Warbird Information Exchange

I am planning a trip to the D.C. area and would appreciate
any tips about seeing the Udvar-Hazy Ctr. What should I
watch out for; what is there I might not be aware of, etc?

Thanks,
Owen

I always go early in the day, better parking, fewer people at the beginning. Being there when they open, gets you a head start on school groups and most group tours.
Go on-line at NASM's web site to get an idea of the layout and where various a/c are before you actually go there and plan your visit accordingly. There are so many different a/c types from such different eras, it is almost impossible not to find interesting a/c that you did not know were there without doing a little homework.
Also check the NASM web site for any special events or curator talks (about specific a/c or displays).
This is a very enjoyable museum with a really interesting collection on display. I enjoy every visit and always see something "new".
If you want pictures of a/c on the floor, that's where I head first to get the best possible shots before too many other people get in the way. Then I head up on the elevated walkways for overhead shots of a/c on the floor and the a/c hanging above the floor.
Don't miss the engine displays under the walkway going down to the floor level on the right after you enter the main hangar.
If you have time and patience, look at the many artifact cases throughout the museum, especially the displays in the Space Hangar. I generally head for these once the museum fills up with people in the way of my photos.
The traffic getting to/from U-V can be challenging (to say the least), so allow plenty of time to get there (and to return to wherever you started at the beginning of the day).
The volunteer docents are very kind and some are really quite knowledgable. Don't be afraid to engage them in conversation.
Don't bring anything into the museum that you don't absolutely need to have as everything you bring must be checked by security and that can slow down your entry.
They have a decent cafeteria, so you won't have to leave the museum for lunch. If you do leave the museum for a meal, you have a bit of a ride to a restaurant.
Enjoy your visit.

The busiest days for Udvar Hazy are the "Become a Pilot Day" open house in June and August 6th, when the anti-nuke protesters and counter-protesters show up, along with a local news crew or two. Other than that you really don't have to worry about large crowds - the museum was projected to draw around 3 million visitors a year, and has been running subtantially under that. I was over there this morning starting around 11:30 and the parking lot was probably less than 10% full. The biggest issue, queue-wise, is going up into the observation tower. This can get backed up, recommend you try to do this first thing and as early as possible. There can also be a queue at the simulators, and I've occassionally seen congestion on the catwalk that runs in front of the Enola Gay's nose/cockpit greenhouse.

Lighting inside the museum is really tricky to shoot in, if you are trying to get good shots of the aircraft nose-to-tail. I'd suggest you take a monopod (allowable while tripods are not) and shoot with a low shutter speed and the flash turned off. Especially when taking pics looking down at aircraft from the catwalk or from a distance.

Make sure you understand the layout of the museum ... especially the fact that there are two sets of catwalks, but they don't connect to each other.

There are a lot of nuances to the collection and how it's all displayed. The museum is in a constant state of change, both large and small. I went over this morning specifically to see the Gemini parasail apparatus that was recently installed above the Gemini test capsule used for the tricycle landing gear trials ... and discovered the the RF-8 now has the RAT deployed and the variable incidence wing jacked up.

Check the IMAX schedule, and if you want to see the first-run movies (Dark Knight is there now), buy tix in advance. I went to see Dark Knight last weekend at the 11pm show and the theater was almost completely full.

There are some other neat things to do in the area, if you have time while you're out there. If you are a scale modeler, Piper Hobby at the intersection of Rt.50 and Rt.28 (the shopping center with an A&W/KFC restaurant, CVS and Shoppers Food Warehouse ... Piper is back past the Taco Bell and just past the Lowes) is the single best hobby shop in the area. It's really a modelers shop - they carry some trains and other things, but no RC. The focus is on scale models, and their inventory includes a significant portion of the Anigrand line.

If you are also into American history (War of 1812 through Civil War), there's Sully Plantation, which is just down Rt.28 from NASM. And the Manassas Battlefield is about 15 minutes away.

I like to go on Sunday mornings. Everybody's at church or sleeping in, so the museum's almost empty.

Take only one vehicle if possible; the parking fee is excessive.

Eat before you go, unless you like McDonald's. That is the "cafeteria", there: a McDonald's franchise.

All of the IMAX movies are marvelous (if overpriced).

I don't mean to sound too grumpy. It's a great museum. Have fun!

It's worth going just to see the world's last remaining Do-335, last remaining Ar-234, and last remaining He-219 (in the back, without wings when I was there last).