USS Midway is top San Diego attraction
For a city that home ports one-third of the U.S. Navy
fleet, it seems surprising that it took until the 21st
Century for the city to open a naval museum to rival
similar attractions on the East Coast. But now that it's
here, the U.S.S. Midway has made an even bigger splash on
the city's waterfront than its proponents ever expected.
Attendance at the museum has exceeded expectations ever
since it opened in 2004.
A visit to the museum makes it easy to see why the
attraction is setting box office records. With all the
precision you would expect from a military-based
organization, the founders of the Aircraft Carrier Museum
have put together an impressive visual and historical
experience that appeals to all ages, and especially to
those who have any sort of fascination with things military.
We found the Midway to offer just the right balance between
a structured, orderly display and one that is more
individualized to fit each visitor's particular interests
and time available to tour the museum. As part of the $13
admission, each visitor is loaned a "Walkman"-like audio
device and headphones to hear pre-recorded explanations of
29 different points of interest in various locations around
the ship. But you're totally on your own - you can see
these points of interest in any order or even skip some if
you like. The explanations are relatively brief, but
usually you can get further explanation by just pushing the
play button. Each visitor can go at his or her individual
pace and linger where there is the most interest.
We've experienced this type of audio system before, but the
Aircraft Carrier Museum does it right. In Seattle, for
example, the Jimi Hendrix museum uses a similar system but
the audio units are big and unwieldy, and the explanations
cannot be tailored to your particular level of interest.
So why is it worth visiting the U.S.S. Midway? Just
visiting an aircraft carrier, for one thing, is a treat
unto itself. But in the Midway's case, there is a 47-year
history that is good to keep in the back of your mind as
you get a real sense of what it's like to live and work on
an aircraft carrier.
The Midway was the world's largest warship when it was
launched in 1945 and remained so for more than a decade.
Named for the famous Battle of Midway, the carrier did not
actually see service in that battle, but did serve in
combat during the Vietnam War and was one of six carriers
sent to fight Iraq during Desert Storm. The ship also
played a vital role in many historical achievements - the
first rocket fired from a ship was fired from the Midway,
and the first jet takeoff from an aircraft carrier was made
from this very flight deck.
Visitors get a good up-close look at the living and working
conditions on board the Midway. Entering on the massive
Hangar Deck, they are first treated to several exhibits
offering history on the ship and its aircraft. Then
doorways open here and there to allow visitors to step into
the galley and mess deck area - where 13,000 meals were
served each day - and into such work areas as the weapons
control station, metal shop and post office. Nearby, a bank
of computer simulators are available so you can try your
hand at "flying" some of the Midway's jet aircraft.
Walking through the ship, we could easily picture this
vessel as a "city at sea." While significantly smaller than
today's carriers - and, by the way, the brand-new U.S.S.
Ronald Reagan is visible just across the bay from the
Midway - the ship had a crew of 4,500. It has 200 miles of
piping, 3,000 miles of copper conductor and storage
capacity for 2.23 million gallons of fuel - not including
1.24 million gallons of jet fuel.
Up on the Flight Deck, visitors see aircraft and the
systems that help pilots bring their aircraft in to land on
a "postage stamp" in pitching seas. The superstructure
houses the primary flight control area and bridge, and
offers visitors the chance to see where flight operations
were controlled. A suggestion: when you visit the Midway,
go first to the superstructure area because this was the
only place on the ship where we encountered lines.
Originally designed to carry propeller-driven fighter
aircraft, the Midway soon adapted to the new jet aircraft
that became the mainstay of American naval airpower. The
deck was reconfigured and catapults and electronics were
upgraded to handle the ship's F/A-18 Hornets, A-6 Intruders
and A-7 Corsair II's - up to 68 jet airplanes on any given
mission. Today visitors will find examples of those
aircraft on the flight deck as well as an E-2C Hawkeye and
an F-4 Phantom II, one of the workhorses in the Vietnam
War. Helicopters and historic propeller-driven aircraft
also are on display.
Interestingly, aircraft drivers also are on display in the
form of docents who volunteer their time to give first-hand
accounts of their time on the Midway. We came across former
A-7 pilot John Burkholder giving visitors an impassioned
explanation of the "meatball" landing system that optically
arranges lights to help guide a pilot down the glide slope
to the carrier's flight deck. Burkholder's enthusiasm for
the system was heartfelt as he remembers one dark night in
the mid-70's when it took him four times to land his jet on
a pitching, rolling U.S.S. Midway.
