Udvar Hazy Center

On my way to New York City, I again spent a day in Washington D.C., this time to see the Udvar Hazy Center, an annex to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. This is where the big toys are on exhibition!

It is located near Dulles Airport and looks like a terminal itself.

The first prominent thing you see when entering: The blackbird, a Mach 3+ reconnaissance device developed in the 1960s. Pretty impressive.

Many WWII airplanes are on exhibit.

A Bell UH-1, kind of a symbol of the Vietnam War where it served as a medical and evacuation vehicle.

Another highlight: The Concord. Since I was a kid, I have always been fascinated by this very special, supersonic passenger airplane. A pleasure to see it in real life.

Clearly the highlight and my main reason to go there: The space shuttle Discovery. This is an impressive symbol of modern engineering and science and an awe-inspiring monument of technological history.

Also interesting to see: one of the many test and preparation versions of the lunar landing module.

Finally, another piece that gave me a chill: the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.