Most of us love to travel. The thought of getting on an airplane and taking off on far-flung adventures gets the blood pumping a little, but there’s no question that air travel is not good for the environment. We know that burning massive amounts of jet fuel lead to dangerous chemicals being released in the atmosphere, but air travel has become routine for most of the world, so how do we make air travel more sustainable to allow us to continue exploring without further damaging our planet?
Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte is a North Carolina Science Trail partner who shares exactly this type of information with its visitors. North Carolina is a hub for science and technology research and development, including both top notch air and space expertise, and we’re proud that the recently rebuilt Sullenberger Aviation Museum is available to educate visitors on the possibilities, while encouraging the next generation of air and space researchers to continue pushing for more sustainable travel options.
**********
Written By Sammie Ross, NCST Summer Intern
Sullenberger Aviation Museum, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, is succeeding in both educating the masses on the awe-inspiring field of flight as well as advocating for a more sustainable future.
Having been a Charlotte native my whole life, I am surprised that I didn’t know the museum housing the plane that landed on the Hudson was a stone’s throw from the airport. As such, my trip to the Sullenberger consisted of gross amounts of oohing and ahhing at all the planes, both stationary and in flight. The museum itself is just incredible, housed in one of the original airplane hangars at Charlotte Douglas airport. Visitors can take a trip through time starting with a replica of the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk flyers all the way to the drones of today. There were also countless interactive exhibits we just had to take advantage of, and even the impatient sighs of parents whose children I was in front of in line did not deter my joy.
Once I had gotten out all my childish glee in the flight simulator, I was ready to focus on exploring my passion: sustainability. It is commonly understood that air travel is a significant contributor to climate change, but also a daily necessity for a large majority of the population. Understandably, the path to sustainable flight continues to be a largely untrodden one given the financial implications of developing and implementing sustainable technologies for aviation. For many companies, it is much more profitable to do away with sustainability. Sullenberger does not shy away from mentioning some of the efforts to prioritize the environment over profit.
As a sustainability scholar at Davidson, I went into this visit with a critical lens, ready to critique the lack of focus on the environmental impact of the museum’s very subject matter, but I am happy to report that the Sullenberger makes it a point to incorporate the environmental effects of air travel into the experience with a sustainability kiosk where you can view the specifics of fuel usage and harmful emissions. The curators also explored the process of making sustainable fuel out of existing materials, advances in aircraft design, and new propulsion technologies.
The story of sustainable aviation in North Carolina is about to get a boost with the addition of eco-green aircraft manufacturer JetZero to the state’s economy.
JetZero is revolutionizing sustainable air travel, and a new location coming to Greensboro will boost NC’s sustainable aviation profile. The new JetZero factory under construction is focused on creating a new style of plane called the Z4, which is meant to seat 250 passengers with a longer flight range than other styles of aircraft. This factory is also set to bring in a whopping 14,500 jobs to the surrounding Greensboro area. JetZero prioritizes innovation and efficiency, so these high-tech jobs are likely to bring a new workforce to the area. Aside from economic development and high-tech jobs, JetZero is also on a sustainable mission to create greener fuel by combining regular and eco-conscious fuel.
Sullenberger exhibits describing the new sustainability concepts from JetZero.
Researching these efforts by JetZero, coupled with the taste of sustainable efforts chronicled at Sullenberger Aviation Museum, offered me a new perspective on sustainability in aviation. We can only hope that more innovative companies will be added to the aviation industry in North Carolina (and to the interactive map in the Aviation Society exhibit at the Sullenberger). Perhaps we will be able to look forward to a future in which North Carolina is leading the way in sustainable travel and innovative solutions across the US. Of course, creating a greener mode of air travel is necessary if we want to continue jet-setting as many of us do now.
On the NC Science Trail, our partners use education to peak their visitors’ curiosity, to promote sustainability, and to inspire students to get involved in protecting the planet. Toward this end, the Sullenberger conveys the budding sustainability innovation of the aviation industry to younger generations, inspiring both an interest in planes and in the planet.
