Sullenberger Aviation Museum Announces New Exhibit Space
Piedmont DC-3 to become part of a new exhibit area in a vintage hangar.
Credit: Sullenberger Aviation Museum
The Sullenberger Aviation Museum (SAM) announced today it will officially open a third thematic area to be known as Aviation City. It will be housed in a 1936-vintage hangar and will focus on the relationship between aviation history at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the economic development of the Charlotte, North Carolina, region. The hangar was constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration established during the Great Depression.
Sullenberger Aviation Museum President Stephen Saucier said, “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.”
The aircraft collection housed in Aviation City consists of a Piedmont Airlines Douglas DC-3, a Stearman biplane, a Republic F-84 Thunderjet, a Bellanca 14-9 Cruisair single-engine civilian airplane and a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. The latter exhibit will have two simulators, one of which will be wheelchair-accessible.
According to the museum, its first year in operation hosted more than 70,000 visitors. More than 5,000 students have experienced field trips—and all slots for such trips are sold out for the 2024-25 school year.
