Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
| Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 2004 |
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| Established | December 15, 2003 |
| Location | Chantilly, Virginia, United States |
| Type | Air and Space Museum |
| Visitor figures | 1,186,493 (2009)[1] |
| Public transit access | Shuttle bus between museum and Dulles International Airport |
| Website | www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/ |
The Steven F. 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, United States.
The 53,067 square feet (4,930.1 m2) facility 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, an aircraft leasing corporation.[2] Construction of the Center, which was designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, required 15 years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co.[3] Site Civil Engineering design was performed by Patton Harris Rust and Associates, Inc. of Chantilly, Virginia.
NASM has always had more artifacts than could be displayed at the main museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Most of the collection had been stored, unavailable to visitors, at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Silver Hill, Prince George's County, Maryland. A substantial addition to the center encompasing restoration, conservation and collection storage facilities is expected to be complete in late 2011; once complete, restoration facilities and museum archives will be moved from from their current location at the Garber facility to the Udvar-Hazy Center. A taxiway connects Dulles Airport to the museum.[4]
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[edit] Collection
The center finished construction and opened December 15, 2003, as part of powered flight centennial celebrations. the Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, including 170 aircraft, 152 large space and missile artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including:[1]
- The Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
- The atmospheric test vehicle, Space Shuttle Enterprise, although currently at Udzar-Hazy, is expected to be flown to the JFK International Airport in Spring of 2012 and then be moved by barge to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in the Summer.[5] The orbital spacecraft, Space Shuttle Discovery is replacing Enterprise and is expected to arrive at the Udvar-Hazy on April 19th, 2012.[6][7]
- The Gemini VII capsule
- An SR-71 Blackbird
- An Air France Concorde supersonic airliner
- A US Air Force Lockheed L049, the military version of the Lockheed Constellation ("Connie")
- The Boeing 367-80 jet transport, which was the prototype for the Boeing 707
- A Redstone rocket
- The Langley Aerodrome A, an early attempt at powered flight by Smithsonian Secretary Samuel Pierpont Langley
- The Northrop N-1
- The only surviving Dornier Do 335 Pfeil [8]
- The only surviving Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the ex-Pan Am Clipper Flying Cloud
- The only surviving Heinkel He 219 Uhu
- The only surviving Arado Ar 234 Blitz
- One of three surviving Bachem Ba 349 Natters
- 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, single-seat, home-built aircraft that was somewhat popular in the 1970s (5J version is smallest manned jet aircraft)
- The Beck-Mahoney Sorceress which is known as the "winningest" racing biplane in aviation history
- A 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 F-35 Lightning II
- F-14 Tomcat involved in the Gulf of Sidra incident
- 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 Winnie Mae, a Lockheed Vega piloted by Wiley Post
- The first aircraft operated by FedEx, a Dassault Falcon 20
- A piece of fabric from the LZ 129 Hindenburg which survived the Hindenburg disaster.
- Mercury-Atlas 10 unused Project Mercury spacecraft
- A Launch Entry Suit
- A Vought RF-8 Crusader
- A McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II
- A Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
- A NASA Pathfinder
- A Piasecki PV-2
- A Caudron G-4
- A Focke Wulf Fw 190
- A Westland Lysander
- A CASA 352L
- A Republic F-105D Thunderchief
- A Lockheed P-38 Lightning
- Darryl Greenamyer's Grumman F8F Bearcat "Conquest I"
- The North American P-51C Mustang "Excalibur III"
- A Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
- A Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat
- A Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 "Fishbed"
- A Beechcraft Bonanza
- A Beechcraft Model 18
- A Bell 47
- A Bell H-13 Sioux
- A Bell UH-1 Iroquois
- A Boeing-Stearman Model 75
- A Grumman A-6E Intruder
- A Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk
- A Piper J-3
- A Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk
- An Aeronca C-2
- The Stanley Nomad
- An Arrow Sport A2
The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, but 163 aircraft and 154 large space artifacts are already on display as of November 2008,[9] and plans call for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft.[10] The current list is maintained at the Objects On Display page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site. The museum also contains an IMAX theater.
On December 2, 2008, the center received a gift of $6 million for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from Airbus Americas Inc. The gift was the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008. Phase Two of the Udvar-Hazy Center will be dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian’s collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials.
The new wing will include:
- 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 at work rarely seen by the public.
- 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.
- Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory: will provide conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts.
- Collections Processing Unit: a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts.[11]
[edit] Transportation
The Udvar-Hazy Center is located near Dulles Airport. From downtown Washington, D.C., the easiest route runs from I-66 West to VA 267 (Dulles Toll Road) West to VA 28 South, then follow the signs to a specially-marked exit off of VA 28 that leads directly to the museum parking lot.
As in other Smithsonian museums, admission is free, but there is a fee to park (currently $15 per vehicle) at Udvar-Hazy because of its close proximity to Dulles Airport; the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority requested a parking fee higher than the least expensive parking fee at Dulles due to the possibility of travelers taking advantage of lower-cost parking at a non-airport location, as well as the financial and insurance liabilities associated with airport patrons parking on non-airport property.
While it is possible to get to Udvar-Hazy from the National Air and Space Museum using mass transit, direct shuttle service was discontinued in 2006. The National Air and Space Museum has a flier available to patrons with shuttle bus schedules and bus and route information. Visitors wishing to take mass transit to Udvar-Hazy from downtown DC should take Metro Bus #5A to Dulles Airport, then catch the Virginia Regional Transit shuttle bus to the museum. The earliest you can arrive via Virginia Regional Transit is 10:45am. The entire commute takes 1–2 hours, because the schedules are set up in such a way that passengers miss the connecting bus by five or ten minutes, resulting in a wait of up to one hour at the airport. Drop-off by shuttle or bus is allowed free of charge -this includes hotel shuttle vans.
DC Metro service will become available to the Dulles International Airport with the completion of the Silver Line in 2016 with the possibility of transportation being offered to the museum.
[edit] 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.[12] The SR-71 that is on display in the museum was used as Jetfire, a Decepticon who switches sides to become an Autobot, in the film. In the film, it is misnamed as the National Air & Space Museum.
[edit] Photo gallery
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MiG 15 of the type piloted by Polish defector Franciszek Jarecki
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The Enola Gay
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Enola Gay, close up
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The shuttle Enterprise
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Interior view showing the Enola Gay
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A British designed Hawker Hurricane fighter
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The SR-71 on the ground floor, With a P-40 hanging in foreground, and P-26 hanging in background.
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Interior view
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SR-71 Blackbird
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Mustang Excalibur
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Saturn V F-1 Engine on the left
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Udvar-Havy Center Press Kit". Smithsonian Institution. http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/pressroom/presskits/museumkit/facts_uhc.cfm.
- ^ 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 History
- ^ "NASA TRANSFERS TITLE TO SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER ENTERPRISE TO THE INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM IN NEW YORK CITY". Intrepid Museum. 2011-11-22. http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/shuttle/. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ BERGER, ERIC (December 7, 2009). "Discovery is Smithsonian's". Counting down to who will land a retired shuttle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6756689.html. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ^ "Welcome, Discovery!". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/discovery.cfm. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ Dornier Do-335
- ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Fact Sheet"
- ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Looking Ahead" Accessed September 30, 2006
- ^ National Air and Space Museum Receives Gift from Airbus for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
- ^ Keith Knight (2008-06-07). "More High-Fliers at Air & Space". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/06/AR2008060603921.html.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center |
Coordinates: 38°54′41.2″N 77°26′38.8″W / 38.911444°N 77.444111°W
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