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FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS FOR THE
OPENING OF THE UDVAR-HAZY
CENTER
Apr 1, 2004 12:00 PM, by Ellen Lampert-Gréaux
An incredible array of classic airplanes and space artifacts are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's new Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center, located on over 175 acres near Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. The
760,057 square-foot facility (officially part of the National Air and Space Museum) opened in December 2003 and includes
a large aviation exhibit hangar, a separate space exhibit hangar, and an observation tower from which visitors can watch
air traffic at Dulles, as well as classrooms, a large-format theater, food service, and other support services.
Over 80 aircraft and dozens of space artifacts are on display, ranging from the Space Shuttle Enterprise and an SR-71
Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft to the Dash 80 prototype of the Boeing 707, the B-29 Enola Gay, the de Havilland
Chipmunk plane, and a super-sonic Concorde. “This is a major new property. You go in and your jaw drops. The real
version of every model airplane I put together as a kid is in there,” says Bill Warner of Atmosphere, Inc., a lighting systems
and production services company located in Silver Spring, MD.
Atmosphere served as the production company for a series of opening events at the Udvar-Hazy Center, with Warner
filling the roles of production manager and technical director. The lighting designer was Robin Lyttle, a freelance LD based
in Washington DC, who has done a lot of work for the Smithsonian and specializes in modern dance lighting. Both
Atmosphere and Lyttle were brought onto the project by Hargrove, Inc., the event producer and decorator, located in
Lanham, MD.
The opening events — ranging from a salute to veterans and a gala dinner to the official dedication ceremony — took
place over three days in December. Events were held in the aviation hangar, a 10-story Quonset hut with rigging for many
heavy-weight objects and a glass window at each end (these were blacked out with black plastic drapes for the daytime
dedication ceremony). “There was even a million-dollar prop,” says Warner, referring to a full-size mockup of Orville and
Wilbur Wright's original 1903 Wright Flyer. “The opening of the Udvar-Hazy Center was perfectly timed, just a few days
before the 100th anniversary of flight,” Warner says.
The festivities kicked off on December 9 with a special “Salute to Veterans” during the day. “This event was in the north
end of the aviation hangar,” says Warner, noting that the hangar is over a quarter mile long. The salute was an
appreciation event honoring veterans who participated in the various aspects of the development of flight. The scenic
elements included a blue patriotic backdrop with two panels of navy blue fabric with white silk-screened stars. These
panels flanked white muslin panels with star fields projected by ETC Source Fours, with metal gobos from Apollo.
Additional Source Fours were used to light the stage itself.
The gala dinner was also held at this end of the facility on December 10. “Things were more low key at this end,” says
Warner. One truss system was put into place for both the veteran's salute and the gala dinner, with a long span of Thomas
truss and a single light plot that was used for both events (Thomas truss was used throughout the project along with CM
Lodestar motors). The look for the gala dinner included additional white muslin panels lit with Source Four PAR uplights in
a range of colors, from mauve to blue, including Lee 180 (dark lavender) and Rosco 59 (indigo). Gobos with clouds and
branches were projected on the fabric, using Lee 201 (full CT blue) to add color.
The scenery was framed within the hangar door. “The door was at least 40' tall and 140' wide and is like a big, flat garage
door with a huge opening mechanism,” says Warner. “There was no way to rig an upstage truss, so it was easier to uplight
the fabric panels from the ground. The turn-around time for events like this is very limited. They were open as a museum
the next morning.”
To add ambient light for the dinner, 18" Altman scoops were used with Lee 170 (deep lavender). “They acted as low-level
house lights with a pleasant pink glow for conversation,” says Warner. A 12'-diameter Smithsonian logo medallion was lit
with Source Four 19°units with irises, hung on the overhead truss and gelled with Rosco 02 (bastard amber). Source Four
26°washlights in Rosco 333 (blush pink) lit the stage, and R132 (quarter Hamburg frost) was used for front light on the
podium “to soften the edge,” adds Warner. PAR38 pin spots added additional light to the centerpieces on the tables.
Six High End System Technobeams were added to the rig for the dance floor at the gala. “We just wanted to put a little
movement on the floor,” explains Warner. “We didn't want the lighting to be overpowering, so there were no big sweeps or
anything like that, just a little motion to break up the space visually.”
Video screens were hung off stage left and right, and were used for image magnification, video presentations, and
PowerPoint with logos. The projectors, Barco R8s, were provided by CPR MultiMedia Solutions of Gaithersburg, MD, who
also provided the video systems in conjunction with Atmosphere. The dimmers for the project, from EDI and Teatronics,
were tucked along the side of the building with long cable runs from the truss to permanent catwalks along the perimeter,
then to the floor. Power came from Kohler generators placed outside.
The official dedication event took place during the day of December 11. Special guests ranged from Vice President Dick
Cheney to astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, to actor John Travolta, and the surviving pilot of the Enola Gay.
The view of the museum was hidden by four large Kabuki drops, and the audience entered through a tunnel of fabric to
add to the mystery.
“During the 90 minutes it took for the 2,500 guests to be seated, there were projections on the Kabuki drops,” explains
Warner. “The projections were from Martin Professional MAC 2000 Performance and Profile units with high-resolution,
black and white glass gobos from Apollo of airplanes, star patterns, the moon, the sun, clouds, and nebulae, trying to give
the feeling of going through a day — from sunrise to a lightning storm and a plane flying by — anything you might see by
looking up at the sky.”
The highpoint of this ceremony was its conclusion, which featured the replica of the Wright Flyer. “This was built using the
same materials as the original: wood, canvas, and cable,” says Warner. (In fact, this is the model that then went to North
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