I'm In

"S65" (granthp) 06/14/2017 at 13:07 • Filed to: Air & Space, National Air and Space Museum

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BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:09

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Isn’t it amazing in person?

I loved it.

f86sabre > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:12

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Awesome sauce. Say hi to the Winnie Mae for me in the navigation gallery.

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 06/14/2017 at 13:15

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I just wrote about the Vega for a TDIAH post coming in July.

Honeybunchesofgoats > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:15

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Not for long. SECURITY!

ttyymmnn > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:17

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That first picture: America’s first jet fighter, the world’s first supersonic aircraft, America’s first hypersonic aircraft. So. Much. History.

Chariotoflove > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:18

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I haven’t been since grad school. I can’t wait to show my wife and daughter. First time I’m called to serve on study section at NIH, I’m taking them with me, even if it means pulling my kid out of school.

McMike > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:31

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I’m four blocks from that building right now.

God, that F-104 has got have been over that escalator for like, 40 years.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 06/14/2017 at 13:32

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We went the summer of 76 when it first opened, and we went to the Udvar-Hazy Center in the first days that it was open. I will not go to DC without visiting one of the other, but the U-H Center is, in many ways, much more impressive than the NASM.

ttyymmnn > McMike 06/14/2017 at 13:32

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We went in 76 the summer it opened. I don’t remember the F-104, but it may well have been there.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 06/14/2017 at 13:42

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Good to know. I have never been to the Udvar-Hazy Center. Now, it’s on my list.

Young me went to the NASM in fifth grade and was awestruck. Young adult me then got to visit after they added a Star Trek exhibit, including the Enterprise suspended from the ceiling. I was even more awestruck. I’m dying to see what’s happened since.

These days, I’m even more into the history of air and space flight than I was as a kid. You never outgrow this stuff.

McMike > ttyymmnn 06/14/2017 at 13:42

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We moved here in ‘77, and I can’t remember a time it wasn’t there. Same with the X-15, one of the Wright Flyer replicas, and the Spirit of St Louis.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-f-104a-starfighter

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flew this F-104A for 19 years as a flying test bed and a chase plane. It was used to test the reaction controls later used on the North American X-15. This aircraft was the seventh F-104 built and was transferred to the Museum after its last flight, to Andrews Air Force Base, on August 26, 1975.

user314 > S65 06/14/2017 at 13:43

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So very jelly.

Have fun!

ttyymmnn > McMike 06/14/2017 at 13:52

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7th built. Neat.

facw > Chariotoflove 06/14/2017 at 13:57

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The Enterprise model finished up a lengthy conservation process last year: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/enterprise-studio-model-back-display . Some of the pictures of it during restoration are really impressive.

Chariotoflove > facw 06/14/2017 at 14:00

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So cool!

McMike > ttyymmnn 06/14/2017 at 14:00

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Forgive me for this, but I just found some “Where are they now” info on NASA aircraft.

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/history/where_are_they_now/index.html

just-a-scratch > S65 06/14/2017 at 14:56

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If you liked NASM, and you’re ever in the Seattle area, check out the Museum of Flight.

https://www.museumofflight.org/

ttyymmnn > McMike 06/14/2017 at 16:11

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What’s to forgive? That was terrific.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 06/14/2017 at 16:18

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My obsession with aircraft started when I was young and my parents were divorced. My brother and I flew unaccompanied to visit my mom, and it was always a great adventure. As you can see twice a week, I haven’t outgrown it either.

The last time we went to NASM in 2014 it was really crowded and hard to move around. The U-H Center, on the other hand, has so much room that it never feels crowded. It has aircraft on the ground and suspended from the ceiling, and catwalks let you look down on the floor displays or directly at the hanging aircraft. And you’re close enough to IAD that you can see the heavies landing from the parking lot. I think there is a shuttle from the NASM to the U-H Center.

McMike > ttyymmnn 06/14/2017 at 17:08

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That’s the kind of thing you could scroll through for an hour or so. Not sure if you had the spare time.

I know I didn’t. :)

ttyymmnn > McMike 06/14/2017 at 17:11

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I have gone through the entire Dryden image feed. There are some really great photos there, and they have been the inspiration for some of my one-off articles on obscure planes.