Our RV Adventures

This morning we visited the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy part of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

It’s out by Washington – Dulles Airport and only about 10 miles from our RV park, so it was a quick drive, or at least as quick as you can get anywhere around DC.  But since the museum did not open until 10 am we stopped off for breakfast at IHOP on the way.

This place is just amazing.  Everywhere you look there are airplanes.

Hazy 1

Hazy 2

The planes are on 3 different levels, floor level, and hanging from two different levels above.  There are two levels of catwalks that get you at eye-level to the upper ones.

When you first walk in and look down, the first thing you see is an SR-71 Blackbird.

SR-71 Blackbird

I always enjoy seeing planes that I worked on when I was with a Department of Defense contractor, and this is one of them.  I got to play with one of these at Otis AFB on Cape Cod, MA after it had a problem coming back from a flight over Russia.

UH-1 Huey

Seeing a UH-1 Huey gives me mixed feelings since I was on one when it went down, but I survived, so I guess it’s OK.

A-6 Intruder

I worked on the A-6 Intruders at England AFB in Alexandria, LA.

F-4S Phantom

I worked on F-4B and D models at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, SC, where the Parris Island Marine Corps Training Depot is also located.

Space Shuttle Enterprise

The Enterprise never flew in space.  It was first used in the Approach and Landing Tests in 1977, where the Enterprise was carried up on the back of a 747 and then released.  This was done to test the landing procedures for the Shuttle as is came back from space.

I helped install some video equipment onboard the Enterprise in early 1979 when I worked for NASA at Johnson Space Center.  But the further tests were cancelled and the Enterprise never flew again.

Later in ’79 it was mated with an external tank and SRB’s to test the Shuttle Launch Pad at Kennedy Space Center.

Originally the Enterprise was going to be reconfigured to actually fly in space, and would have been the second shuttle to fly after Columbia.  However changes in the Shuttle design after the Enterprise was built made it uneconomical.

Then, after the Challenger explosion in 1986, it was once again considered for retrofit to flight status.  But once again it was decided it would be cheaper to construct the Atlantis from spare parts.

So that’s how the Enterprise ended up in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

Enola Gay

They also have the ‘Enola Gay’,  the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Enola Gay Cockpit

This is the Hiller Flying Platform.

Hiller Flying Platform

Hiller Vz1 Flying Platform

I never worked on one of these; they were tested in the mid ’50’s, but I always wanted one.  I had a flying model of one, but it didn’t fly very well.

Of course, neither did the real one, which is why it was cancelled and never produced.

They also had a Concord supersonic airliner there.

Concorde SST 1

Concorde SST 2

It’s so big I couldn’t get it all in one shot.  I’m still wondering how they got it in the building.

The Sounds of Earth

And this is a copy of the “Sounds of Earth” recording that was sent into space on the two Voyager spacecraft in 1977 that eventually traveled beyond the solar system and out into deep space.

It contained pictures, greetings in 55 different languages, and music.

I had no problem with this.

I did have a problem with the fact that, along with the recording, they also told where we are located in the galaxy. 

This was very dumb! 

Remember “To Serve Man” is a cookbook.  (If you don’t get this reference, let me know).

We had a great time at the Hazy Center and saw some very unusual planes.  Sometime this week we look forward to visiting the other part of the Air & Space Museum that’s located in downtown Washington, DC at the Smithsonian.

Tomorrow we plan to ride the Metro train into DC, take one or more bus tours, and visit some of the monuments.

Hopefully we won’t experience a repeat of the crash a couple of weeks ago that killed 9 people. 

Especially since we will be riding the same Red Line route.

More tomorrow…maybe

We left our site in Louisa, VA  about 11:45 am and headed north about 100 miles to the Lake Fairfax Campground in Reston, VA.

Lake Fairfax County Park

We’re really out in the woods here and our site proves it.  Although we have 50 amp electric,  we’ll be without water and sewer for the next 6 days.  We should be OK.  I topped off our water tank to the full 100 gallons, instead of the 25 gallons or so we normally carry.

We don’t normally carry a full load of water because we only really need it for the few hours we’re on the road,  and a full tank weighs 825 pounds.  And the less weight we carry, the better gas mileage we get.

As far as our waste water tanks, our grey water (shower, sink, washer) tank holds 60 gallons and our black water (toilet) holds 40 gallons. 

We shouldn’t have a problem with our black tank, but we have to be careful with the grey water because we use more of it.  Showers are the big culprit, so we try to take quick ones.  And using the washer is out.  It only takes a few loads to fill up the tank.

If worse comes to worse, we can just unhook and drive a few hundred feet to the dump station, but hopefully we won’t have to .

We’re going to spend the next 6 days seeing the sights in Washington, DC.  I think tomorrow we’ll do the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum and maybe one of the  trolley tours to help us get our bearings

Tonight we ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory a few miles down the road in Sterling, VA.  I think it’s the first time we’ve ever eaten that we weren’t celebrating someone’s birthday.  Jan had the Chicken and Biscuits, and I had the White Chicken Chili.  Both excellent.

Later…