Burkholder, who lives in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook,
is one of 160 docents who each volunteer up to 20 hours a
month to share their stories with up to 5,000 Midway
visitors on any given day. Usually there are about nine
docents on board posted at various locations on the ship to
give the museum a feel of "living history."
As you might expect, Burkholder is proud of the ship that
served as his base of operations for a three-year period in
the 1970's. Like many Midway veterans, Burkholder is a
believer in the "Midway Magic," a lore that has grown up as
the carrier seemed to prove itself better and more reliable
than many of its sister ships. Burkholder points out it was
no accident that the admiral conducting the Gulf War chose
Midway as his command ship during that war.
While visitor attendance on the Midway is running more than
double what was expected, Burkholder noted that, at this
stage, more men than women are visiting the attraction. But
he says that's just a matter of getting the word out to
women that there is more here than meets the eye.
"As soon as we tell them the Midway served 13,000 meals a
day," Burkholder said, "they want to see that."
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is located on
San Diego's waterfront, 910 N. Harbor Drive. It's easily
accessible from downtown and there is ample parking in the
general vicinity.
WHAT: The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is the only
naval museum and attraction of its kind in a city that is
the largest military complex in the nation. It's an
opportunity to visit a historic aircraft carrier and learn
history through displays and from those who lived it.
WHEN: Any time of year. San Diego has the most dependable
weather in the nation.
WHY: A well-organized exhibit in a scenic city loaded with
visitor attractions of all kinds. The product of 10 years
of hard behind-the-scenes work by local volunteers, this
museum will appeal to visitors of all ages, women as well
as men.
HOW: To learn more about the San Diego Aircraft Museum,
visit www.midway.org.
----------------------------------------------------
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer and president of
Getaway Media Corp, which publishes websites focused on
regional travel. Among GMC's sites are
http://www.californiaweekend.com , a California travel
site, and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com , featuring
Pacific Northwest travel.
For a city that home ports one-third of the U.S. Navy
fleet, it seems surprising that it took until the 21st
Century for the city to open a naval museum to rival
similar attractions on the East Coast. But now that it's
here, the U.S.S. Midway has made an even bigger splash on
the city's waterfront than its proponents ever expected.
Attendance at the museum has exceeded expectations ever
since it opened in 2004.
A visit to the museum makes it easy to see why the
attraction is setting box office records. With all the
precision you would expect from a military-based
organization, the founders of the Aircraft Carrier Museum
have put together an impressive visual and historical
experience that appeals to all ages, and especially to
those who have any sort of fascination with things military.
We found the Midway to offer just the right balance between
a structured, orderly display and one that is more
individualized to fit each visitor's particular interests
and time available to tour the museum. As part of the $13
admission, each visitor is loaned a "Walkman"-like audio
device and headphones to hear pre-recorded explanations of
29 different points of interest in various locations around
the ship. But you're totally on your own - you can see
these points of interest in any order or even skip some if
you like. The explanations are relatively brief, but
usually you can get further explanation by just pushing the
play button. Each visitor can go at his or her individual
pace and linger where there is the most interest.
We've experienced this type of audio system before, but the
Aircraft Carrier Museum does it right. In Seattle, for
example, the Jimi Hendrix museum uses a similar system but
the audio units are big and unwieldy, and the explanations
cannot be tailored to your particular level of interest.
So why is it worth visiting the U.S.S. Midway? Just
visiting an aircraft carrier, for one thing, is a treat
unto itself. But in the Midway's case, there is a 47-year
history that is good to keep in the back of your mind as
you get a real sense of what it's like to live and work on
an aircraft carrier.
The Midway was the world's largest warship when it was
launched in 1945 and remained so for more than a decade.
Named for the famous Battle of Midway, the carrier did not
actually see service in that battle, but did serve in
combat during the Vietnam War and was one of six carriers
sent to fight Iraq during Desert Storm. The ship also
played a vital role in many historical achievements - the
first rocket fired from a ship was fired from the Midway,
and the first jet takeoff from an aircraft carrier was made
from this very flight deck.
