Charlotte Aircraft Corporation

Charlotte Aircraft Corporation

Established	1953
Location	Delta Airbase, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Type	Corporation
President	Jenks Caldwell, Jr
Website	www.charlotteaircraft.com

Charlotte Aircraft Corporation is a company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina which deals in used aircraft and aircraft parts. The company was founded by Jenks Caldwell Sr. in 1953. Today the company is run by his son Jenks Caldwell Jr. The company’s main business is reselling refurbished aircraft parts which it acquires by purchasing used aircraft and stripping them of their useful parts. The parts are then placed into storage until a customer needs them, at which point they are able to be refurbished and sold to customers.

The company has a large business in parts for Boeing aircraft.

Locations

Current Locations

• Headquarters: Delta Airbase, Charlotte, NC: Sometime in the late 1950s the company acquired Delta Airbase, an airfield located off WT Harris Blvd in Charlotte, NC and moved it operations there from Charlotte Douglas Airport. Delta Airbase was created by some people from the Mississippi Delta area who moved to Charlotte to establish an airfield and operation to train pilots during WWII (hence the name Delta Airbase). 35°12′48″N 080°43′23.53″W

In the 1960s the company purchased a large number of ex-Eastern Airlines DC-6s & DC-7s. These were flown into Delta Airbase and parted out.

Sometime in the past 20 years the airstrip was shortened and soome of the land was used to develop an appartment complex.

• Laurinburg-Maxton Airport: The company has a large operation at Laurinburg-Maxtion Airport where it flys in and parts-out aircraft. Visitors to the airport can see 747s, 727s, DC-9s, and many other aircraft in various stages of being stripped of usable parts. 34°47′31″N 079°21′57″W

Former Locations

• Charlotte Douglas Airport: In the early years the company had a large operation at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. At this location the company acquired a large number of surplus aircraft (mainly T-6 aircraft) and refurbished them and resold them to various purchasers including a large number to Spain.

Interesting Aircraft from Charlotte Aircraft in museums

First 747 purchased by Northwest Airlines. Aircraft came from Charlotte Aircraft Corp.'s facility in Maxton NC

Over the years the company has supplied a number of aircraft to museums. These include but are not limited to:

• F-84: This aircraft was acquired by the Company from an ROTC unit in Florida and eventually was donated to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.
• 747-100: The nose of the first 747 purchased by Northwest Airlines was removed from the airplane at Maxton and taken and installed in the National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC.

Interesting Aircraft from Charlotte Aircraft used in movies

Over the years the company has supplied a number of aircraft for use in movies. These include but are not limited to:

• 727: This aircraft was trucked from Maxton NC to Massachusetts for use in the Tom Cruise movie Knight and Day.