Founded in 1992 by Floyd and Lois Wilson, the Carolinas Aviation Museum has a collection of over 50 static aircraft and a wealth of smaller historic items related to aviation in North & South Carolina. Most of the collection consists of Cold War military aircraft, including several historic jet aircraft from the 1950s and 1960s. Several aircraft came from the closed Florence Air & Missile Museum in Florence, South Carolina. A significant number of aircraft have also come from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Marine Corps Air Station New River. The Museum also operates a number of flying aircraft, and with access to four runways, one over 10,000 feet in length, historic aircraft including the B-17, B-24, B-29 and Berlin Airlift C-54 have flown in to visit the museum from time to time.
Originally located in the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport’s original 1932 hanger, the museum moved into a new facility at the airport in April 2010. The new facility means that a majority of the aircraft is able to be located inside a climate control environment along with the addition of new displays.
In addition to the main museum, the Museum also operates the Dolph Overton Aviation Library, which contains over 9,000 volumes and is the largest dedicated historical aviation research archive in North and South Carolina. The Museum also operates the Bat Cave Storage & Restoration Facility, which is a 50,000 sq ft storage and restoration facility that is not open to the public.
The Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 am – 4 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm, and Sundays 1pm – 5pm. Admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children.
Founded on a mission of educating the public about the importance of aviation to our society and inspiring the next generation to excel academically in the areas of math, science, and history through the preservation of our aviation heritage, the Carolinas Aviation Museum is most certainly a part of the Best of Charlotte has to offer.
Learn more about the Museum and plan your visit at their website: http://www.carolinasaviation.org/
