
Pegasus XL air-launched rocket.
The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, and 169 aircraft and 152 large space artifacts were on display as of May 2012;
[5] plans called for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft.
[17] The current list is maintained at the
Objects On Display page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site.
Events
A number of events are held at the museum throughout the year.
[18] These include lectures, book signings, sleepovers, and events for children. Some of the museum's larger events include Air & Scare for Halloween,
[19] an open house,
[20] and Innovations in Flight: Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display.
[21]
Media appearances
The center made its first media appearance in the 2009 film
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . The center remained open while filming took place, although certain areas were closed.
[22] The
SR-71 that is on display in the museum is featured as the vehicle mode for
Jetfire , a
Decepticon who switches sides to become an
Autobot , in the film. In the film, it is referred to simply as the
National Air and Space Museum .[
citation needed ]
Gallery
See also
References
^
"Visitor Statistics" . Smithsonian Newsdesk.
Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018 .
^
Small, Lawrence M. (December 2003).
"A Century's Roar and Buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center opens its massive doors to the public" .
Smithsonian . Retrieved January 14, 2024 .
^
"Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center History" .
Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015 .
^ Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" Smithsonian . Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59.
^
a
b
c
"National Air and Space Museum Press Kit: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Fact Sheet" . Smithsonian Institution. Archived from
the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012 .
^
a
b
c
d Ezell, Linda Neuman; Museum, National Air and Space (2004).
Building America's hangar: the design and construction of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum.
ISBN
9781904832072 .
Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
^ Irvine, Madison (October 11, 2017).
"Experience the History of Wartime Aviation at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center" . Argunners Magazine | Military War History Website .
Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019 .
^
National Air and Space Museum Receives Gift from Airbus for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Archived January 11, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Commission Action" (PDF) . National Capital Planning Commission . December 1, 2016.
Archived (PDF) from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021 .
^
"Executive Director's Recommendation" (PDF) . National Capital Planning Commission . December 1, 2016.
Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021 .
^
"Space Shuttle Discovery Flies to the Smithsonian" . Smithsonian Nationalk Air and Space Museum. April 17, 2012. Archived from
the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012 .
^
"Lockheed 1049F-55-96 "Constellation" - National Air and Space Museum" . Archived from
the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019 .
^
Dornier Do-335
Archived May 17, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Gondola, Breitling Orbiter 3" . Archived from
the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
^
"Goodyear Blimp Gondola Goes to Smithsonian" . Archived from
the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
^
"The Airships Land at the Udvar-Hazy Center" .
Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019 .
^
"Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Looking Ahead"
Archived December 6, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine Accessed September 30, 2006
^
"Events | National Air and Space Museum" . airandspace.si.edu .
Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
^
"Air & Scare | National Air and Space Museum" . airandspace.si.edu . Archived from
the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
^
"Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House | National Air and Space Museum" . airandspace.si.edu . Archived from
the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
^
"Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display - Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display" . Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display .
Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
^ Keith Knight (June 7, 2008).
"More High-Fliers at Air & Space" . The Washington Post .
Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2017 .
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