Air and Space Museum near Dulles

[Scoop Snoop]

Not to be confused with the one on the Mall. My wife and I visited it during our DC trip. WOW! Smithsonian museums never disappoint, but this one is in a class of its own.

Just a very small sampler of what's there- the space shuttle Discovery, a Blackbird spy plane, a Concorde and, on a somber note, the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan. If you are not in awe of the Discovery upon standing right next to it, well, I don't know what to say. Maybe you died but don't know it yet. Walking underneath the massive Concorde was another jaw-dropping experience.

There are numerous exhibits and items from early on in our space history to the present. No shortage of helicopters, unusual homemade planes, and historical aircraft from the early 1900's onward.

https://airandspace.si.edu

If you go to DC, don't miss it by confining yourself to what is on the Mall. Your only cost is $15 for parking. Free admission as is true with all Smithsonian museums.

[lawdog77]

Not to be confused with the one on the Mall. My wife and I visited it during our DC trip. WOW! Smithsonian museums never disappoint, but this one is in a class of its own.

Just a very small sampler of what's there- the space shuttle Discovery, a Blackbird spy plane, a Concorde and, on a somber note, the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan. If you are not in awe of the Discovery upon standing right next to it, well, I don't know what to say. Maybe you died but don't know it yet. Walking underneath the massive Concorde was another jaw-dropping experience.

There are numerous exhibits and items from early on in our space history to the present. No shortage of helicopters, unusual homemade planes, and historical aircraft from the early 1900's onward.

https://airandspace.si.edu

If you go to DC, don't miss it by confining yourself to what is on the Mall. Your only cost is $15 for parking. Free admission as is true with all Smithsonian museums.

Any balloons at this one?

[Scoop Snoop]

The remnants of several of the ones shot down will arrive soon. If we can capture one intact, I sure hope they display it right next to the Discovery. Hell, I'd go back to DC just to see it.

[mu_hilltopper]

Indeed .. the Dulles A&SM is way better than the (much more famous) one at the Mall.



Not for nothing, but when we went, there was a McDonalds inside the museum that had pressurized spigots for condiments, *including* all you could drink sweet and sour sauce.   That lives in Hilltopper Family lore as the best McDonalds ever.

[pbiflyer]

A small nit pick. Enola Gay only dropped the first bomb. Bockscar dropped the one on Nagasaki.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bockscar

But yeah, it is an amazing place!

[pbiflyer]

Any balloons at this one?

The one on the mall has the story of Lawnchair Larry flight. Does that count?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnchair_Larry_flight

[Hards Alumni]

The one on the mall has the story of Lawnchair Larry flight. Does that count?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawnchair_Larry_flight

Fun fact about Larry.  He was actually the object shot down over Lake Huron this week.  May he rest in peace.

[Scoop Snoop]

Lawn Chair Larry was in a class by himself, but at the Dulles museum, one of the exhibits looked like a kid's boxcar with little wings. I have no idea how many people lost their lives by going into the air, however briefly, in things like that one (there were more that were similar).

They remind me of an episode of Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers on NPR years ago. They asked listeners to mail in famous last lines and read them on the air. The winner? "Watch this!"

[warriorchick]

Lawn Chair Larry was in a class by himself, but at the Dulles museum, one of the exhibits looked like a kid's boxcar with little wings. I have no idea how many people lost their lives by going into the air, however briefly, in things like that one (there were more that were similar).

They remind me of an episode of Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers on NPR years ago. They asked listeners to mail in famous last lines and read them on the air. The winner? "Watch this!"

In Wisconsin it's "Hold my beer".

[Warriors4ever]

Looks like it has some great stuff. Would like to see it, though I never have a car when I’m there, so a bit more complicated.

[Scoop Snoop]

Looks like it has some great stuff. Would like to see it, though I never have a car when I’m there, so a bit more complicated.

Trust me on this. It would be very well worth taking Uber there. I cannot convey what it was like to stand right next to the space shuttle Discovery. You simply have to be there. It's one of those experiences that you will never, ever forget. Same with the Concorde, Blackbird, and the Enola Gay.

[muwarrior69]

Not to be confused with the one on the Mall. My wife and I visited it during our DC trip. WOW! Smithsonian museums never disappoint, but this one is in a class of its own.

Just a very small sampler of what's there- the space shuttle Discovery, a Blackbird spy plane, a Concorde and, on a somber note, the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan. If you are not in awe of the Discovery upon standing right next to it, well, I don't know what to say. Maybe you died but don't know it yet. Walking underneath the massive Concorde was another jaw-dropping experience.

There are numerous exhibits and items from early on in our space history to the present. No shortage of helicopters, unusual homemade planes, and historical aircraft from the early 1900's onward.

https://airandspace.si.edu

If you go to DC, don't miss it by confining yourself to what is on the Mall. Your only cost is $15 for parking. Free admission as is true with all Smithsonian museums.

Hate to nit pick but it was Bockscar that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki. I see pbflyer beat me to it.

[Scoop Snoop]

Hate to nit pick but it was Bockscar that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki. I see pbflyer beat me to it.

Oh, that's right. Anyway, the first atom bomb dropped had repercussions far, far beyond Hiroshima and still looms over us today. Of course, the second one did not have the incredible shock value of the first one, despite the carnage. The Enola Gay is such a prominent reminder of the horrors of atomic weapons. As I have said, it was a very somber moment to me when I first saw it.   

For world class a** hole Putin to be threatening their use is simply mind-boggling. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) seems to have eluded him as well as other whackos. 

[reinko]

Looks like it has some great stuff. Would like to see it, though I never have a car when I’m there, so a bit more complicated.

Silver line to Dulles just recently opened up 

[Scoop Snoop]

Silver line to Dulles just recently opened up 

Thanks! Good to know. No car? No problem!

But you will still need a cab or Uber to get there, as the museum is not really part of Dulles, just right next to it. Shouldn't cost too much. Let's hope they add a spur or a bus to the museum.

[Warriors4ever]

The museum website has the public transit directions, they estimate about 90 minutes from the DC Museum using the Silver Line and a bus. About a $15 cab ride from Dulles.