The Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum will be holding their annual open house on January 30th in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Visitors will get a closeup view of the various restoration projects currently under way, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at a number of artifacts not on regular display in the museum. Members of the highly skilled staff responsible for conserving and preserving our aviation heritage will also be on hand to talk with the public.
In addition to the NASM’s exhibits on view, two of the National Museum of the Marine Corps aircraft will also be on display; the Douglas SBD Dauntless and H-34 which are just finishing up their restorations prior to moving to their main museum near Quantico, Virginia. It will be the first time that the general public will have been able to view these two important aircraft since the museum’s acquisition. The NMUSMC has been borrowing a corner of the Udvar-Hazy Center’s restoration space to complete the work on these two aircraft due to some issues which forced the temporary closure of the restoration hangar at Marine Base Quantico where they had been previously. (The National Marine Corps Museum is actually closed for upgrades at the moment, and won’t re-open until sometime in March, when the UH-34 and Dauntless will be on display in the main atrium.)
Information on the Open House:
Saturday, January 30, 2016
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Admission: Free, Parking $15
In the case of inclement weather, this event may be canceled and will not be rescheduled. For information on the status of this event, check our NASM’s website (HERE) or call 703-572-4118.
National Air and Space Society members are invited to a hospitality suite in the Executive Board Room during the event. Visit airandspace.si.edu/membertickets to make a reservation. Not a member? Join today.
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Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
Lots of nice warbirds , but it cost lots of dollars in restorations in doin this and funds are tight… I would love to buy 4 of them there with a far better than any avg price for those 4 in there, as that would give the Museum opr money! I’m a collector of warbirds and fly them… As that’s only how people like them up flying again!
I’m a NASM member and attended the Open House at Udvar-Hazy this past Saturday. The ONLY time the restoration/preservation floor is open to the public. Talked with some preservationists working on “Flak-Bait” who spent 1 1/2 years cleaning and preserving ONE of the radial engines. They’re attention to detail in preservation is UNBELIEVABLE.
Keith