The Third Air & Space Museum
Actually, there are in fact just two Smithsonian Air & Space Museums* in Washington, DC. But there is a third aviation museum, the College Park Aviation Museum, located at the world’s oldest continually operating airport, in suburban College Park, Maryland. With just 27,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, it is tiny compared to the Air & Space Museum (160,000 sq. ft.) on the Mall and the massive Udvar-Hazy Center (1.0 million sq ft.) at Dulles Airport, but it’s still a fun little place to visit.
Try out the 1911 Wright flight simulator for just a $1.00 for a 3-minute simulated ride. That’s about 2 minutes and 42 seconds longer than the first Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk back on December 17, 1903.
The current exhibit, through April 20, 2008 - Heroes of the Sky: Adventure in Early Flight covers the period in aviation history from 1903 through 1939, when flying changed from an experimental hobby into a big business.
Other exhibits include:
- 1910 Wright Model B reproduction
- 1924 Berliner Helicopter No.5, considered the first flying U.S. helicopter
- 1936 Taylor J-2 “Cub”
- The spin-proof, stall-proof, and slip-proof, single engine, 1946 Ercoupe 415D that “anyone could fly”
- A 1941 WWII, two-seat Stearman biplane, popular with barnstormers, crop dusters and military aviation students.
The airport itself is a piece of history. Opened in 1909 to provide an airport where the Wright Brothers could provide flying instructions to some of the US’s first military aviators. The airport was also home of the first formal military aviation school, opened in 1911. The school’s most famous student was military aviation pioneer Lt. Hap Arnold. During his tenure overseeing the Army Air Corps and later the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. developed the intercontinental bomber and the WWII bomber group, the jet fighter and radar.
And don’t miss the Paper Airplane Derby Day on Friday, March 21, starting at noon. Create your own paper airplane and compete for prizes in the Paper Airplane Derby starting at 3:00.
And for an aviation-themed lunch, stop by the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant. It resembles a 1919 French farmhouse where members of a WW-I flying circus might have dined after a successful mission. It’s at 5240 Paint Branch Pkwy, College Park.
* There was a third Smithsonian Air & Space facility, the Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in suburban Maryland, but it was closed as all the restoration projects are being moved to the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles.
College Park Aviation Museum
1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive
College Park, MD (map it)
301-864-6029
Dates and Times - Daily - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission - Adults - $4.00, Seniors - $3.00, children - $2.00
Nearest Metro Subway Station - College Park-U of MD, Green line, then a 2-lock walk.
Parking - free
Images - multi-plane interior - Flickr, all others College Park Aviation Museum
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