TechOps returns to historic hangars to support Delta Flight Museum renovation

As Delta celebrates its centennial year, the Delta Flight Museum is celebrating its 30^th birthday with a full refresh of the two historic hangars that house the museum, new exhibits and breathtaking displays of Delta artifacts and archival photos. After a three- and half-month renovation project, the museum reopened in early April. 

The historic hangars-turned museum encapsulates Delta’s 100 years of history, and one group in particular, Delta TechOps, has had a pivotal role in the museum since its inception.  

Opening in 1995 as a passion project for Delta retirees who began the effort by restoring a DC-3 aircraft, the museum’s ‘Legacy’ and ‘Spirit’ hangars, built in 1941 and 1947 respectively, were the original TechOps headquarters. The hangars housed the radio shop, fabric shop, tooling shop and more before 1960 when the operation moved to what is known today as the Technical Operations Center (TOC). Just as TechOps was an integral part of bringing the museum to fruition, the recent renovation would not have been possible without today’s skilled TechOps employees, in partnership with many other Delta departments and supporters.  

The Spirit of Delta 

When you walk into the ‘Spirit’ hangar, you can stand in the shadow of the famous Spirit of Delta, the Boeing 767 purchased for the airline by employees in 1982. 

Tracy Rawls, Lead AMT for Cabin Maintenance in Department 206 based in Atlanta, has been at Delta for over 40 years and has worked with the museum for more than ten years. During the renovation, museum staff asked Tracy and his team to modify The Spirit of Delta’s interior so it could be accessible for wheelchair users. The team removed and modified seats to make the aisle wider and ADA compliant.  

His team also installed the new hologram exhibit of retired flight attendant Diane Carvelli, one of the three flight attendants who led the campaign to raise funds for The Spirit of Delta. Tracy and his team opened the side of the aircraft to get the 400 lb. hologram projector expertly and safely into the airplane.  

“It was a feat-- we used a big forklift to get the hologram projector inside and modified the whole aircraft structure once it was in,” said Rawls. 

When asked how it feels to see the newly renovated museum, Rawls shared, “The new and improved (space), it is a wow factor. All the work that took place in just a few months has been incredible to watch.”   

Remembering his father, who worked at Delta as a mechanic prior to the current TOC opening, he added, "It's great to walk in and imagine what this would have been like when my dad came to work here every day.” 

Engine mounting 

Hanging from the ceiling near The Spirit of Delta are three massive engines, the V2500, JT3D-7 and Wright Cyclone radial. Combined – these three engines weigh almost 13,000 lbs. Standing below these engines provides a stunning display for museum goers.  

There was no one better qualified than TechOps to safely transport and mount these engines. Rodger Harden, Lead Repair Design Technician, Department 496 Repair Development Engineering has been with Delta for almost 34 years. His team designed and machined the mounts in a way that allows visitors to view the engines from a new perspective and branded each mount with the signature Delta widget. 

Harden shared the behind-the-scenes teamwork it took to complete the project when things didn’t go according to plan, “The Thursday before we were supposed to hang the engines, the Wright radial engine had some flex in it that we hadn’t planned on so we called Department 248 Hangar Equipment Maintenance. They sent a truck over right away and took the original mount over to their shop, completely redesigned it and reworked it so it would hang from the ceiling like the other two.” 

Jonathan Cooper, Duty Manager, and Carey Barnett, Lead Shop Equipment Technician, of Department 248 and their team - Jeremy Hart, Jacob Hope, and Tyler Swell - did the framework on the radial engine’s mount, working ten hours through the night to get the engine mounted, tested and ready to go. “This is an awesome team, any time you need them – they are there,” said Cooper.  

 “They did an outstanding job...we would do it again in a heartbeat,” added Barnett.  

Historic aircraft cleaning and maintenance 

When you first walk into the museum, the ‘Legacy’ hangar is filled with historic aircraft that have been cleaned, repaired and maintained by the TechOps team.  

Noelle Brown, Cabin Maintenance Program Manager, and her team coordinated the dusting, cleaning and waxing of all the historic aircraft for the reopening, conducting safety briefings and delivering guidance on how to clean a historic aircraft, which requires different cleaners and equipment than Delta’s modern-day fleet.  

“Being back (in the museum) and seeing the finished product is like being a kid in a candy store” said Noelle, as she admired the impressive work all the teams have accomplished.  

The tooling exhibit 

A new feature in the museum is the tooling exhibit and ‘Aviation Adventure,’ which is geared toward children, giving them an opportunity to interact with the work done in TechOps. Chris Tupua, Manager of Tooling in TechOps, helped go through their shops and pick specific tools to donate to the museum so that kids can pick up the tools that TechOps mechanics use every day.  

Thank you, TechOps 

One of the many attributes that makes the Delta Flight Museum so special is the TechOps experts on site who are the first call when the museum needs things expertly taken care of and repaired.  

“The TechOps team’s ingenuity, creativity and reliability is a huge part of what has made this museum renovation possible,” said Nina Thomas, Director of Exhibits & Public Programs at the Delta Flight Museum. “TechOps made sure the renovation was done safely and correctly. