One of the most remarkable stories of the 20th Century is how the development of aircraft progressed in just a little over 50 years from the Wright brother’s first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to routine commercial flights across the world’s oceans and the exploration of space during the 1960s. This historical journey is documented and preserved in one of the Smithsonian Institution’s most remarkable exhibits at the recently opened Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Museum in Centreville, Virginia. This facility, located just outside of the Dulles International Airport, contains an outstanding collection of historic aviation and space exploration artifacts.
Named in honor of its primary donor, the Udvar-Hazy Center provides space for the objects that have long been in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution and which tell the history of aviation and space flight, and they can now be enjoyed by the public on a regular basis. This 70,611-square-meter (760,057-square-foot) building is situated on 176.5 acres and contains a large aviation exhibit hanger, a separate space hanger, an observation tower from which visitors can observe air traffic at nearby Dulles Airport, classrooms, meeting spaces, a large format theater and food service and gift shop areas. All served by numerous traction and hydraulic elevators.
Link to full article: http://www.elevatorworld.com/files/jun05.pdf
