Smithsonian's AV birds

Valley Press ^ | May 30, 2004. | ALLISON GATLIN

[BenLurkin]

WASHINGTON - If the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall is aviation's Mecca, the pilgrimage now has a second site. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, named for its primary backer, opened adjacent to Dulles International Airport in December, providing a cavernous showcase for the Smithsonian's larger aircraft and space vehicles, as well as many others that couldn't find room in the traditional space.

Unlike the Mall site with its sleek, boxy exterior, the new center across the river in nearby Virginia invokes the aviation history inside with its massive hangars and control tower observation deck. Whereas the original facility features carpeted galleries of a more traditional museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center is truly hangar-like, with aircraft spread across the concrete floor of the single-level space and hanging from the crossbars of the arched ceiling. Elevated walkways allow visitors a birds-eye view of those displayed on the floor, and to get nose-to-nose with the aircraft hanging as if in flight.

Outside, the approach to the museum is highlighted by a walkway bordered by small, arched steel panels that evoke air foils, creating a curved wall about waist-high. The panels of this Wall of Honor, each topped with the phrase "Dedicated to all those who have shared a passion for flight," list names of those who have contributed to aerospace heritage. Visitors may find specific names by checking the registry at the museum's information desk.

On one cloudy Sunday, a few people braved the brisk winds to search out familiar names, while others posed for photographs beneath the soaring sculpture which stands at the center of the walk. "Ascent," by John Safer, is a shimmering twist of metal reaching toward the heavens and bounded at its base by cascading water.

Once inside the gleaming center, visitors enter the museum space on the second level overlooking the sleek a SR-71 Blackbird. Behind it, illuminated through the portal of the James McDonnell Space Hangar, is another former denizen of the Antelope Valley, the space shuttle test vehicle Enterprise.

The massive hangar space is roughly divided into sections, such as business aviation or Cold War aviation, with displays featuring an overall description of each division. Glass cases feature smaller artifacts related to the aircraft and the pilots who flew them.

Aerospace Valley honored

Small plaques identify each aircraft with a brief description of its use and claim to fame.

The center is still a work in progress, with many of the planned exhibits not yet installed. Some visitor services, such as a food court, are under construction.

The Udvar-Hazy Center still provides enough to explore for a lengthy afternoon visit.

As with the earlier National Mall museum, Aerospace Valley is well-represented. From the impressive entry with the Blackbird and Enterprise, to either end of the center hangar spanning the categories from modern military aircraft to sport aviation, aircraft that were designed, built and flown here are found.

At the museum's center, the SR-71 displays the distinctive Lockheed Martin "Skunk Works" logo on its tail. This particular aircraft set a world speed record on its last flight, from Los Angeles to Washington on March 6, 1990. Traveling at an average speed of 2,124 mph, the Blackbird made the cross-country trip to its new home in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

During the guided tour of the museum, docents have had to change their introduction to the Blackbird, qualifying it as the fastest manned air-breathing airplane. The distinction is necessary since the March 27, 2004 flight of the X-43 to Mach 7, making it the fastest unmanned air-breathing airplane in history.

The display case adjacent the SR-71, setting up the section for Cold War aviation, includes such memorabilia as a set of Russian stacking dolls bought by downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers upon his release from a Soviet prison, as well as the felt fedora he wore. Other items are a piece of coal from the Berlin Airlift; Strategic Air Command's Gen. Curtis LeMay's "trademark cigar," service cap, flight jacket and medals; and flight suits and survival gear for the SR-71 crews.

Among the memorabilia showcased in the Korean and Vietnam War aviation display is the battered leather flight jacket worn by Chuck Yeager on his famous Oct. 14, 1947, flight in the X-1, the first flight to break the sound barrier.

At the far end of the modern military aircraft display is the X-35, the winning entry in the competition for the Joint Strike Fighter. Created by a Lockheed Martin Aeronautics-led team, the X-35 plied the skies above Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base during flight testing in 2001.

This particular aircraft, the Short Take-off Vertical Landing configuration, achieved what no other aircraft has ever done: a short takeoff, a level supersonic dash and a vertical landing in a single flight in August 2001.

