Steven Udvar Hazy Center

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PaulMKE

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PaulMKE
Hello,

Planning to visit DC next week and have not been to the Hazy center before. Appreciate any input:

1. Would you recommend the visit?
2. We are staying near the Capitol building. Appears to be 1.5h transit by bus or 40min+ by car / $50 uber. Any other suggestions on how to get there efficiently?

Thanks,
Paul
 
Definitely worth a visit. I seem to remember you could take the metro close to it, then take a cab the last mile? Might be faster than the bus.
 
Only in America in our Nations Capital would a museum be dfficult to get too.
 
First off to address MSCARD, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, while part of the Smithsonian Institution, is NOT in the Nation's Capital. The museum sits on Dulles Airport property, entirely inside Fairfax County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For practical purposes, it has to be on an airport (the former site, the Paul Garber facility was truly inaccessible).

Second, it's not hard to get to. You can take the DC Metro subway to the nearest station (currently Reston-Wiele) and take the bus from there to the door of the museum. In a short while, you'll be able to Metro all the way to the airport. If you are AT the airport already, there is a bus between the terminal and the museum as well. Uber also works well. If you are driving, it's a no brainer.

All the above is on the NASM.SI.EDU site along with other useful information about visiting the museum.

I'd definitely recommend the visit. Unlike the downtown museum which is a quick in and out, there is lots to see at Hazy. If you're truly interested, walk into the docent desk which is located just to the left side of the SR-71 tail. THey have both regular tours and can talk to you at length about anything you want to know. These guys go through an extensive 20 week set of seminars to learn the basics and have to do continuing education (and most will study more) before they are allowed to volunteer. Many of them are significant aviators in their own right, retired military or airline pilots and the like.
 
If you have a car go ahead and drive. It isn't that far out, and the traffic isn't all that bad if you time it right. It is well worth the travel time to visit.
 
If you are in the heart of DC, it's about an hour with no delays to get out to Reston via the Metro. Take an uber from there.

I wouldn't drive because given how big that place is, you'll almost certainly be leaving it during peak hours.
 
flyingron said:
First off to address MSCARD, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, while part of the Smithsonian Institution, is NOT in the Nation's Capital. The museum sits on Dulles Airport property, entirely inside Fairfax County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For practical purposes, it has to be on an airport (the former site, the Paul Garber facility was truly inaccessible).

Second, it's not hard to get to. You can take the DC Metro subway to the nearest station (currently Reston-Wiele) and take the bus from there to the door of the museum. In a short while, you'll be able to Metro all the way to the airport. If you are AT the airport already, there is a bus between the te
I'd definitely recommend the visit. Unlike the downtown museum which is a quick in and out, there is lots to see at Hazy. If you're truly interested, walk into the docent desk which is located just to the left side of the SR-71 tail. THey have both regular tours and can talk to you at length about anything you want to know. These guys go through an extensive 20 week set of seminars to learn the basics and have to do continuing education (and most will study more) before they are allowed to volunteer. Many of them are significant aviators in their own right, retired military or airline pilots and the like.
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Fair enough. But the place has been open since what, 2004, and still doesn't really have adequate public transportation. I just think that's almost inexcusable myself.
 
Eh? What do you deem "adequate?" It's about as good as the rest of Dulles Airport. There has municipal bus service there for a long time. For a while there was a motor coach between the Mall building and Hazy, but it was pretty underutilized and scrubbed.
 
Thanks all for the great input!
 
PaulMKE said:
1. Would you recommend the visit?
Click to expand...

Absolutely !

2. We are staying near the Capitol building. Appears to be 1.5h transit by bus or 40min+ by car / $50 uber. Any other suggestions on how to get there efficiently?
Click to expand...

Metro to Wiehle Ave (terminus on silver line). Then Lyft.
 
flyingron said:
. . . If you're truly interested, walk into the docent desk which is located just to the left side of the SR-71 tail. THey have both regular tours and can talk to you at length about anything you want to know. These guys go through an extensive 20 week set of seminars to learn the basics and have to do continuing education (and most will study more) before they are allowed to volunteer. Many of them are significant aviators in their own right, retired military or airline pilots and the like.
Click to expand...

+1, but I'm biased. Dad's a docent, and a pretty good one at that. Conversate me if you want to coordinate something.
 
Went this summer with the kids. Well worth it.

Take metro to the end and then a 10 minute bus ride.
 
+1 Went this past spring just before departing from Dulles to Normandy, France. It was fantastic! Not only the planes and exhibits but they ran an Imax movie about the D-day landings, two days before we were on the actual beaches. Until then the Wife and Daughter really didn't understand the whole D-day thing. But that laid it out for them and they became much more involved with that portion of the trip.

Enjoy!
 
Have been a few times,the metro and bus works well,I have gone from D.C. By car,aPITA. At one time they had a special,you could fly into Dulles stay in the hotel on field and take a bus,that was on week ends.
 
Public trans, metro and bus, are a variable - on a good day, it'll work OK; metro has lot's of bad days. Non-evening rush hour from DC, I'd drive or Uber. If you stay later than 2:30, getting back to DC might be a PITA, regardless of mode.

Radio, 105.9 FM, has more accurate/timely traffic info than Google maps, etc., on the eight minute marks, and includes metro updates.

The museum is worth the effort, IMHO

PS
The Dulles toll road - toll plaza signage is bolloxed; the cash lanes are on the right.
 
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