Had a tour of the Udvar Hazy Center last week. Always an amazing experience. They asked me not to post the shots I took of non public areas. Let's just say my hangar will be gaining a framed photo of the maker's label on Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 space suit. Also, I guess it never occurred to me, the wings on the Hughes H-1 are wood. I always assumed it was an all metal airplane. Well, we all know the value of assumptions.
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
I went there a couple of years ago and struck up a quick conversation with a guy fixing that blimp cockpit that now has the tv camera hung in it.
I mentioned I used to work at silver hill in the 80s and that i was friends of Howard Wolko and his son Nels. He shrugged and said "never heard of him.....who was he?" "I was there then".
I said "the curator".
Moving back very near there and will be brushing up on my fabrication skills as most of my recent experience is in Engine, Boost, and nitrous management systems.Last edited by IcePaq; 06-19-2019, 04:00 PM. -
Re: OT: NASM Visit
For me, the uneducated, is that the original H1?Comment
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
How does one get to go out on the floor. Great shots. Wasn't Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 suit a David Clark? I was under the impression that they were the same suit that the SR-71 pilots used. (I can't remember the model number off the top of my head.) I wish you could post those non public area shots. There must be some really cool stuff hidden away there.
WillComment
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
Yes it is. With remodeling of the mall location, several of the aircraft are currently disassembled and stored at Hazy. Although we never spoke about why the fuselage is in the restoration hangar, I would presume they are doing a condition assessment, and dealing with any necessary preservation issues.Originally posted by Reever View Post
In the preservation department, they had a huge WWII German turbosupercharger partially dismantled. It had been stored at the Garber facility. I get the impression as Garber is cleared out, they are doing assessments of everything to ensure pieces do not further deteriorate. With changing technology, a lot of older restoration or preservation work is being reassessed based on current abilities. They showed me some interior upholstered panels from Flak Bait. The work being done today is a combination of preservation, and undoing previous "restoration" work.
Oh, and the in the shot of Buster's panel, the tag says do not exceed 503 mph. At least they would let you touch 500 before backing off.Last edited by ignomini; 06-20-2019, 12:15 PM.Comment
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
Wow. That must have been an awesome day. I sure wouldn’t mind seeing more. Too bad they won’t let you.You'll get your chance, smart guy!Comment
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
I'm pretty sure there are over 100 years worth of restoration projects at garber and udvar hazy.Comment
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Thanks for sharing, don't feel bad, I always assumed the wings were metal too.
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Re: OT: NASM Visit
[QUOTE=RAD2LTR;138266]How does one get to go out on the floor. Great shots. Wasn't Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 suit a David Clark? I was under the impression that they were the same suit that the SR-71 pilots used. (I can't remember the model number off the top of my head.) I wish you could post those non public area shots. There must be some really cool stuff hidden away there.
Will[/QUOTE
How does one get on the floor? In my case...luck. Two top folks at Hazy turn out to be customers. Good thing I never messed them up. While we were down there, I saw a group of people being given a tour. They all had on a credential, but they were too far away to see what it was about. In one of life's great moments, we were standing in the paint booth looking at Flak Bait's horizontal tail. I turned around, and there was the tour group all standing outside the paint booth looking in. I've been on the other side of that one. Sometimes it's great to be special for a day.
The suit was made by IL Industries, which today is IL Dover. I do not know if it is the same as the SR-71 suits, but wouldn't be surprised if it's different. I believe the Apollo 12 suits were redesigned yet again. The hidden away stuff isn't very cool, unless you like Napier Sabre engines, or giant Maybach engines from a rigid airship, or The experimental supercharged engine from the Packard Lepeire which set an altitude record, or...
I can understand them not wanting to have images of Armstrong's suit on the web before its unveiling for the 50th anniversary, and I also am very cognizant of their request not to share other images from non public areas. As I wish to remain friends, I'll keep the shots private.
All the guns are in wood crates. Yes, I asked them to open all the crates. No, I wasn't serious.Comment
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