Stunning Views, Aviation Fun Come to West Charlotte
June 20, 2024 – CLT opened a permanent Airport Overlook June 7, providing unparalleled views of planes and so much more. There’s nothing like it at any airport in the nation.
“We are really excited about the Overlook,” said CLT Director of Commercial & Community Engagement Stuart Hair. “It has been around for many decades in various forms, but this is the first time we are really embracing the Overlook as an amenity for the community.”
Situated in between runways, the Overlook provides spectacular views of uptown Charlotte, Crowders Mountain and hundreds of take offs and landings every day.
It includes elevated amenities such as playgrounds, a retired military fighter jet, covered picnic tables, LED lighting, restrooms and a food truck area.
“The Airport knows how important the Overlook is to the local community, and we worked diligently to create a space that people of all ages will enjoy,” said CLT Chief Infrastructure Officer Jack Christine. “This space showcases many displays and features that will educate, inspire and create lasting memories.”
Front-Row Seat to Expansion
Looking east toward uptown Charlotte, you have a front-row seat to construction of CLT’s fourth parallel runway, which is tentatively named 1C/19C. If you have little ones, or big kids in your family who love watching excavators, graders and pavers in action, this is the place to be for the next few years.
Right now, crews are clearing land, moving more than six million cubic yards of dirt and building the end-around taxiways. Those taxiways will enable planes to move between the terminal and the runway without interfering with take-offs and landings, which will decrease congestion and aircraft emissions.
When paving starts in 2025, crews will lay down 18 inches of concrete on top of a 6-inch base. It will take two years to pave the 10,000-foot runway.
The new runway is set to open in the fall of 2027 and will provide a 20 to 25 percent increased capacity for arrivals and departures. The estimated price tag is a cool $1 billion, none of which comes from tax dollars.
Only seven airports in the nation have at least four parallel runways in operation.
Retired U.S. Military Fighter Jet
At the northeast corner of the Airport Overlook is a restored F-4 Phantom II. The F-4 Phantom II was a versatile aircraft, used to establish and maintain air space dominance. It was the principal air superiority fighter jet for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force during the Cold War and Vietnam.
The Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration teams also flew these supersonic jets.
This aircraft is on loan to CLT Airport from the U.S. Navy. Securing this F-4 Phantom II was a labor of love for Christine.
First, the City of Charlotte had to apply to the loan program. Once approved to receive an artifact, Christine set out to find a fighter jet. It was not easy. After several attempts, he finally found an available jet at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California.
As crews disassembled the jet to prepare it for transit, they discovered it was in bad shape. After shipping it across the country, a restoration team rebuilt the frame because it was falling apart.
Christine received special permission to paint this F-4 Phantom II with the VF-84 Jolly Rogers insignia, featuring the iconic skull and crossbones. The livery honors Oceana in Virginia, the Naval Air Station closest to Charlotte that flew the jets.
The two names painted on the side of the cockpit are meaningful as well. Cmdr. Glen Lenox was the last commanding officer over that unit when they flew F-4s; Lt. Junior Grade J.D. Moorhead was the radar intercept officer.
More to Come
As runway construction progresses, the view of uptown and the Terminal will improve. Crews are leveling land, disassembling the old air traffic control tower and will eventually remove several radio towers.
Later this summer, be on the look-out for the food truck schedule. Weather permitting, CLT hopes to have local vendors offering their goodies Fridays through Sundays. Interested in joining the CLT food truck program? Check out the application on the CLT Airport website.
The Details
Address: 5130 Airport Overlook Drive
Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Admission and parking are free.
Be sure to follow CLT Airport on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook and tag us in your Overlook photos using the hashtags #CLTairport and #CLToverlook.
