Come with us to Discover The Wonders Of The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum!

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Explore The Marvels Of The Smithsonian National Air And Space Museum!

Transcript

00:00Welcome back to another exciting episode.

00:20Today we are at, I believe it's pronounced, Chantilly, Virginia, to check out the Smithsonian

00:27Institute National Air and Space Museum.

00:30Yes, there is a Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. as well, but this

00:38is the annex in Chantilly, Virginia.

00:42I've been to both of them and they each have their pluses and minuses, and I think you'll

00:47see the big plus in this one.

00:50When you first pull in, you'll see there is ample parking, and it's right around the main

00:56entrance.

01:18After walking down the very long walkway, you will go into the building.

01:24There is security, and I notice they do randomly check your bag, so be prepared for that.

01:37Admission is free, but there is a $15 parking fee, and you do pay here inside the facility.

01:46Some quick pro tips, if you're going to be going out off property to eat, then you do

01:52need your parking receipt to get back in, because you can have free re-entry the same

01:57day.

01:58Also, don't forget to check out the Welcome Center, where you can get a map of the whole

02:03facility.

02:06It's quite extensive and pretty accurate, both front and back.

02:11You can also download a digital copy of the map through a QR code on a monitor, and just

02:18so you are prepared, this is an absolutely huge place, so buckle up.

02:25This might be a long one, but definitely worth a watch.

02:33Walking down the ramp into the main hangar, you will see some electronic kiosks that you

02:39can play with, as well as these very informative information boards that are all over the place,

02:47so you know what you're looking at, and the history behind it.

02:50Continuing down the ramp, you kind of get a little bit of an idea just how massive this

02:56place is, and the awesome items you're going to get into, including the actual engines

03:04that are in these aircraft.

03:06Once you hit the hangar floor, wow, just wow.

03:12The adventure begins, including aircraft simulators, but we'll get more in depth with

03:19that a little bit later, but let's start out checking out the Boeing Aviation Hangar.

03:25This is the largest part of the museum, and for me, one of the most fascinating.

03:30They really cram a lot of stuff into this hangar, and I am so excited to explore it

03:36with you.

03:37When you get to the bottom of the ramp, right in front of you, you will see the SR-71, and

03:42of course, after gawking at that thing for quite some time, turn around, and underneath

03:48the steps, you get a better view of the aircraft engine display, which shows everything from

03:55the Wright Brothers engine, all the way to more modern engines.

04:03In the section of the hangar you're looking at now, we find that air power came into its

04:09own as an indispensable weapon during the Second World War.

04:14All the roles and missions emblematic of modern air power were defined during World War I,

04:21and redefined in practice during World War II.

04:25Among them, maintaining air superiority, performing reconnaissance, providing close support for

04:31ground forces, ensuring logistical support, and executing strategic attacks.

04:39As aviation technology has evolved, so too has the nature of air warfare.

04:45Nations will most likely never again build the kinds of vast aerial armaments that were

04:50seen during World War II.

04:53Modern aircraft, they carry weapons far more accurate than the bombs dropped by the thousands

04:59in World War II, and far fewer aircrafts and weapons are needed to destroy or dismantle targets.

05:07Modern air power can produce precise and deadly effects with relatively few of the so-called

05:15smart bombs.

05:17As you watch this video, I just need to note that there are some places where there was

05:23music playing in the background.

05:25It was very light, but I will probably have to overdub some music of my own just so I

05:33don't get hit with copyright strike.

05:36So I apologize for those who don't like music in the background of the videos, but in this

05:42case there are some places I'm going to have to do that.

05:46For those of you who were not born within the Cold War aviation era, tensions between

05:52the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War resulted in a competition to

05:57create advanced technologies aimed at gathering intelligence.

06:02Aerial reconnaissance played an important role and the Lockheed SR-71 was a direct result

06:10of this struggle for supremacy.

06:13And it is a beautiful bird as you see.

06:16I was even lucky enough to see one fly when I was in the Air Force.

06:21The Stephen F. Udvar Hazy Center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts,

06:29including the Space Shuttle Discovery, which we'll see a little bit later, the Blackbird

06:34SR-71, the Concorde, and so much more, and two large hangars.

06:44The hours of operation at the time that we visited was 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and they

06:51are open every day except December 25th.

06:56To give you sort of a general idea of where this place is located, it's just south of

07:02the Washington Dulles International Airport along Route 28, about a half mile north of

07:10the intersection of Route 28 and 50.

07:13Obviously you're not allowed any weapons here, but also for those of you who are going

07:20to document your trip, you're not allowed to bring tripods or monopods, selfie sticks,

07:26those kind of things.

07:28And of course you can't have pets other than medical assist dogs.

07:31You're not supposed to bring food or drink in there because they do have places for you

07:36to eat on site, or again you can go off site and come back on as long as you keep the receipt

07:43for your parking.

07:45So again, free admission to the parking area if you keep your receipt for the same day.

07:53And it is a non-smoking facility.

07:57As far as accessibility, they do have handicap available parking and they even have a special

08:06handicap drop-off lane at the entrance of this center.

08:11But again, it's only for drop-off, you can't park there.

08:15And as you saw at the beginning of the video, they do have access ramps and they do have

08:20elevators that are available in several locations throughout the building.

08:25And you are welcome to bring your own mobility devices, but they do have a limited number

08:31of standard and bariatric wheelchairs that are available for use while visiting the museum

08:37if something happens to your wheelchair.

