The Udvar Hazy is not the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) proper which is located in the center of Washington. I am sure you all know that but some tourists get confused. NASM is the most visited museum in the world but is not big enough to hold the Smithsonian collection of aircraft, hence Udvar Hazy which in itself is not yet big enough to hold the entire collection although plans are afoot to expand it considerably.
First up some details; the brochure doesn’t tell you Dulles is some miles from Washington DC and to get there from Washington one has to take a train (metro) and a bus to Dulles and then a shuttle to the Museum – allow at least an hour and a half travelling time and ask your hotel for the best options from where you are staying. It will also cost you about $20+ AUD. They are currently building new transport option to the Museum so I imagine that transport will get better in the future.
You can source any information about the museum you like on line but here are my thoughts.
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- Lockheed P 38J 10 LO Lightning
The site is fantastic – the museum is one huge hall with the collections arranged by theme on the floors and suspended along the hall roof with 3 levels of walkways and it is well lit although not ideal for photographers is pretty good nonetheless
The collections are comprehensive although at present WW11 bombers are a bit light on with the B29 (Enola Gay) being the highlight however this will change with expansion
The Japanese and German WW11 aircraft collections are the highlight for me and they are stunning!!
The Space Shuttle is a dominant feature of the Space collection but it is all very interesting
One feature is the fantastic collection of WW1 aircraft a lot of which are very rare indeed
Whist I was there they were setting up the restoration hall which when working will be huge and of immense interest to all.
Current exhibits are extensive. Here is the mere A & B letters of the collection. Check the website for the entire collection.
- Aeronca C-2 Collegian
- Aichi M6A1 Seiran
- American Aerolights Double Eagle
- Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz
- Arlington Sisu 1A
- Arrow Sport A2-60[
- Autogiro Company of America AC-35
- Baldwin Red Devil
- Beck-Mahoney Sorceress
- Bede BD-5B
- Beechcraft 35 Bonanza “Waikiki Beech”
- Beechcraft D18S Twin Beech
- Beechcraft King Air
- Beechcraft D18S Twin Beech
- Bell 206 LongRanger Spirit of Texas
- Bell Model 30
- Bell H-13J
- Bell 47b
- Bell H-13J
- Bell Model 30 Ship 1A Genevieve
- Bell UH-1H Iroquois “Huey”
- Bell XV-15 TRRA
- Bellanca CF
- Benoist-Korn Type XII
- Bensen B-6 Gyroglider
- Bensen B-8M Gyrocopter Spirit of Kitty Hawk
- Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud
- Boeing 367-80[15]
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay[
- Boeing FB-5 Hawk
- Boeing P-26A Peashooter
- Boeing-Stearman N2S-5 Kaydet
- Bowlus 1-S-2100 Senior Albatross “Falcon”
- Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross
- Bücker Bü-133C Jungmeister (Young Master)
General comments:
The best Aviation Museum in general terms I have ever seen.
I rate this Museum very highly and I strongly suggest if you can that you go there at least once in your lifetime.
© John Parker 2013