Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - Steven Udvar-Hazy Center

Many people are familiar with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington, DC.  Not all are aware that there is a second site, the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport. 

This location houses scores of classic and historic aircraft.  We had been there once before but did not get all the way through it.  This weekend we went again to see what we hadn't been able to before.  There is now way to document everything there is to see, but here are a few of our favorites.

Dan at the entrance to the Boeing Aviation Hangar (l).  Barb looks over the SR 71 Blackbird (r).

The SR-71 Blackbird from dead on front (l).  The space shuttle Enterprise (r).

The gallery of civil airplanes.

The Boeing 367-80 (l), predecessor to the 707 and the KC-135.  The Concorde (r), the only supersonic commercial airplane ever built and operated by airlines.

The Boeing Strato-liner (l), one of the first airplanes to have a pressurised cabin and fly above weather.  THE Enola Gay (r) which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

It was a good day to be inside, as cold as it was, but it was fascinating looking at all the aircraft on display.  Hey Randy, Randy Shields, if you get out here again soon maybe we can do one more trip here for the record before we move back to Seattle!