The National Air & Space Museum has an incomparable collection of aircraft.  I visit the museum on the National Mall every time I'm in Washington on business, but May 21 2005 was the first time I actually had my camera with me.  And, with the construction of the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles airport, a significant amount of the collection is now on display.  The new facility (and the collection inside it) is nothing short of amazing.

May 21, 2005:  After spending my weekends with Kalamazoo's Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet aircraft seems a bit less novel than it once did.  But I really liked this perspective.  The Enterprise, NASA's boilerplate Space Shuttle used for glide testing, can be seen behind the Blackbird.

May 21, 2005: Gleaming in the sunlight, this Douglas DC-3 hangs in the museum on the Mall.  The DC-3 was not only one of the most successful early airliners, but the military C-47 Skytrain version played a critical role in WWII.

May 21, 2005: "Enola Gay"  I have always been fascinated by the striking appearance of the Boeing B-29 Super Fortress.  The behemoth was the most sophisticated piston-driven bomber of World War II.

May 21, 2005: The Enola Gay from a different perspective.  There was no place to stand that could get the entire aircraft into a single frame.  I gave-up trying.  A nearby P-47 Thunderbolt can be seen reflected in the sheet metal skin of the airplane's nose.

May 21, 2005:   It was hard not to be in awe of the massive aircraft, the incredible results of its 10+ year restoration, and the historical gravity of the Enola Gay's role in World War II.

May 21, 2005: In the hands of Charles Blair, Excalibur III set a number of notable records including the still-standing piston-driven aircraft speed record from New York to London (7 hours, 48 minutes).  Most notably, Blair devised a way to navigate over the north pole (where the magnetic compass is useless).  In 1951, he flew Excalibur III from Norway to Fairbanks Alaska, proving that his navigational approach would work.

May 21, 2005: Lockheed P-38 Lightning.  Kelly Johnson's "fork-tailed devil" was certainly one of the most head-turning aircraft designs of World War II.

May 21, 2005: Gleaming under the rays of well-placed spotlights, this MiG-21 really stood out on the floor of the Udvar-Hazy Center.

May 21, 2005: A Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in "Flying Tiger" livery. 

May 21, 2005:  Ryan NYP (New York to Paris), Spirit of St. Louis.  The man may be gone, but the legacy of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in the the Spirit of St Louis lives on in the National Mall.

May 21, 2005:  Judging by the decals on its nose, the Spirit of St Louis must have been well-traveled before its retirement to the Smithsonian.  Take a look at that radial engine - would you trust it to get you across the Atlantic?

May 21, 2005:  No svelte Mustang or Spitfire, the seven ton Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was nevertheless quite successful in the skies of Europe during World War II (and could really take a beating).