Men’s Activity Group Field Trip to Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center

The Men’s Activity Group invites you to join for a trip to The Smithsonian Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Meet at Kol Shalom at 9:45am to carpool to the museum.

The Udvar-Hazy Center is much larger (it’s basically an aircraft hangar) than the Air and Space Museum in DC, with many more aircraft including larger aircraft. Visitors explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history, including two large hangars filled with over 3,000 history-making objects and over 200 aircraft and spacecraft. Space Shuttle Discovery.

Highlights include:

• Boeing B-29 Superfortress (Enola Gay): The historic World War II bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
• Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: The world’s fastest operational jet aircraft, holding records for flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in just over an hour.
• Air France Concorde (Fox Alpha): A 202-foot-long supersonic passenger jet that regularly cut transatlantic travel times in half.
• Apollo 11 Mobile Quarantine Facility,
• nitrogen-propelled MMU backpack system used by astronauts for untethered spacewalks in 1984
• Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (“The Overachiever”): The pioneering stealth fighter displayed in the modern military aviation collection.
• Northrop N1-M: Jack Northrop’s 1940 experimental “flying wing” that paved the way for modern stealth bombers like the B-2

The museum is next to Dulles airport in Chantilly VA, so it takes about an hour to get there, park, and arrive at the museum entrance. Once there, it’s all walking around aircraft, so be prepared for standing and walking. Admission is free, parking is $15, so it would be great if riders chip in to compensate drivers. Outside food and drink are not permitted in the Museum. Bottled water is allowed. There is a small cafe area including a Shake Shack vendor.

It takes several hours to tour the museum, and there are far more objects than anyone has the time and patience to view. We’ll probably spend about 2-3 hours there, and some cars may decide to stay longer.

Contact and RSVP:: Marc Lieber MPLieber@gmail.com (301) 529-2141