National Air and Space Museum Annex
Soon after I finished my Louisiana assignment, I was scheduled for a two week training session in Washington DC. While I go to DC several times a year, I have sadly not visited the fantastic National Air and Space Museum Annex, also known as the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located near Dulles. It was high time for me to go. While admission to the museum was technically free, it costs $15 for parking. But it’s certainly well worth it. As soon as I parked, I hastened toward the entrance, giddy with excitement.
The two exhibits I wanted to see most at the Annex was the Boeing Dash 80 and the Enola Gay. The Dash 80 is the prototype of the Boeing 707, which kick started golden age of commercial aviation. The Enola Gay is the most famous B-29 Stratofortress, as it carried the atomic bomb to Nagasaki, which helped bring World War II to an end.
In addition to those two primary exhibits, the other exhibits at the Annex are quite good as well.
Vought F4U Corsair
FW-190
A very rare Me-163 Komet
Hawker Hurricane
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, with a Mitsubishi Zero in the back ground
Republic F-105 Thunderchief
For some reason I didn’t take pictures of the Space Shuttle Discovery, but the exhibit alone is well worth the visit. There’s also an observation deck with a nice view of Dulles. Just below the observation deck is an air traffic control exhibit complete with a couple mock up consoles. There were a few retired controllers volunteering their time with exhibit. I stuck up a conversation with one of them worked as a TRACON controller at SoCal Center. He was incredibly enthusiastic and very interesting to talk to. It was kind of funny as we getting some eye rolls and stares since we were so engrossed in conversation.
If you have a long layover at Dulles, I highly recommend visiting the museum. It’s absolutely worth it. I believe there’s a free shuttle bus from the airport to the museum, which makes visits quite easy during layovers.
Last edited by dat4life; Jul 30, 2013 at 8:13 pm