The flying museum opened at it's current location in February of 2012. Karen
and I had tried to go visit this museum in 2002 but it was closed according to
the web site due to economic hardship. At that time they had started a search for a
new location in a smaller building.
click photo to enlarge
The museum chronicles the history of flight from a replica of the Wright
Brothers plane to the jet age. It also houses many artifacts related to the
Douglas Aircraft Company. Upstairs there were movies showing and there was
some incredible footage from spacewalks on the shuttle missions. There is a
recreation of the Douglas boardroom with the original table where many
decisions were made.
click photo to enlarge
Outside there homage is paid to the Douglas DC3 with the Spirit of Santa
Monica. The DC stands for Douglas Commercial and the plane was developed at
the request of Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA) in order for them
to compete with United and the Boeing 247. Over 16,000 planes
were produced during it's run and it revolutionized airplane travel in the
30s and 40s. There are still DC3s flying today. There is also a statue of
Donald W. Douglas and his dog Wunderbar.
