Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Artifact Display and Assembly

Hanging Aircraft at the New Udvar-Hazy Center

You have probably hung model aircraft from the ceiling of your room, or you have a friend who thinks models make great decorations. But how do you hang lots of aircraft? What if "lots" means 73, and what if they are all real?

That is the challenge facing the engineers, architects, and museum staff members who are designing the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Aircraft Will Be Suspended from the Arches that Support the Large Aviation Hangar 68k JPEG ©1999 Smithsonian Institution

Al Bachmeier, museum specialist at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, is one of several team members responsible for seeing that the aircraft are suspended in a manner that protects the public, the artifacts, and the building while ensuring that museum goers have the best possible views of these priceless items. Al recently discussed the work that has and will be done before the Udvar-Hazy Center opens to the public in 2003.

The Udvar-Hazy Center building will be a series of connected hangar-like structures. The arches that support the roof of the aviation hangar will have an additional role: holding the cables from which aircraft will be hung. Each arch is designed to support 9,000 kilograms (20,000 pounds), spread equally between the two halves of each arch. This will accommodate aircraft at least as heavy as single-seat World War II fighters.

Hangar Arch 49k GIF Diagrams courtesy HOK

Triangular Trusses Have Hangers for Attaching Cables 58k JPEG

Each arch will be built from a number of triangular trusses, and each triangle will have built-in "artifact hangers," to which cables can be attached. All cables will hang vertically to properly distribute the loads on the arches.

Special brackets are being constructed for each artifact so that the cables can be attached without damage to the artifact. The brackets will be subjected to extensive non-destructive testing, such as magnafluxing for cracks.

Sometimes the shape of an artifact will require the construction of a special frame. The plane will be hung from the frame, and the frame will be hung from an arch.

The cables and brackets have been designed to handle five times the anticipated loads. The engineers had to consider that, in addition to the static load of the weight of the artifacts, there are dynamic loads if they move slightly in the air flow created by the air conditioning system. The architect will provide diagrams of the airflow throughout the building to assist the staff in placing artifacts in the best locations.

The aircraft will be hung with the viewer in mind:

• Curators may want the aircraft to be in specific attitudes that would be expected in flight.
• Although there will be two levels of hanging aircraft (the first at 8 meters (25 feet) above the floor, and the second at 13 meters (42 feet)), the viewers will see them from many different levels, directions, and distances.
• Binoculars should not be needed.
• After the hanging plan is complete, additional lighting will be designed to highlight artifacts.

There are other considerations for suspending the aircraft.

• Very high-lift "cherry pickers" will be used for cleaning, and there must be room for them to maneuver.
• The order of hanging is also important. There must always be room for moving in the next aircraft scheduled in the hanging plan.

Al Bachmeier says that the next four years will be very busy for NASM's collections management, restoration, and curatorial staff. Aircraft that have been in storage in Suitland, Maryland will be cleaned and inspected. They must be disassembled for movement on the highways between Suitland and Dulles Airport. A rigging contractor must be selected to assist the museum staff with hanging them in their new home. Each step has it challenges, but the result will be a spectacular display of priceless flying machines that have made aviation history.

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