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The Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum opened at Dulles Airport in December of 2003, providing additional space for the Smithsonian Institution to display thousands of aviation and space artifacts that could not be exhibited at the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall.
The downtown museum and the Udvar-Hazy Center together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.
A centerpiece of the museum is the Boeing Aviation Hangar which permits visitors to see exhibits from three different levels. Visitors can walk among aircraft on the bottom floor, and view aircraft hanging from the arched ceiling on elevated skywalks.
The James S. McDonnell Space Hangar opened in November of 2004, and displays hundreds of famous spacecraft, rockets, satellites and space-related small artifacts, including a space shuttle.
Also included in the building complex is the Donald D. Engen Observation Tower which provides an excellent location from which visitors can watch air traffic at Dulles Airport. Access to the tower is via elevator.
The Center also offers the Airbus IMAX Theater, flight simulators, food service, and a museum store.
Admission to the Center is free, but there is a charge for parking.
We last visited the museum in October of 2011, and shot the following photographs at that time.
Boeing Aviation Hangar at Udvar-Hazy |
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B-29 Enola Gay (Serial Number 44-86292) at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum
After World War II was over, the Enola Gay was flown back to the United States in November, 1945, to Roswell Army Air Field.
In July of 1946, it was flown to Davis-Monthan AFB where it could be preserved, and title was transferred from the Air Force to the Smithsonian Institution.
Restoration began in December, 1984, and the Enola Gay was put on display at Udvar-Hazy in 2003.
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B-29 Enola Gay at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum |
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B-29 Enola Gay at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum |
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Boeing Dash-80, the 707 prototype |
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Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution at Dulles Airport |
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Pan American Airways Clipper Flying Cloud |
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USAF Lockheed Constellation |
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Federal Express FedEx Jet "Wendy" |
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The map below shows the location of the Udvar-Hazy Center in suburban Washington, D.C. It is physically located at 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, VA 20151. Phone 703.572.4118.
For more information and operating hours, we recommend a visit to the website of the Udvar-Hazy Museum.
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