The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: What To Expect When Visiting Virginia’s Best Air & Space Museum
or as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by military aircraft. Maybe it's because I grew up on military bases so there were always jets and helicopters flying overheard. As a kid I watched movies like Top Gun, flew flight simulators like F-19 Stealth Fighter, sketched jets in notepads and read flight manuals. I had my career all planned out...I was going to join the Air Force as a pilot, then apply for the space program and fly shuttle missions. But unfortunately, by high school I knew those dreams were likely not going to happen because I would not meet the basic health requirements. While my eyesight was correctable, my allergies were not. "Generally speaking, pilot candidates must have no history of hay fever, asthma or allergies after age 12." Growing up in mainly tropical places during my early childhood, I never had any allergies. But when I was in late middle school we moved to Scotland and that set off hay fever and seasonal allergies I suffer with to this day. Every year nature tries to kill me.
So instead, I studied engineering in college and get my thrills by attending every air show I can, visiting every air and space museum I can, reading books, watching movies and tv shows and dreaming that one day I will have the opportunity to fly as a guest with either the Blue Angels or Air Force Thunderbirds. And one of my favorite air and space museums to visit is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center here in Dulles, Virginia. An extension of the National Air and Space Museum in DC, the Udvar Hazy center is made up of two hangars – Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar – that together have over 32,000 square feet of hundreds of aircraft and historical artifacts on display from the early days of aviation, the space program, commercial and military aviation and more. No matter how many times I go, I never get bored. There is so much to see you can easily spend a couple of hours or more. And maybe the best part of all – admission is always free (though you do have to pay $15 for parking).
The Boeing Aviation Hangar
Like I said, there is so much to see within the center, but I will be kind to all my readers and just show you my favorites – which is still a lot! Visitors enter the museum through the Boeing Avation Hanger, which is filled with aircraft from the early days of flight to military aircraft to commercial aircraft. I immediately make my way to the first overlook. Looking right and left you see planes both on the ground and suspended from the ceiling. In fact, one really awesome features of the museum is all of the walkways and overlooks throughout that give you a spectacular overview of all the aircraft.
But anywho…looking down you see my favorite exhibit of them all…the SR-71 Blackbird!
It’s one thing to read about the SR-71 Blackbird in a book or watch a documentary about it on TV, but to actually see it in person? Absolutely amazing!
After I am done looking at the SR-71 Blackbird I make my way down the walkway along the right side of the hanger which has an interesting assortment of military aircraft from different periods of time. One of my favorites in this section is the Sikorsky JRS-1, an amphibious seaplane that was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked the naval base.
Pictures really don’t do it justice – it really is a beautiful aircraft that commands attention. Not just because of it’s size, but I just think as you approach you can feel the history behind the plane and it makes you pause and reflect on what the pilots that flew this plane saw that day. Another really cool thing about this plane is that we got to watch staff restore the plane in the restoration hanger (more about that later!)
Two of my other favorite jets are here…the Blue Angel’s F/A-18 Hornet and the A-6 E Intruder.
In the middle of the hangar you will find the WW2 aircraft, including the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Like the Sikorsky seaplane, standing next to the Enola Gay humbles you. It’s the plane that killed 70,000 instantly (an estimated 140,000 overall by the end of 1945) but most likely saved countless more lives on both sides of the war. The sheer size of the Enola Gay and it’s location mean you can see the plane from many vantage points both on the ground level and from the different walkways.
There’s also a few other German and American aircraft from WW2 along with some really cool airplanes from the early days of flight.
After viewing all of the military planes, I then move to the left side of the hanger that houses commercial and general aviation planes. With planes all around and even overheard it’s easy to get overwhelmed not knowing where to look first! To be honest I don’t spend as much time in this section as I do the others, as it doesn’t hold as much interest for me. But I do have a few favorites I like to visit.
The most famous plane here is probably the Concorde.
And let’s be honest, who could look at these two planes and not smile?
The James S Mcdonnell Space Hanger
Once I am done looking at all the aircraft, I head to the space hanger. If you love anything related to space, you will love this part of the museum. When you first enter the space hanger, you are taken back by how much is packed into this hanger. There are some incredible exhibits in here, including many from the Apollo missions. There is even the airstream trailer that the Apollo 11 astronauts stayed in during their quarantine period after returning from the moon. But obviously the main attraction is the Space Shuttle Discovery.
For someone like me that loves all things space-related, it’s so awesome to see the shuttle in person. It’s not a movie prop or replica, it’s the real deal!
Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar
Another amazing area of Udvar Hazy that sets it apart from other museums is the restoration hanger, where you can see what aircraft and other artifacts are being repaired or restored. If you visit during the week chances are you will most likely see museum staff working on a number of projects.
We’ve been fortunate to see the restoration of a few aircraft from start to finish that are now on display in the museum…
along with a full-size X-Wing Starfighter movie prop on loan from Lucas Films that is now on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. This was a fun surprise for me since I am an avid Star Wars fan.
Donald D. Engen Observation Tower
One part of the museum you won’t want to miss is the observation tower. Located near the Imax Theater and accessible by an elevator, the tower has an exhibit explaining the workings of an airport and air traffic control tower and gives you a 360-degree view of planes flying in and out of Dulles International Airport. The amount of air traffic you see depends on the time of day and weather conditions. Sometimes you are lucky and see a lot of activity, and other times there’s hardly anything to see. But no matter what, it’s a pretty cool experience for aviation fans! Now a really geeky thing to do is bring up a flight tracking app like FlightAware and track planes as they arrive!
So there you have it, my favorite things to see at Udvar Hazy. It’s a large museum, so while it is possible to do a quick tour in about two hours, I suggest setting aside at least 3-4 hours to really take everything in (and more if you want to see an IMAX show). I also suggest following their social media accounts as there’s always special events happening at the museum.
Have you been? Share with us your favorite exhibit(s) in the comments!
Know Before You Go
- The museum is located at 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, VA
- Hours: Open daily (except for Christmas) from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m
- Cost: FREE!
- Parking: Lots of ample parking. Parking is $15 but free after 4:00pm.
- Tours: There are free guided tours throughout the day
- Food: There is a Shake Shack located in the museum. No outside food is allowed. There isn’t a picnic area outside either, so if you do bring your own food you’ll have to eat it at your car.
- Gift Shop: Of course there’s a gift shop, which I always visit and always walk out with a new book!
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