People could begin an extended NASA historic tour at the Virginia Air & Space Center. They would park their cars in the nearby parking garage, go to the Air & Space Museum, and buy a ticket for an “extended” NASA tour. People would be loaded onto a tour boat, and they would travel to a newly built dock right next to the Full Scale Tunnel. A wall would have to be built around this tunnel to prevent tourists from accidentally wandering onto the Air Force Base. Visitors would visit the tunnel, hear a presentation or watch a movie on the history of the tunnel, then they would be guided through an exhibit hall which might even include a full scale NASCAR car, since these cars have been tested in this tunnel. The exhibits in this exhibit hall would changed periodically to draw repeat customers. People would then be loaded onto a tour bus and driven over to NASA Langley. They would visit the water slide to see where the wheels on the Space Shuttle were tested. They would then visit the Gantry where many tests were performed for that first trip to the moon. They would not actually leave the bus but drive by these sites while the tour guide talked about the history. Then, they would visit one of the now defunct wind tunnels at NASA Langley, preferably one with large propellers. People would be ushered into the tunnel to see the massive size of the props while a tour guide explained the significance of the various tunnels, as well as the different types of tunnel present at NASA Langley. After this visit, visitors would return to the bus and drive by the large spheres used to compress air for some of the tunnels, as well as any other interesting or historic sites/buildings. When the tour was complete, people would be returned to the parking lot where they parked their cars. The reason for the boat and bus is threefold: (1) By having all tourists in an enclosed controlled environment (bus, boat, building), this would prevent unauthorized access to sensitive sites on either NASA Langley or Langley AFB, (2) It would eliminate the need for people to get individual visitor’s badges, if they were simply to drive their cars on base, which currently is not allowed by the public anyway, (3) The use of a bus and most especially a boat would make the trip more scenic. One of my coworkers even suggested that the boat could extend the trip by riding near Fort Monroe or the Chamberlain to discuss its rich history. I believe this is a great idea for several reasons: (1)It would increase public awareness of what NASA Langley does, (2)It would rekindle that pride that Hampton Roads once had in NASA Langley, (3)It would increase traffic to the Air & Space Center, (4)It could be incorporated into some sort of Hampton Roads Historic Ticket that included Williamsburg and NASA Langley. There are all sorts of possibilities. It would also help to rebuild that sense of community within Hampton Roads which could come in very handy if those in Washington decided to shutdown NASA Langley because it is so small or deemed unnecessary. (This has been considered in the past.) If Hampton Roads had pride in NASA, they would write their congressman to protest its shutdown. To me, NASA Langley is a unique NASA location, for the primary reason being that NASA Langley (aka NACA) is where ALL of NASA started. If Kennedy can have their fancy visitor center that is rather expensive to visit and is quite successful, why can’t NASA Langley have a fancy tour gig that includes a boat trip, a Full Scale tour, a NASA Langley tour, a walk through a tunnel, and a bus ride? I think it would be a hot ticket for tourists and NASA employees themselves. When family comes to visit a NASA employee, the employee could take the day off and take their visiting family members on this extended NASA tour. So that’s basically my idea…

Hey, didn’t Wilbur and Orville start out with a wild and crazy idea???

Paul

On a separate thought I wonder if we need to emphasize our history more. Our area is just overflowing with historical significance and Langley only adds to that both in terms of what it brings to the table NACA and NASA wise, and due to the history of the land that Langley sits on. How many people know that the first free school was built on NASA/Air Force land? That one of the first English speaking lawyers had his boyhood home out near the landing dynamics facility and gantry? That we used to launch rockets from here until they moved the capability to Wallops? I, at least, find this history pretty cool and it builds the foundation for the advances in aeronautics and exploration and science that would come in later years.

As a center, we should consider offering a public tour. A daily tour is probably not practical, but maybe a monthly tour that leaves out of the A&S museum?