Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

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The entrance to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Aerial photo of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. As the NASM continued to collect aircraft, it long ago outgrew its primary facility in crowded downtown Washington, D.C. This center is a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum. The Center was made possible by a US$65 million gift in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the International Lease Finance Corporation.^[1] Construction of the Center required fifteen years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co.^[2]

1 Collection
2 External links
3 References
4 Photo Gallery

[edit] Collection

The Enterprise in the space wing of Udvar-Hazy

Opened in December 2003, the Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, particularly items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including:

the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
the Space Shuttle Enterprise
the Gemini VII capsule
an SR-71 Blackbird
an Air France Concorde supersonic jetliner
the Boeing 367-80 jet transport, which was the prototype for the Boeing 707
a Redstone rocket
the Langley Aerodrome A, an attempt at powered flight by Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley
the Northrop N-1
the only surviving Dornier Do 335 Pfiel
the only surviving Heinkel He 219 Uhu
the only surviving Arado Ar 234 "Blitz"
one of two surviving Bachem Ba 349 Natter's
the only surviving Nakajima J1N1 Gekko
one of four surviving Northrop P-61 Black Widows
one of two surviving Boeing P-26 Peashooters
a Bede BD-5, a single-seat, homebuilt aircraft that was somewhat popular in the 1970s
the Beck-Mahoney Sorceress, which is known as the winningest racing biplane in aviation history
a Japanese balloon-bomb, such as killed 6 US civilians in Oregon during WWII

The museum is in the process of installing exhibits, but more than 120 aircraft and 140 space-exploration exhibits are already on display as of 2006, and plans call for eventually installing over 200 aircraft.^[3] It also contains an IMAX theater.

[edit] External links

The Interior of the Udvar-Hazy Center

[edit] References

^ Small, L. M. "A century's roar and buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opens to the public". In "From the Secretary". Smithsonian. Vol. 34, p. 20.
^ Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" Smithsonian. Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59.
^ Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center - Looking Ahead Accessed September 30, 2006

[edit] Photo Gallery

Panorama from the central catwalk

MiG 15 of the type piloted by Polish defector Frank Jarecki	The Enola Gay	The shuttle Enterprise	Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Air France Concorde	Interior view showing the Enola Gay	The space shuttle Enterprise	The SR-71 at the center of the hangar
Interior view	Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer