Aviation in Alabama
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Alabama's first aeronautical event was on 10 March 1910 with the flight of a Wright biplane flown by Orville Wright in Montgomery, Alabama.


Events

* 1909: E.T. Odum brings an aircraft to the
Alabama State Fair (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. * 15 March 1910: Orville and Wilbur Wright establish the nation's first civilian flying school in Montgomery, Alabama. * 1931: Steadham Acker starts the National Air Carnival series of air shows at Birmingham Municipal Airport. * 10 July 1991:
L'Express Airlines Flight 508 On July 10, 1991, a L'Express Airlines Beechcraft C99, flying as Flight 508 originating in New Orleans, and in transit from Mobile to Birmingham, crashed while attempting to make an ILS approach to Runway 5 (since renumbered to Runway 6) at Bir ...
crashed at Birmingham Municipal Airport.


Aircraft Manufacturers

* Boeing manufactures the Delta IV rocket in Decatur, Alabama. *
Continental Motors, Inc. Continental Aerospace Technologies is an aircraft engine manufacturer located at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was originally spun off from automobile engine manufacturer Continental Motors Company in 1929 and own ...
,
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
1929- Major producer of aircraft engines for general aviation aircraft. * Airbus builds aircraft in the A320 family at the
Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley The Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley is an industrial complex and airport in Mobile, Alabama, United States, which lies adjacent to the western shore of Mobile Bay. It is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority. It was known by a variety of n ...
industrial complex.


Aerospace

73,000 jobs are based in Alabama in support of aerospace. * National Space Science and Technology Center a joint research venture between NASA and the seven research universities of the state of Alabama. *Continental Motors Services provides final assembly of the CD-135 and CD-155 engine in Fairhope, Alabama.


Airports

*
List of Airports in Alabama This is a list of airports in Alabama (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that w ...


Colleges and universities

*
Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
is home to the nation's oldest continually operated flight school and is the only 4-year aviation degree in the State of Alabama. Recently, Auburn University created the Auburn University Aviation Center. The Aviation Center's objective is to, "...create a robust, visionary aviation program that creates opportunities for students and fosters economic development in the state."


Commercial Service

* Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport provides air service with 1.4 million operations annually.


Government and Military

* All flight operations in Alabama are conducted within FAA oversight. *
Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
is the headquarters of
Air University (United States Air Force) Air University is a professional military education university system of the United States Air Force. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master's degrees. Organization ...
. * The
Redstone Arsenal Redstone Arsenal (RSA) is a United States Army post and a census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a garrison f ...
supports missile and space operations. * The
Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...
supports NASA operations. * The U. S. Army Air Corps' Tuskegee Airmen were trained at Tuskegee, Alabama * The Alabama State Trooper Aviation Unit was formed in 1975 using four
Bell H-13 Sioux The Bell H-13 Sioux is an American single-engine light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter and manufactured by Westland Aircraft under license for the British military as the Sioux AH.1 and HT.2. Development In 1947, the United States Army ...
and one Cessna 182. The unit currently operates one
Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...
L, one Bell 407, seven
OH-58 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
helicopters and three Cessna 182’s, a Piper Navajo and
King Air 200 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...
. * Cullman City Police Department operates two
OH-58 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
, Dale County Sheriff's Office operates 3 OH-58's, Etowah County Sheriff's Office operates one
OH-58 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
and one Cessna 172, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office operates two OH-58's, Limestone County Alabama Sheriff's Office operates one OH-58, Morgan County Sheriff's Office operates one OH-58, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Aviation Unit operates two OH-58's, Tuscaloosa Alabama Police Department operates two OH-58's


Museums

* The
Southern Museum of Flight The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to ...
is located in Birmingham, Alabama and houses the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame. * The United States Army Aviation Museum is located on Fort Novosel near Ozark, Alabama. * The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is located in Huntsville, Alabama


Gallery

File:James Meissner.jpg, James Meissner, World War I flying ace and Birmingham resident File:Tuskegee Airmen - Circa May 1942 to Aug 1943.jpg, A group of Tuskegee Airmen posing with a P-40 during World War II File:C-46 L-23 L-26 at Redstone Army Airfield 1950s.jpg, Aircraft at the Redstone Army Airfield in Huntsville File:BHM tower and terminal.jpg, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport File:Southern Museum of Flight A-12.jpg, Lockheed A-12 at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham File:S-IC engines and Von Braun.jpg, Wernher von Braun posing with the Saturn V's S-IC engines in Huntsville File:Space Shuttle Pathfinder.jpg, Space Shuttle Pathfinder at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville


References

{{Alabama