[Nfbv-announce] State Convention Tour to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

[Fredric Schroeder]

>From Nancy Yeager:

 

The tour that the Potomac Chapter has arranged for Friday, November 12 as
part of Friday afternoon State convention activities is to the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy
Center near Dulles Airport.  It is the companion facility to the Air and
Space Museum on the National Mall. The building opened in December, 2003,
and

 

provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of
aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall  

 

Many engines, helicopters, ultra-lights, and experimental flying machines
are on display in a museum setting for the first time. Among the aviation
artifacts
on display are the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in the world;
the Boeing Dash 80, the prototype of the 707; the Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Enola Gay; and the deHavilland Chipmunk aerobatic airplane.  You will have
an opportunity to touch many of the objects on display including a wing of a

 

replica of a Wright Brothers plane, several different types of hydraulics to
compare their size, and a number of air planes.   

 

If you are feeling agile, you can climb into a tiny two-seater as if you
were the pilot.  

 

In the space area, there is a full-size space suit and a mock up of the
inside of a space shuttle where you can climb aboard and check out the
controls.  

 

The docents will also make available a number of miniature models of
artifacts where the actual items are not accessible.  

 

The cost of the tour is $25 per person.  The number of seats for the tour is
limited so if you wish to take the tour, you must purchase tickets in
advance
on the convention pre registration form.  If participation in the tour is
insufficient to cover the cost of the tour, the tour will be cancelled and a
refund will be issued.  Requests will be handled on a first come first
served basis.  

 

If you have questions about the tour, please contact Nancy Yeager,
(703)283-2524.