CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Preparations for take-off are underway. Not for an aircraft, but for the re-launch of the former Carolinas Aviation Museum.
“For the most part, things are in place," Katie Swaringen, vice president of Collections at the Sullenberger Aviation Museum, said. "We still have a few planes that are being shifted around like our harrier aircraft."
For more than three decades, the museum has called Charlotte Douglas International Airport home.
“The airport provided leased hangar space,” Stephen Saucier, the museum’s president, said. “The leaders of the museum weren’t compelled to go through a development process. Beginning in 2016 and 2017, with the economy coming back and aviation growing, that leased hangar space was not available anymore, and the airport started to indicate that.”
The museum closed its doors in 2019. Saucier was tasked with rethinking and reshaping its future. He said they were able to raise over $31 million to help do that.
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In 2023, it was officially renamed the Sullenberger Aviation Museum. It honors Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.
On Jan. 15, 2009, Sullenberger and his crew landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 safely in New York City’s Hudson River. The flight had taken off at LaGuardia Airport and was headed to Charlotte. The landing is famously known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." All passengers onboard survived.
The plane itself is in the museum and has been a focal point since arriving in Charlotte over a decade ago.
“Above this wing here, there will be a large screen and there will be a film that plays on a loop about six minutes long -- it really goes on and tells you about the event that day,” Swaringen explained as she pointed to where the plane now sits in the new museum space.
Swaringen added the exhibit goes beyond just retelling the story.
“It really speaks to aviation safety and what’s going on in the industry, but then there’s the humanity side where you’re really learning about the people on that flight," she said. "A lot of the passengers are local."
Swaringen said the new 105,000-square-foot facility, which is near the Charlotte airport, will feature displays showcasing the aviation industry's past and present. For example, it will have interactive touchscreens and historic aircraft.
Saucier sees the museum as a golden opportunity to connect with the future.
“We see an opportunity to reach out into the community, to address economic mobility, to address workforce development," Saucier said. "Again, trying to make North Carolina first in flight by helping these industries find their future workforce, but in the process help these kids connect to those careers."
While an exact date hasn’t been set, Saucier said the plan is to re-open this summer. Officials are expecting more than 120,000 visitors each year for tours and private events once it’s back open.
Contact Nick Sturdivant at nsturdiva1@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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