"Greg D. Moore \(Strider\)" wrote in message ...
So is anyone planning on visiting it on Opening Day?


http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/



I just attended the pre-opening "Appreciation Day" on Dec. 6th for the
Udvar-Hazy Center (the new part of the National Air & Space Museum).

It was well worth the 45 minute wait to get inside the museum despite
the sub-freezing temperatures and 20-knot winds.

The center is about 3 miles south of the Dulles Airport Access Road on
Rt. 28 (about 25 miles from the center of Washington D.C.) They have
a new clover-leaf exit from Rt. 28 leading directly to the musuem.
Parking is $12!

The museum itself reminds me of a cross between a gothic cross-shaped
cathedral and a giant quonset hut. The arms of the "cross" run
East-West and the "quonset hut" portion runs North-South. There is
also a large observation tower that allows you to view the whole area,
including Dulles airport. You enter from the east side and go through
"airport level security" as the guide told us - metal detectors and
bag searches.

After entering, you see the standard information desks and the IMAX
theater (saw a great film on helicopters). Continuing straight ahead
leads to the main hanger (quonset hut). You enter the hanger at about
mid-level. You can decend to the floor or ascend to higher walkways
for better views.

First items you see are a suspended P-40 in AVG garb and a suspended
F4U Corsair, gear down, suspended in an oblique orientation. Below is
an SR-71. Looking north is a section of modern military aircraft
included Mig-15, F-86, Mig-19, F-4, A-6, X-35 and a number of various
cruise missiles and SAMs, including a SA-2. Also in the northern wing
is a nice section on aircraft engines.

Heading south is a section of various WWII aircraft, including part of
a Japanese Ki-45, the Arado bomber from the downtown musuem, and B
model Mustang, a 20-mm armed Hurricane, P-38, P-47, F6F, FW-190, and
several others, not to mention the Enola Gay. A crosswalk allows you
to get within about 3 feet of the cockpit of the B-29 and look down
into it. Continuing south are more exhibits on civil aviation and
space, including a lear jet, 707, Boeing stratoliner, and Air France
Concorde. There are also space exhibits including a SpaceLab module,
several types of engines, including those from Titan II and Jupiter-C,
and a boiler plate Apollo CSM. One of the Soviet VEGA probes is also
there as is the original model for the mother ship from "Close
Encounters of the Third Kind.".

The western half of the "cross" is the space wing, which is not
completed yet. So far there is a Mercury and Gemini capsule and of
course the space shuttle Enterprise. The left wing leading edge is
missing since that portion was taken to Houston for foam impact
testing. Eventually that wing will include many more space-related
artifacts, including a Pegasus rocket.

The gift shops and food courts were not yet opened and I'm not sure if
they'll be opened by the 15th. There is still a fair amount of final
construction to be done. The Silver Hill aircraft restoration
facility will eventually move out here.

The only minor complaints I could muster would be:
1) photography - the hanger has so many aircraft that it is difficult
to find an angle that allows photography of a large aircraft (e.g.
B-29) without having some smaller aircraft obscuring part of it. This
will only get worse as more aircraft are added.
2) price - admission is free but everything else (IMAX, observation
tower, simulators, parking) costs money

Beware of the hand-rails - they are not all properly sanded yet and
two out of the five of us brought home bloody cuts on our hands.

already planning my next visit,
Patrick Marsden