Off Season Camp Mommy Road Trip- Carolinas Aviation Museum

Sunday the boys and I met up with Uncle Brian in Charlotte at the Carolinas Aviation Museum. I had bought a 20.00 Groupon back in the fall that allowed us admission for two adults and two children.  Technically we wouldn't have paid for Ian as children under 5 are free,  but we still came out ahead.

The exhibit is near the Charlotte-Douglas Airport and while they don't have a raised observation deck (like we do here in Raleigh,) from the outside area you can watch planes arrive and depart.

This was the perfect amount of museum for a good 2-3 hours visit and day trip.  The museum is housed in a refurbished hangar once privately owned for the Wachovia fleet of planes.  The major focus is the "Miracle on the Hudson," the infamous flight lead by Capt Chesley Sulleberger in which 155 lives were saved after an emergency landing in the Hudson River.  There are about ten other helicopters, planes, smaller planes, and lots of displays about the equipment.  The boys were in Heaven.

The actual plane that landed on the Hudson river is intact and on display.  There are multiple related exhibits about the mechanics of how it landed successfully in a river.  Ben, my disaster loving child, was beside himself first at the number of planes but also the story of the plane crash and the heroes involved in the rescue.  It was the perfect opportunity to talk about how little actions can lead to heroic decisions.  

Other highlights included an ejection seat from an F4 Phantom.  Needless to say it took a bit of convincing Ian to let someone else have a turn.  The boys also really enjoyed the model cockpit.  Overhead from my brother Brian,

"you and Bill should build one of these in your living room.  I bet you could leave for a good two weeks before they noticed you were gone."  Ask what they were playing?  Did you guess disaster in which Ian had to put out a fire?  Did you guess yelling and screaming of "I'm on fire?"  It helped that no one was around to witness this spectacle and we did reel it in when another family showed up to test out the cockpit.

We visited this museum at the right time of year as I believe summer in the un- airconditioned hangar would have been really hot.  Brian and I kept laughing at the biggest ceiling fans throughout, wondering what was written on the face of the fan.  It wasn't until I zoomed in with my camera that we laughed even harder.

While the museum is very kid friendly, we also saw many older people, many with US Veterans insignias.  They have a great selection of posters showing the history of aviation and flight.  Ben picked out a poster showing all types of tanks of past and present.

The Carolinas Avaiation Museum is a must if local for a day trip to Charlotte.  Check it out!

Hours

Monday-Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:

10am - 4pm
10am - 5pm
1pm - 5pm

Admissions

General:
Students age 6 to 18:
Children 5 and under:
(with family visit only)

$12.00
$10.00
Free