08:40Just remember these wheelchairs are provided on a first-come, first-served basis and they

08:46are stationed right after entering the building on the right-hand side.

08:53As mentioned before, service animals are welcome, however remember emotional support, therapy,

09:00animals, comfort, or companion animals are not service animals, so they are not permitted

09:07inside the museum.

09:10And the restrooms are wheelchair and companion care accessible.

09:16And to top it all off, they do have braille and tactile guides for those who need them.

09:26All righty then, let's go on a musical tour of the rest of this part of the hangar on

09:32the second and third floors and see what we come across.

09:36And I'll be right back on the other side to give you another tour for some really great

09:41and spectacular surprises that we came across.

09:46Just you wait.

12:06One of my personal favorite areas that we went through is the early flight section.

12:19It's where between the first flights of the Wright Brothers in 1903 and the outbreak of,

12:27I think it was around World War I in 1914, they show that the airplanes grew from an

12:34ancient dream into reality that would undoubtedly shape the future.

12:39Our early flight section, it uses artifacts to explore how in one short decade people

12:47in America and around the world were pushing boundaries, setting records, participating

12:53in air shows, and turning the aircraft into technology that would usher in the aerial

13:00age.

13:01They even had some docents there that would explain to younger people and children about

13:08aerodynamics, early aircraft, the Wright Brothers, and more.

13:32It was a wonderful collection to look at, and for me, again, one of the more fascinating

13:38areas of the Boeing hangar.

13:41Yeah, there's also a multitude of simulators here.

13:48You can fly or ride in motion capture ride simulators, interactive flight simulators,

13:56and virtual reality motion ride VR transporters.

14:01You can experience the thrill of aviation, fun, and adventure.

14:06These are at a cost, so check before you go, and then just simply choose your adventure

14:12and take an exciting trip on their dynamic motion capsules.

14:17On the ride simulators, you have Discovery, Space Mission Hubble.

14:23You also have Wings, Flight of Courage, Destination Black Hole, and Red Baron.

14:31Red Baron is when you get to hop into an open cockpit of a triplane and head into danger

14:38with the most infamous ace of World War I.

14:42Now note that these do contain sounds and scenes of gunfire and explosions, so those

14:48who are sensitive to those things might not want to go onto the simulators.

14:54And they do warn you to participate at your own risk.

14:58Behind the Boeing exhibit, in a connected hangar, there is the James S. McDonald Space

15:06Hangar, which has all things space, including the Discovery.

15:13The Discovery was the third space shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space.

15:19It entered service in 1984 and retired from spaceflight as the oldest and most accomplished

15:27orbiter, the champion of the shuttle fleet.

15:31Discovery flew on 39 Earth orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled

15:41almost 150 million miles.

15:44That's more than any other orbiter.

15:47It shuttled 184 men and women into space and back, many of whom flew more than once, for

15:53a record-setting total crew count of 251.

15:58Good morning again.

16:01How are you?

16:03Wow, that AI, you guys are fantastic.

16:06You guys are more lifelike every day.

16:08That's a magnificent job, right?

16:10Yes.

16:11So, you do this like every weekend or something, or?

16:16I generally am here most Sunday mornings, from 10 to 11.30, yeah.

16:21Oh, awesome.

16:22That's great that you're doing that for everybody.

16:23Yeah.

16:24They started doing these virtual stations during the pandemic, but they remained pretty

16:28popular, so they've kept the shuttle station, and there's one by the SR-71.

16:33That's Eleanor, correct?

16:34Eleanor, yes.

16:35All right.

16:36Well, thank you very much, Eleanor.

16:37We appreciate everything you're doing.

16:41Because Discovery flew every kind of mission the space shuttle was meant to fly, it well

16:47embodies the 30-year history of U.S. human spaceflight from 1981 to 2011.

16:57Named for renowned sailing ships of exploration, Discovery is preserved as intact as possible

17:06as it flew in 2011 on the 133rd space shuttle mission.

17:13NASA transferred Discovery to the Smithsonian in April of 2012 after a delivery flight over

17:21the nation's capital.

17:33Don't forget to visit the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.

17:40There's a number of kiosks that will go over very specific restorations that they're doing

17:46and the restoration process in general.

17:49They have a fantastic viewing area where you can just watch and see what they're doing

17:53or take pictures of the restoration process.

17:56They have many restoration projects going on.

18:00Some of them are recreations, but some are the actual aircraft that they're restoring

18:05so they can put out in the museum for our viewing pleasure.

18:13As you can see, Elias really got into this section.

18:31There's also an IMAX theater here, which plays some really interesting movies.

18:39And this is also the area that has the penny pressing machine, if you're into those things.

18:46And we all know Elias loves them.

18:49Just look at them go.

19:01A little hard to find but worth the hunt is the Donald D. Edgen Observation Tower.

19:09Once you find it, there is a queue that you do have to wait in line at, but they do have

19:15this little mini museum area that you can peruse while you wait for the elevator.

19:21Then once entering the elevator, you go up to the seventh floor, you get out, and oh

19:29my goodness, get a load of this.

19:46You not only get a great look at the countryside, but you can also see aircraft taking off and

19:51landing at the local airport.

19:55And some of those aircraft were so close, I swear we could have touched them.

19:59Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch those flights.

20:04But this was a very enjoyable day.

20:08Well, I thank you for tagging along with us today.

20:24We really appreciate it, and we hope to see you back here very soon.

20:29And as always, have a great day.

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