I'm thinking of making a single-day trip from Chesapeake to the Udvar-Hazy Center (~4 hours each way). Is 4 hours enough time to tour the museum and not feel rushed? I know this is a pretty subjective question; just looking for input from people who've been there. Thanks in advance!

Only for the big ticket items/displays.  If you are really into aviation/space then probably not.

This, pick one area and plan on a return trip for another area.  Option two is to stay overnight and return the next day.  $15 parking and no entrance fee.

I guess I'll be the odd man out.  4 hours seems like plenty to me, unless you plan to take in a movie or are a huge aviation buff.  Of course, I tend to speed visit that place since it is nearby and parking is free starting 90 mins before they close.  

But if you are driving up, I would recommend also visiting the NRA museum, which isn't far from UH.  You will not regret it.  I could spend half a day in there...and have.  Parking and admission are both free.

Way more than enough time for me.

Heck, I've spent three days visiting the original building downtown... and UH is bigger. Sure, you can get through it four hours, easily... but you can also easily spend as much more time depending on the detail you explore.

Alright....here's my $0.02:

I'm from Chesapeake as well. I am a huge aviation geek and I love photography.

I have done the drive up, tour and drive back. I did not really feel like I had enough time there and I was dead tired when I got home.

For the past few years Udvar-Hazy has had an open house where you could tour some of the conservation, storage, and restoration parts of the facility. So far this year, they haven't scheduled a date for it (I've asked a few times already).

When I have gone to the open house in the past, I do one of two things:
1) Drive up Friday after work and stay at a Hotel Friday and Saturday night. Plenty of time to do what you want and not feel rushed.
2) Drive up early Saturday and do the open house, and stay at a hotel Saturday night. You have plenty of time at the museum, and you have somewhere to crash because you're going to be tired if you drive up and spend all day walking around.

You could also drive up, get a hotel the night before, go to the museum in the morning and drive home whenever you're done.

A word of warning: the ONLY food on site is an in-house McDonalds. If you're going to spend all day there, I'd suggest keeping some food in the car. It also gives you a nice break to walk outside and get some air. Doubly so if you have a bored wife and/or kids.

Thank you all for the input. I will be taking my wife and 10 yr. old daughter (she seemed excited about the space shuttle, at least). 

the had some simulators that my daughter liked.

I'm here now. Definitely more of a highlight tour. You could spend days here if you get into the details!

And yeah, we'll be doing one of the simulators.

There's a warbird museum in VA Beach, too if you want something closer to home.

Thanks again for the replies.

As it turned out for me and my family, 4 hours was just about right. On a solo trip, I could see 4 hours easily being too short.

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I love that place.

Funnily, you were at Udvar-Hazy, my brother was at NASM in downtown DC, and I was at the warbird museum in Virginia Beach. Apparently we all had the same idea!

I just found out that the Virginia Aviation museum at the Richmond Airport closed about six months ago. Their collection of about 40 aircraft was heavily weighted to WWI and golden age stuff, but some modern stuff like a Blackbird. The SR-71 was moved to the Science Museum of Virginia but no idea where the rest of it ended up.

Yeah, that sucked hard. Apparently the building was falling down around them and the Airport/landlord refused to help out in moving the museum or fixing the facility.

Thankfully, I had the opportunity to spend a whole day wandering the facility and taking pictures about a year before it closed. My wife and I still need to get back to RIC to see the Blackbird in her new home.

The A4 ended up at the Yankee Air Museum in Michigan.

The Tomcat may end up in TN, but that's not confirmed yet.

A lot of the collection was on loan from their owners, so they probably just went home.

Four hours is enough if you don't see any of the movies.

Only food there is McDonalds, but Willards BBQ is only 7 minutes away.

With more options around Willards.

I used to work on Daly Drive in a high-bay with mostly office space.

Kids called it fast food central, just about every fast food joint, including hate chicken and Hooters.

Around the corner off 50, there is also a Thai restaurant, whose chef beat Bobby Flay in an Iron Chef contest.

Eta:  they opened a hate chicken and Wawa just outside the gate of U-H.

Yeah, my wife and I want to try that Thai place next time we're up there.