Orange beach is located on the gulf of Mexico. The Alabama area has beautiful sand beaches with warm weather. There are many places to stay on the beach. The hotels off the beach are a good bargain. Either way you have access to the beach. One of the great attractions is the National Aviation Museum. The restaurants inside the museum are very fun with good food.
The Naval Aviation Museum was founded at NAS Pensacola in 1962 by a group of senior Naval aviators. The Navy made available a small World War II wooden building of about 8,500 sq. ft. The original collection consisted of 3 airplanes. The mission of the Museum, as assigned by the Chief of Naval Operations, was to “preserve and enhance the heritage and image of Naval Aviation…..” The Museum now has over 289,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, which houses over 100 aircraft. In addition, there are over 55 airplanes on the flight line near the Restoration Hanger. In total, the Museum has more than 1,300 airplanes, some of which are on loan to other museums. In 1965, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation was started. A private, non-profit organization that exists for the purpose of providing financial support to help the Museum in building, acquisition of artifacts, preservation, and restoration.
At the Museum entrance, visitors will be met by a volunteer greeter and will notice a sculpture, THE SPIRIT OF NAVAL AVIATION, which depicts Naval aviations from 5 conflicts. It is a heroic sculpture that honors the deeds of the men.
The Cubi Bar Cafe offers lunch and dessert, and is step back in time to the authentic Officers’ Club at Cubi Point in the Philippines. Everything from the Club was brought back from the Philippines and most displays were reassembled within the Museum.
Helicopters, as well as the recreation of the Hanoi Hilton (a North Vietnamese Prisoner of War Camp). This exhibit is symbolic of the hardships endured by POW’S from all wars. I volunteer in “The Homefront “. This is on the 2nd floor of the museum and is a one block replica of Pensacola in 1943 during the 2nd World War. There is a neighborhood grocery store and home you can go into and store fronts that were there during that time as well as a theatre front.
Near the these exhibit are the F-14 Tomcat flight simulators where visitors can take control in the cockpit and test their skills in a dogfight.
There is the Blue Angel Atrium which honors the Navy’s famous flight demonstration squadron.
Located near the flight deck is an underwater exhibit, Sunken Treasures, which displays a Douglas SBD dive bomber and a Grumman F4F6 fighter. These airplanes are displayed exactly as they were found at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
There are also many cockpit simulators that are open for children of all ages to sit in and pretend “to fly.”
Orange beach is a beautiful destination with warm weather and wonderful beaches. They offer unique places to eat and shop. The real destination however is the National aviation Museum. It recreates the most profound air display and memorials. The other points of interest inside the museum are so inspiring. You will have a real understanding of what some of the areas of life were like during these conflicts.
