10/29/2024
I finally got to go to the museum that I’ve been trying to for the last week, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. When I got here the place was almost empty, it was great. Right as you walk in they have a Blackbird front and center. To the right they had all of their military aircraft, to the left was their civilian stuff, and in the back was their space and rocket area. besides the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio this might have been the best air museum in the country. Top 5 at least.
Some of the military highlights were the Blackbird of course, the Enola Gay (dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima), the X-35 (prototype for the F-35), and a bunch of experimental and rare WW2 Japanese and German aircraft. The standouts on the commercial side are the Concord, Spirit of Texas, presidential helicopter, and the Pan-AM Clipper Flying Cloud. The space and rocket area was really cool. The main event was the Space Shuttle Discovery. They had a bunch of rockets and missiles from the 50’s to today. All of the photos are posted at the end.
After the air museum I went to the National Firearms Museum at the NRA headquarters. As you walk in is their showcase room. They had a set of three shotguns from 1929 that are worth $5 million, an Annie Oakley rifle, a shotgun owned by Hermann Goring, a gatling gun exhibit, and a bunch of guns from the American and European masters. They had a movie gun room, all kinds of military guns from all eras, civilian guns from all over the world, presidential guns, famous guns, rare guns, and everything in between. This is the premiere firearm museum.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
National Firearm Museum
