B-29's and Black Widow's

[Clark White]

So Thanks Giving day I went by the Air and Space Museum out at Dulles International. I've been to the main museum on the Mall, but the new one is VERY impressive. They had all sorts of really cool aircraft that I was excited to see. I must say the Smithsonian is a very difficult place to photograph. They have so much awesome stuff packed in that it's hard to take a good picture as it just looks ridiculously cluttered. I did however manage to get ok angles on a few of my favorites.

F-14 (this one is actually credited with one MIG-21 over Libia).

X-35 (prototype for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter). I can't believe they have this one in there already!

They had some other awesome planes like the SR-71, Concord, Constellation, on and on including some beautiful examples of early aviation. Of them all, the two that stuck out most were:

Enola Gay (sadly she is hard to shoot as they had to put her on stands to keep her away from people on the ground and put windows around her to keep people from throwing stuff from the balcony).

And my personal favorite since I was a little kid. I didn't think I would ever see one of these things in person!
P-61 Black Widow

Someday I'm going to go back, but this time I'm going to bring a sleeping bag and mattress so I can spend a few days in there, there are just so many awesome aircraft to see! I'm an aviation junkie in case you hadn't noticed!

Clark White

 

[Michael Slade]

I love the fact that you were excited to see the Black Widow. I made a model of that thing as a kid and it is a super cool plane for sure. Interesting to hear the concessions made for the Enola Gay. I was just reading about that airplane the other day. Sad really that people have to make a political statement about a plane.

If you like aviation photography, you will like this guy's work.

Per Volquartz

I take issue with what he has titled his body of images, but hey, it's his work...he can title it what he wants.

 

[Fergie]

On a sidenote, if you like the Black Widows, then you will like The Nachthexen as well.

 

[DrMoab]

I went to the Hill AFB museum awhile back to get some photos. They have an SR-71 inside the main building. I thought it was funny that my auto-focus would not lock on the paint of that plane. I had to manually focus on that paticular plane.

 

[6Pins]

Udvar-Hazy is an amazing museum. What I find interesting is how big that place is but they've managed to make it feel very intimate. Did you notice that the Space Shuttle they had on the floor was missing the leading edge on the pilot's side wing? It was removed for testing after the Challenger broke up.

As for B-29's, I came across the control yoke button from a B-29 in my office the other day. Apparently my grandfather pried it off his before leaving Korea after his tour there. Makes an interesting paperweight.

 

[idaxj97]

didnt they film transformers 2 there it looks awfully famillier.

 

[Clark White]

If you like aviation photography, you will like this guy's work.

Per Volquartz

I take issue with what he has titled his body of images, but hey, it's his work...he can title it what he wants.

He does have some really cool pictures, but I see what you mean with his choice of titles. His prices are pretty astronomical too! :Wow1:

On a sidenote, if you like the Black Widows, then you will like The Nachthexen as well.

That's a really good story, I had not read that one before! Thanks for posting it

Udvar-Hazy is an amazing museum. What I find interesting is how big that place is but they've managed to make it feel very intimate. Did you notice that the Space Shuttle they had on the floor was missing the leading edge on the pilot's side wing? It was removed for testing after the Challenger broke up.

As for B-29's, I came across the control yoke button from a B-29 in my office the other day. Apparently my grandfather pried it off his before leaving Korea after his tour there. Makes an interesting paperweight.

Yeah, they did a amazing job with how they set that place up, I really wish I could have spent a lot more time there then I did. I'm really jealous of your paperweight, that's really cool!

didnt they film transformers 2 there it looks awfully famillier.

Yes, they actually have a pretty extensive exhibit next to the Black Bird about how they made the movie which I thought was pretty cool.

As much as I love museums, I don't normally spend a lot of time in them. I'm not one of those people who reads every single thing they have in there, I just see everything and move on, but this place I could spend days on end and not get tired of looking and reading everything.

Clark

 

[mr_ed]

Hahahahaha you fixed-wing people are just precious!

 

[zjrog]

I haven't been through the Air Space Museum since 1988. I can only imagine whats in there now...:Wow1:

 

[Wander]

I was at the location on the mall earlier this summer and found it a little disapointing in that it was looking pretty worn and in need of a re-do. I didn't have time to go to this location but I wish I had.