Pieces of history

It is considered one of the shortest and most effective flight test programs in history, according to the information at the display. Signatures of proud team members can be seen lining the landing gear well.

Adjacent the X-35, the modern military aviation display includes recent artifacts from the war on terror, including the bright yellow Humanitarian Daily Rations dropped into Afghanistan and fragments from the World Trade Center and Pentagon taken from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The opposite end of the aviation hangar holds specimens of World War I and World War II aviation, including the gleaming metal of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress bomber which carried the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

Nearby stands the bright yellow Northrop N-1M Flying Wing. Built in 1940 of plywood over a steel frame, it was aviation designer Jack Northrop's first attempt at the concept that would eventually lead to the B-2 stealth bomber.

The remainder of the aviation hangar gives way to commercial, business and sport aircraft. The space is anchored by the Boeing 367-80 "Dash 80," the prototype of the first jet airliner; and the giant Air France Concorde supersonic jet.

Above it all, small aerobatic and sport aviation aircraft hang from the rafters in awkward positions, as if frozen during an air show performance.

Tucked beneath the wing of the Dash 80 is another former AV resident: Nemesis. This speed demon of a Formula 1 air racer was designed, built and piloted by a team led by residents Jon and Tricia Sharp, and dominated the Reno Air Races during the 1990s. Piloted by Jon Sharp, Nemesis won the national championship title nine years in a row before its retirement in 1999.

Introducing the category of sport aviation is a description of home-builts, the do-it-yourself aircraft popularized by organizations such as the Experimental Aircraft Association.

"One of the best examples of the creative talent often seen among home-built designers is Burt Rutan," the display reads. "His VariEze is one of the most innovative and influential home-built airplanes."

Introduced in 1976, the VariEze sold 3,000 sets of plans in the first three years. Designed to carry two adults approximately 700 miles at about 180 mph, the airplane is economical to fly and maintain.

Like many of Mojave-based Rutan's designs, the VariEze is distinctive, with canards at the nose that appear almost as third and fourth wings, and without the traditional vertical tail. Even on the ground, the airplane is easy to identify by its "kneeled parking" position with the nose touching the ground. The VariEze silhouette is found adorning all of the plaques in the sport aviation section of the museum.

Under restoration, the space shuttle Enterprise is the sole resident of the as-yet-unopened James McDonnell Space Hangar. This shuttle prototype was never intended for space travel, but was used for approach and landing tests from the back of the 747 carrier aircraft in the late 1970s at Edwards Air Force Base.

In storage for almost two decades, Enterprise is still providing valuable data for the space shuttle program. Portions of the leading edges of the vehicle's wings were removed last year for impact testing during the investigation of the Columbia accident. The gaps left by the removed sections are still visible to museum visitors.

Although the space hangar itself is not yet open for visitors, Enterprise can be clearly seen from the entry way, and on two levels of walkways.

Flanking the shuttle are a Mercury capsule, which also was never flown in space because its mission was canceled in favor of advancing to the Gemini program; and a Gemini 7 capsule.

Other exhibits that will one day join these are temporarily set up at one end of the aviation hangar. These include such artifacts as the massive computers used to control rocket launches and satellites, portions of the Spacelab modules which carried scientific experiments aboard the space shuttle and an early unmanned Mercury capsule.

Space program artifacts found in the glass display cases include astronaut James Irwin's Apollo 15 spacesuit and the stopwatch used in mission control to time the descent of the Apollo 11 lunar lander.

For details about the new Udvar-Hazy Center and to take a virtual tour of the exhibits, visit the center on the Internet at http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/.

[BenLurkin]

"VALLEY BIRD - The space shuttle prototype Enterprise is under restoration in the as-yet-unopened Space Hangar. Portions of the wings' leading edges were removed for testing during the investigation into the Columbia accident last year. The shuttle is at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, named for its primary backer, opened adjacent to Dulles International Airport in December, providing a cavernous showcase for the Smithsonian's larger aircraft and space vehicles, as well as many others that couldn't find room in the traditional space." ALLISON GATLIN/Valley Press

[RFEngineer]

Former Edwards FTE regards.....It's a great museum, rivaling the Wright-Pat museum in static displays......Awesome and well worth a trip.