Visitors get a good up-close look at the living and working
conditions on board the Midway. Entering on the massive
Hangar Deck, they are first treated to several exhibits
offering history on the ship and its aircraft. Then
doorways open here and there to allow visitors to step into
the galley and mess deck area - where 13,000 meals were
served each day - and into such work areas as the weapons
control station, metal shop and post office. Nearby, a bank
of computer simulators are available so you can try your
hand at "flying" some of the Midway's jet aircraft.
Walking through the ship, we could easily picture this
vessel as a "city at sea." While significantly smaller than
today's carriers - and, by the way, the brand-new U.S.S.
Ronald Reagan is visible just across the bay from the
Midway - the ship had a crew of 4,500. It has 200 miles of
piping, 3,000 miles of copper conductor and storage
capacity for 2.23 million gallons of fuel - not including
1.24 million gallons of jet fuel.
Up on the Flight Deck, visitors see aircraft and the
systems that help pilots bring their aircraft in to land on
a "postage stamp" in pitching seas. The superstructure
houses the primary flight control area and bridge, and
offers visitors the chance to see where flight operations
were controlled. A suggestion: when you visit the Midway,
go first to the superstructure area because this was the
only place on the ship where we encountered lines.
Originally designed to carry propeller-driven fighter
aircraft, the Midway soon adapted to the new jet aircraft
that became the mainstay of American naval airpower. The
deck was reconfigured and catapults and electronics were
upgraded to handle the ship's F/A-18 Hornets, A-6 Intruders
and A-7 Corsair II's - up to 68 jet airplanes on any given
mission. Today visitors will find examples of those
aircraft on the flight deck as well as an E-2C Hawkeye and
an F-4 Phantom II, one of the workhorses in the Vietnam
War. Helicopters and historic propeller-driven aircraft
also are on display.
Interestingly, aircraft drivers also are on display in the
form of docents who volunteer their time to give first-hand
accounts of their time on the Midway. We came across former
A-7 pilot John Burkholder giving visitors an impassioned
explanation of the "meatball" landing system that optically
arranges lights to help guide a pilot down the glide slope
to the carrier's flight deck. Burkholder's enthusiasm for
the system was heartfelt as he remembers one dark night in
the mid-70's when it took him four times to land his jet on
a pitching, rolling U.S.S. Midway.
Burkholder, who lives in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook,
is one of 160 docents who each volunteer up to 20 hours a
month to share their stories with up to 5,000 Midway
visitors on any given day. Usually there are about nine
docents on board posted at various locations on the ship to
give the museum a feel of "living history."
As you might expect, Burkholder is proud of the ship that
served as his base of operations for a three-year period in
the 1970's. Like many Midway veterans, Burkholder is a
believer in the "Midway Magic," a lore that has grown up as
the carrier seemed to prove itself better and more reliable
than many of its sister ships. Burkholder points out it was
no accident that the admiral conducting the Gulf War chose
Midway as his command ship during that war.
While visitor attendance on the Midway is running more than
double what was expected, Burkholder noted that, at this
stage, more men than women are visiting the attraction. But
he says that's just a matter of getting the word out to
women that there is more here than meets the eye.
"As soon as we tell them the Midway served 13,000 meals a
day," Burkholder said, "they want to see that."
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is located on
San Diego's waterfront, 910 N. Harbor Drive. It's easily
accessible from downtown and there is ample parking in the
general vicinity.
WHAT: The San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum is the only
naval museum and attraction of its kind in a city that is
the largest military complex in the nation. It's an
opportunity to visit a historic aircraft carrier and learn
history through displays and from those who lived it.
WHEN: Any time of year. San Diego has the most dependable
weather in the nation.
WHY: A well-organized exhibit in a scenic city loaded with
visitor attractions of all kinds. The product of 10 years
of hard behind-the-scenes work by local volunteers, this
museum will appeal to visitors of all ages, women as well
as men.
HOW: To learn more about the San Diego Aircraft Museum,
visit www.midway.org.
----------------------------------------------------
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer and president of
Getaway Media Corp, which publishes websites focused on
regional travel. Among GMC's sites are
http://www.californiaweekend.com , a California travel
site, and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com , featuring
Pacific Northwest travel.
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