Boeing Aviation Hangar
As visitors enter the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, they first encounter the diminutive Pitts Special S-1C Little Stinker, an aerobatic championship aircraft, hanging upside-down overhead. A few steps to the west puts visitors at the hangar overlook facing the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and the Vought Corsair hanging at dramatic angles. The overlook provides a sweeping view of aircraft hanging throughout the Boeing Aviation Hangar.
The Boeing Aviation Hangar features aircraft hanging at several levels, suspended from the building's huge trusses, and aircraft displayed on the hangar floor. The suspended aircraft have been hung at various angles to demonstrate typical flight maneuvers. Visitors will see an aerobatic airplane hot-dogging upside down, a World War II fighter angling for a victory, and a small two-seater flying level. Walkways rising about four stories above the floor provide nose-to-nose views of aircraft in suspended flight.
Other aerobatic, general aviation, commercial, and World War II aircraft are located to the south. To the north, visitors see the post-World War II military aircraft collection; and straight ahead in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar is a spectacular view of the space shuttle Discovery. Between the Discovery and the overlook is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet ever built.
Other unique artifacts exhibited in the Boeing Aviation Hangar include:
- the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay.
- the Boeing 367-80 or Dash 80, the prototype 707, America's first jet airliner.
- the Aichi Seiran Japanese WWII bomber, the only remaining Seiran.
- the Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud, the first airliner with a pressurized cabin.
- a Concorde supersonic airliner.
See a live view inside the Boeing Aviation Hangar:
Boeing Aviation Hangar - Live Web Camera