Delta Flight Museum reopens after major renovation highlighting airline's history

Home
»
Stories
»
2025
»
May

GLOBAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Qatar Airways In Talks To Buy 20% Of Virgin Australia - Airline Ratings

Global Industry News

Delta Flight Museum reopens after major renovation highlighting airline's history

Policy

Jeff Moomaw, Vice President - Asia Pacific | Delta Air Lines

By Sky Industry News

May 19, 2025

As Delta Air Lines marks its 100th anniversary, the Delta Flight Museum is also celebrating its 30th year with a comprehensive renovation. The museum, located in two historic hangars, reopened in early April after a three-and-a-half-month project that included new exhibits and displays of Delta artifacts.

The museum's hangars were originally TechOps headquarters and have played a significant role since the museum's opening in 1995. These hangars, named 'Legacy' and 'Spirit', were built in 1941 and 1947 respectively. The recent renovation relied heavily on today's TechOps employees alongside other Delta departments.

Inside the 'Spirit' hangar stands the Spirit of Delta, a Boeing 767 purchased by employees in 1982. Tracy Rawls, Lead AMT for Cabin Maintenance at Department 206, has been involved with the museum for over ten years. His team modified the aircraft to be wheelchair accessible by adjusting seats and installing a hologram exhibit of retired flight attendant Diane Carvelli. "It was a feat-- we used a big forklift to get the hologram projector inside," said Rawls.

Get the Newsletter

Sign-up to receive weekly round up of news from Sky Industry News

By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By providing your phone number you are opting in and consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from our short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

Reflecting on his father's time at Delta as a mechanic, Rawls noted, "It's great to walk in and imagine what this would have been like when my dad came to work here every day."

Three large engines—V2500, JT3D-7, and Wright Cyclone radial—are mounted from the ceiling near The Spirit of Delta. Rodger Harden's team from Department 496 designed mounts for these engines. When an issue arose with one mount, Jonathan Cooper and Carey Barnett's team worked overnight to resolve it. "They did an outstanding job...we would do it again in a heartbeat," Barnett commented.

In the 'Legacy' hangar, historic aircraft are maintained by Noelle Brown’s team who prepared them for reopening. Brown described seeing their work as "like being a kid in a candy store."

A new tooling exhibit allows children to interact with tools used by TechOps mechanics daily. Chris Tupua helped select tools for this exhibit.

Nina Thomas praised TechOps’ contributions: “The TechOps team’s ingenuity, creativity and reliability is a huge part of what has made this museum renovation possible.” The public is invited to visit the updated museum showcasing Delta's century-long history.