Flying USA – September 2019

48 | SEPTEMBER 2019 FLYINGMAG.COM

Udvar-Hazy Center and the

Smithsonian Air & Space Museum,

Wa sh i n g t on , D.C. : What could

possibly ring more true to an airplane

geek than seeing a Lockheed SR-71

Blackbird, a  Concorde and the  space

shuttle  Discovery up close and all

in one building? The Udvar-Hazy

Center adjacent to Washington’s

Dulles International Airport houses

dozens of perfectly restored civil and

military aircraft created over the

past century. Visitors can also watch

closely as the  Mary Baker Engen

Restoration Hangar  staff work on

their latest “fixer-upper.”

If you’ve made the journey to

Washington, a little extra time and

money spent traveling downtown to

the main Smithsonian Air & Space

facility will not be wasted. There,

you’ll see the original Ryan NYP

Charles Lindberg used to cross the

Atlantic in 1927, as well as the Rutan

Voyager that carried Dick Rutan and

Jeana Yeager on their nonstop f light

around the world in December 1986.

Visitors are now able to view the

restored spacesuit worn by Apollo 11

Mission Commander Neil Armstrong

on the Moon.

A lthough the Udvar-Hazy Center

is adjacent to IAD, pilots might find

that landing at nearby Leesburg

Executive Airport is a bit easier on

the pocketbook. No matter where

you put down in the area, be pre-

pared for the complexities of operat-

ing beneath or into the Washington,

D.C. Class B (airandspace.si.edu/

udvar-hazy- center) and Special

Flight Rules Area.

AirVenture Oshkosh Wisconsin:

Many an aviation career began with

a visit to AirVenture at Wittman

Regional Airport in Oshkosh,

Wisconsin, or the show’s predecessor

sites in Rockford, Illinois, and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally

created by the Experimental Aircraft

Association in 1953, the largest

airshow adventure in the U.S. hap-

pens annually in late July and runs

an entire week, during which OSH

becomes the busiest airport in the

DE
ST
IN
AT
IO
NS

Above: Oshkosh

has been a

mecca for

airplane geeks

for decades

Opposite top:

The Smithsonian

at Dulles

houses many

of aviation’s

greatest flying

machines.

Opposite bottom:

When you stop by

Mackinac Island,

be sure to try the

local fudge.

Right: FDK makes

a great midweek

getaway for food

and music.