Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum is one of the most renowned institutes of this type in the US, and the world. Centered in downtown Washington DC, just a stroll away from Capitol Hill, and facing famous city’s promenade called, the Mall. 

For years this museum attracted great number of people to its halls. While general public was gasping at displayed subjects, more avid enthusiasts of aviation were really interested in all the hidden treasures, being still kept in the vaults. Limited exhibition space of the downtown building prevented us from seeing many more subjects, some of them quite unique. Smithsonian recently opened doors of its new and grand Udvar-Hazy center that allowed for many of those hidden airframes to see the light of day. New building is positioned near Dulles International Airport, outside of the city, with much more breathing space and exhibition floor. Eclipsing the old building in every way, Udvar Hazy Center brings Smithsonian to the top of the list of unavoidable stops for any pilgrim of aviation history (I would say shoulder to shoulder with Wright-Patterson USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio).

Admission to both Smithsonian centers is free, but if you want to see the downtown Museum be prepared to park your car somewhere else (there is no public parking available). If you are just visiting Washington, a good idea is to find a nearby hotel (there are couple) that will allow you to visit this, and many more attractions (museums of natural history, art, botanical gardens) all on foot. There is a shuttle bus making several round trips each day between the downtown museum and Udvar-Hazy center.    

Instead of trying to cover everything, here is a selection of subjects that caught my attention from both sites. The only bad news for more enthusiastic photographers is that no tripods are allowed inside Smithsonian, and the lighting is sometimes far from perfect, so one has to improvise... 

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Spirit of St. Louis		Glamorous Glennis	Airacomet

WWII room is constrained in space, but gives us good look to a few legendary planes, like Zero, Spitfire, Mustang, Messerschmitt 109, Macchi C202. And don’t miss Me-262, which is in separate jet section!

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Zero	Macchi C202	Hurricane

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Fw-190

Coming to Udvar-Hazy center, one is greeted with an elevated gallery, overlooking colossal main hangar. Central spot is taken by SR-71 Blackbird, looking fast even when standing still.

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SR-71			MiG-21

In a separate hangar, attached to the side of the main building rests space shuttle Enterprise. This is the only place where one can see this magnificent craft on a permanent display. This being said, Enterprise is not truly a spacecraft. This “grandfather of all space shuttles” was used in the early stages of the program for atmospheric testing. Therefore it lacks some systems (including propulsion) essential for flight to orbit. Looking from the outside though, one could never tell. Noticeably, leading edge panels are missing from both wing sides. NASA borrowed these recently for an in-depth search for a cause of Columbia disaster.

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Space Shuttle Enterprise			P-47

Another aircraft that changed history, for better or worse, is B-29 “Enola Gay”. This is a first time after many years that public can see the bomber that destroyed Hiroshima in whole.

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B-29 Enola Gay			Vega

Want Arado 234 Blitz in mint condition? Once again, this is the place to go. Excellently restored, one and only example of this revolutionary design sits in this museum, all complete with assisting rocket pods. 

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Arado 234 Blitz

If you need inspiration for weathering, here is a nice example of P-38 Lightning. This is actually newly restored airframe, purposefully made to look worn out.

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P-38		Kittyhawk

Yet another unique airplane found here is Japanese hydro-bomber, Seiran. Designed to launch from submarines for never realized attack on the west coast of the US, this is the last living example. Japanese WWII air force is also represented here with Shinden-Kai fighter, and one-way ticket to honor, suicide plane Ohka.

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Seiran	Shinden-Kai		Corsair

Many more historic aircraft are lined up in this magnificent place. I found out that one day is too short to see everything on display. My recommendation would be to see first the old Smithsonian exhibit in downtown area, then rest, see something else, and devote the whole day to go to the airport and visit the Udvar-Hazy center. You can trust me when I say; it is worth a trip. 

Enjoy.

 Aleksandar

Concorde		Caudron	Kingfisher

 

Gulfhawk	P-51	Peashooter	Ju-52