Washington D.C. houses many objects from American history. One of my favorite places that I visited the last time I was there was the Udvar-Hazy building of the Air and Space museum. All of the planes and flying objects are full-size and completely put together. When you first enter the building, there is a commanding view of the SR71 Blackbird with the Space Shuttle in a hall behind it.
Being a fan of flight and more so, space flight, I was fascinated by my visit to the space shuttle at the Udvar-Hazy portion of the Air and Apace museum. I took several photos from the front of the space shuttle, but could not get enough of all the small details of this unique flying ship. I shot this one of the ceramic composite tiles across the belly of the shuttle. It is a true tribute to human ingenuity that someone could devise this process of adding thousands of tiles to an airplane to make it safe to reenter the atmosphere.
In the 1960’s, McDonnell Douglas introduced the F-4 fighter jet. Commonly referred to as The Phantom. This jet fighter was at the cutting edge of technology for the time and was supposed to keep the pilots more safe and away from the action. So far away from the action that the geniuses that designed it decided not to include guns of any type on the original configuration. Despite this lack, it was a major part of US air power during the modern jet era.
Probably my third favorite plane at the Udvar Hazy building was the Enola Gay. This is one of the planes that helped end World War 2 in the Pacific Theater. Unfortunately, this plane carried more destruction in its belly than most other war planes carry in their entire existence. Knowing what it did just makes being in its shadow that much more awe inspiring.
On my visit to The District, I really wanted to get a little time inside the National Air and Space Museum. However, most of the museums closed around 5:30 PM, so I had to make some tough decisions, and this was one of those to go. I did get this shot as we walked by. It is definitely one to make a point to stop at on my next visit.
Finally, after not getting to focus much on photography, I set up a sunrise trip. This will be followed by a stop at Old Car City and then home for a few hours of fun photography.
One of the must see spots in the Washington D.C. area is the Udvar-Hazy center. It is located next to Dulles Airport and you can even get there by shuttle from the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Just don’t forget to watch the time so you don’t miss the shuttle back. If you drive, there is a fee for parking, but it is free if you get there after 4:00 PM. However, that only leaves you an hour and a half to fly through. One of the main attractions used to be the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a test shuttle for NASA, but since the end of the Shuttle program, the Discovery has found its home here. This shot is from the Enterprise. I thought it was descent, I didn’t have a wide enough lens, but you can check out Tim Stanley‘s shot of the Enterprise.
Most boys are fascinated by big trucks. It seems that the larger they are the cooler and if it hauls a lot of dirt, the better. All it takes is a trip to the local toy isle to find dump trucks in all shapes and sizes. The common denominator for all is the ability to carry massive amounts of dirt. And every boy that I know likes to play in the dirt. So, it was no surprise to find a massive dump truck parked outside the Tellus Museum. You know its a big dump truck when the tires are taller than your average person.
There are not many castles in the United States. In fact, there are no “real” castles if you think of them as having been built in the medieval times. The offices of the Smithsonian Institute occupy one of them on the National Mall [Continue Reading…]
I have posted numerous photos from my trip to Washington D.C. and from the Udvar-Hazy building on the Air and Space museum. There are so many fascinating air planes located at the Udvar-Hazy building, but I believe my favorite has to be …Continue Reading Here…
October 1957, the Soviet Socialist Republic launched Sputnik, the first man made satellite. This began the space race between the United States and the USSR that went on until the 1970’s and gave birth to the reusable orbital aircraft the Space Shuttle. During the Space Race, the United States and USSR competed for the prestige of being the first to have an ..Continue Reading Here…
