![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Trey-Brown-left-and-Seth-Hatchell-middle-Noah-Gunter.jpg\")
Before looking at how the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport is\nchanging today, it is important to look at its past and formation.\nLaurinburg-Maxton Airport was built in 1942 as a training hub for glider pilots\nduring World War II. These pilots would go on to assist in operations in North\nAfrica, Sicily, and Italy. In early 1944, it was determined that due to its\nproximity to Ft. Bragg, now Ft. Liberty, Laurinburg-Maxton should become one of\nthe main training hubs for glider pilots. This designation allowed for training\nin the Waco glider, which was designed for the D-Day landings, and deeper\ntraining for glider operation. Laurinburg-Maxton continued operations until the\nend of World War II in 1945, when training was no longer needed, and the\nairport transitioned over to civilian use that makes it the airport it is\ntoday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/SELOGO-Horizontal-1024x231.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhen looking at Laurinburg-Maxton\u2019s current growth, Seth\nHatchell is \u201cusing the current airport\u2019s operations to focus on developing its\naeronautical development for the future.\u201d These operations include a water and\nsewer system, warehouse, and over a thousand acres of land that is being\nutilized for activities such as farming, truck driving training, and aircraft\nscrapping. With these sources of revenue, Seth believes that he can focus on\nimproving the airport to accommodate the increase in aeronautical activity that\nLaurinburg-Maxton has seen in the one year that Seth has been the airport\ndirector. This includes the number of tie-down aircraft increasing from one to\nten and plans being developed to build more T-hangers, a new terminal, an above\nground fuel farm to replace the existing underground one, expanding the\ncorporate ramp to accommodate an increase in business and military traffic, and\nextending one of the runways to allow for a larger variety of aircraft to\nutilize the airport. This will be important as the nearby city of Fayetteville\ngrows and more businesses move into the surrounding area. It is also important\nfor Seth, who is originally from the area. By increasing aeronautical business\nat the airport, he is improving the place in which he has always called home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seth’s interest aviation began in his childhood after\nreading “End of the Spear” by Steve Saint. The way the protagonist\nflew back and forth to the tribe in the novel inspired Seth to look for\ncollegiate courses that included aviation and that led him to Liberty\nUniversity where he studied aviation and started on the career path he is on\ntoday. As the airport continues to grow and more people fly in, an aerospace\nexpo hopes to not only bring even more traffic to the area but also bring STEM\n(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education to those in the\nsurrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/southeast-regional-aircraft-sunset-edit.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTrey Brown started the Sky High Aerospace Expo to create an\naerospace expo for the area like AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Sun \u2018n\nFun in Florida while also being able to bring STEM education and outreach for\nthose in the surrounding area. Another theme of this airshow will be to use\nLaurinburg-Maxton\u2019s past as one of the US\u2019s major training schools for glider\npilots during the Second World War. So far, Trey has been able to schedule a\nvariety of aircraft from the Commemorative Air Force, which is a group that\nlooks to ensure aviation history can be preserved and flown for public viewing.\nThe aircraft scheduled for the expo so far are Tora Tora Tora, a group of\nJapanese aircraft used in the movie of the same name to recreate the attack on\nPearl Harbor, and a P40 Warhawk. Other acts for the expo include the Jet Truck,\na truck that is powered by a jet engine, and the Golden Knights, the US Army\u2019s\nparachute demonstration team, who also practice out of Laurinburg-Maxton.\nLastly, for the STEM outreach of the airshow, Chris Thomas, one of the pilots\nfor the Warbird Thunder Airshows and former member of the GEICO Skytyper\nAirshow Team, will be there to teach about STEM and formation flying. Though\nthis seems like an extensive list, more is expected to be added as the expo\ncontinues planning for its September 6-7, 2025 date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When finishing the interview for this article, Seth stated,\n\u201cyou will not be able to recognize this place in five years.\u201d With the increase\nin operations, the planning being put in, both for the airport and aerospace\nexpo, and utilizing its past and current operations, this certainly seems to be\nthe case. Laurinburg-Maxton has been able to use the increase in aeronautical\nactivity seen across the state to position themselves to be a powerhouse for\ntheir area. As such, Laurinburg-Maxton Airport is certainly gliding into the\nfuture with this new expo being planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more information visit the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n