Aviation City will highlight the relationship between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the Queen City’s rise as a global financial hub
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (March 25, 2025) – Sullenberger Aviation Museum (SAM), the premier aviation museum of the Southeast, announced today it will officially open its third and final thematic area called Aviation City, which will be housed within the 1936 Historic Hangar. Aviation City will survey the economic and cultural development of Charlotte and the Carolinas’ past, present and future within the context of aviation and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). Access to the hangar and corresponding exhibits will be included as part of the museum’s regular admission.
Tickets for the Historic Hangar opening day titled “New Exhibit Opening: Explore Charlotte’s Aviation Legacy,” can be purchased here. Regular admission prices are $24 for adults; $20 for seniors, veterans, military and educators; and $18 for students (ages 5 to 17). Welcome tickets for SNAP/EBT participants can be purchased on-site for $3 with supporting documentation. Members and children under five are always free, and members will be granted early admission to the Historic Hangar beginning at 9 a.m. Day-of festivities will include an on-site food truck and outreach tables from SAM’s partner organizations.
The Historic Hangar was erected in 1936-1937 by the Works Progress Administration. Tied to a federal work program during the Great Depression, the hangar expanded throughout its history to serve the diverse air transport needs of the city and was officially recognized as an Historic Landmark in 2002. Aviation City’s aircraft collection will include a Piedmont Airlines DC-3, a Stearman biplane, an F-84 Thunderjet, a Bellanca 14-9 Crusair, and a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, which will feature two immersive simulators, including one wheelchair-accessible simulator that can be accessed via a platform and wheelchair lift. The museum began moving the first planes into the gallery last week, and video footage and photos from that move can be accessed here and renderings of Aviation City can be accessed here.
In addition, the exhibit will include a timeline of aviation in Charlotte spanning more than 100 years, showcasing the interconnectedness between CLT and the maturation of Charlotte into the financial epicenter it is today. The timeline will span CLT’s birth during the golden age of aviation, its evolution to international travel hub, and the key role it has played in fueling the local and regional economy, helping to transform the Queen City into a commercial and cultural leader in the New South.
“You cannot speak to the growth of Charlotte without first acknowledging the profound impact of Charlotte Douglas International Airport,” said Sullenberger Aviation Museum President Stephen Saucier. “Aviation has been one of the cornerstones of Charlotte’s economic and social development, and it is a distinct honor as a museum to be able to breathe new life into the stories and artifacts of the past – like this storied hangar – to help continue to shape and inspire the innovators of tomorrow in Charlotte and beyond.”
Other components of Aviation City will include:
- A live flight tracker of planes arriving and departing CLT
- Live air traffic control feed from Charlotte’s Runway 18L, the runway parallel to SAM’s outdoor plaza viewing platform
- Biographies chronicling several of Charlotte’s most influential aviation pioneers, including Tuskegee Airman Fred Brewer, former CLT Aviation Director Jerry Orr, Sgt. Buddy Estis, Vice President of American Airlines’ CLT hub Terri Pope, and American Airlines’ senior most purser Carol Fair
- Static displays and AR exhibits featuring some of Charlotte’s lesser-known aviation stories, including Charlotte’s role in the South’s first all-Black airshow, the region’s connection to the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and Tuskegee Airmen, the 1954 Dogwood Room restaurant sit-in, and the beginnings of Piedmont Airlines, among others
- The addition of an Eastern Air Lines DC-7, OV-1D Mohawk, KC-97 cockpit, and a M551 Sheridan tank to SAM’s outdoor plaza
“Museums are special places that connect our past, present and future, and Aviation City will truly be a living, breathing manifestation of that synergy,” said Katie Swaringen, SAM’s Vice President of Collections. “To be able to listen to a live ATC feed of the runway next door while at the same time learning about how that very runway came to be or hearing the roar of an American Airlines Airbus A320 take off while looking directly at its Piedmont Airlines predecessor from nearly a century ago, is something that cannot be explained, only explored.”
As part of the museum’s “Lift Off” capital campaign, which wrapped early last year, Charlotte Douglas International Airport committed $5 million from its Cannon Fund to conduct site development for the museum’s new campus, paving the way for SAM’s new era.
“Charlotte Douglas International Airport is proud to have played a role in bringing SAM’s new campus to life, including the restoration of the historic public works hangar,” said CLT Chief Executive Officer Haley Gentry. “This partnership reflects our dedication to honoring aviation’s past while inspiring the next generation, and we’re excited to see the museum thriving in its new home.”
The “Lift Off” campaign was spearheaded by former Bank of America Chief Financial Officer and Falfurrias Management Partners Chairman and Co-Founder Marc Oken, who chaired the museum’s board for several years and helped raise more than $34 million to develop the new 105,000-square-foot, multi-building campus. The museum will honor Falfurrias Management Partners, including Oken, a U.S. Navy veteran, and Co-Founder Hugh McColl, Jr., a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, with the titular naming of the new gallery that will house the Aviation City exhibit. The gallery, which will be called The Navy/Marine Corps Gallery and has been made possible by the generosity of Falfurrias Management Partners, will honor the men and women aviators of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army whose bravery, professionalism and personal sacrifices have assured the defense of our nation.
“Sullenberger Aviation Museum would not have been possible without Marc’s tenacious leadership, just like our country’s freedom would not have been possible without the millions of men and women of the armed forces whose sacrifices enabled our independence,” said SAM Board Chair Tim Miller. “We are exceptionally grateful to Falfurrias Management Partners for this gift and the distinct honor and privilege of preserving these heroic legacies of service. We look forward to seeing the countless others who will be inspired to greatness inside the new gallery.”
In addition to the opening of Aviation City, this summer, the museum will also launch its first-ever AeroQuest summer camps for rising 4th through 8th graders. Designed for the next generation of aviation leaders, AeroQuest invites campers to dive into the thrilling world of aviation and STEM through museum scavenger hunts, exciting flight simulations and creating future aviation inventions – all in the backyard of one of the world’s busiest airports. Campers will learn about the science behind flight and be introduced to the incredible number of careers and people who keep aviation moving each day. More information, including dates and pricing, can be found here.
During its first year, the museum has welcomed more than 70,000 visitors and is on track to meet its goal of 120,000 visitors in the first year. In addition, the museum has welcomed more than 5,000 students to participate in educational field trips and has already sold out of STEM field trips for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year, with 32% of all field trips provided to Title I schools through scholarships offered by generous SAM donors.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m., except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
For more information and to sign up for museum updates, visit www.sullenbergeraviation.org.
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About Sullenberger Aviation Museum
Sullenberger Aviation Museum, renamed in honor of Capt. C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger, aims to Inspire, Educate and Elevate by re-imagining the greater Charlotte region as a hub for aviation and STEM innovation. SAM strives to create more diversity and economic mobility by inspiring and empowering the next generation to pursue careers in STEM, aerospace, and aviation. SAM, in partnership with Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, has designed and developed a new facility projected to attract more than 120,000 visitors in the first year and add an estimated $5.2 million in economic impact to the Charlotte region.
A Smithsonian affiliate, the Museum receives support from the Infusion Fund, a partnership between the City of Charlotte, Foundation For The Carolinas and generous donors to support the arts and cultural sector. For more information, visit www.sullenbergeraviation.org