By: Noah Gunter
The Laurinburg-Maxton Airport in Maxton, North Carolina is looking to its future with an increase in aviation activity and a future air show. I met with the airport director, Seth Hatchell, and Trey Brown, president of the Sky High Aerospace Expo to discuss the airport’s future and how the past and present are being utilized for its growth. (Photo above – left to right are, Trey Brown, Seth Hatchell and author, Noah Gunter.)
Before looking at how the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport is changing today, it is important to look at its past and formation. Laurinburg-Maxton Airport was built in 1942 as a training hub for glider pilots during World War II. These pilots would go on to assist in operations in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. In early 1944, it was determined that due to its proximity to Ft. Bragg, now Ft. Liberty, Laurinburg-Maxton should become one of the main training hubs for glider pilots. This designation allowed for training in the Waco glider, which was designed for the D-Day landings, and deeper training for glider operation. Laurinburg-Maxton continued operations until the end of World War II in 1945, when training was no longer needed, and the airport transitioned over to civilian use that makes it the airport it is today.
When looking at Laurinburg-Maxton’s current growth, Seth Hatchell is “using the current airport’s operations to focus on developing its aeronautical development for the future.” These operations include a water and sewer system, warehouse, and over a thousand acres of land that is being utilized for activities such as farming, truck driving training, and aircraft scrapping. With these sources of revenue, Seth believes that he can focus on improving the airport to accommodate the increase in aeronautical activity that Laurinburg-Maxton has seen in the one year that Seth has been the airport director. This includes the number of tie-down aircraft increasing from one to ten and plans being developed to build more T-hangers, a new terminal, an above ground fuel farm to replace the existing underground one, expanding the corporate ramp to accommodate an increase in business and military traffic, and extending one of the runways to allow for a larger variety of aircraft to utilize the airport. This will be important as the nearby city of Fayetteville grows and more businesses move into the surrounding area. It is also important for Seth, who is originally from the area. By increasing aeronautical business at the airport, he is improving the place in which he has always called home.
Seth’s interest aviation began in his childhood after reading “End of the Spear” by Steve Saint. The way the protagonist flew back and forth to the tribe in the novel inspired Seth to look for collegiate courses that included aviation and that led him to Liberty University where he studied aviation and started on the career path he is on today. As the airport continues to grow and more people fly in, an aerospace expo hopes to not only bring even more traffic to the area but also bring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education to those in the surrounding area.
Trey Brown started the Sky High Aerospace Expo to create an aerospace expo for the area like AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Sun ‘n Fun in Florida while also being able to bring STEM education and outreach for those in the surrounding area. Another theme of this airshow will be to use Laurinburg-Maxton’s past as one of the US’s major training schools for glider pilots during the Second World War. So far, Trey has been able to schedule a variety of aircraft from the Commemorative Air Force, which is a group that looks to ensure aviation history can be preserved and flown for public viewing. The aircraft scheduled for the expo so far are Tora Tora Tora, a group of Japanese aircraft used in the movie of the same name to recreate the attack on Pearl Harbor, and a P40 Warhawk. Other acts for the expo include the Jet Truck, a truck that is powered by a jet engine, and the Golden Knights, the US Army’s parachute demonstration team, who also practice out of Laurinburg-Maxton. Lastly, for the STEM outreach of the airshow, Chris Thomas, one of the pilots for the Warbird Thunder Airshows and former member of the GEICO Skytyper Airshow Team, will be there to teach about STEM and formation flying. Though this seems like an extensive list, more is expected to be added as the expo continues planning for its September 6-7, 2025 date.
When finishing the interview for this article, Seth stated, “you will not be able to recognize this place in five years.” With the increase in operations, the planning being put in, both for the airport and aerospace expo, and utilizing its past and current operations, this certainly seems to be the case. Laurinburg-Maxton has been able to use the increase in aeronautical activity seen across the state to position themselves to be a powerhouse for their area. As such, Laurinburg-Maxton Airport is certainly gliding into the future with this new expo being planned.
For more information visit the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport
For more information visit Sky High Aerospace Expo
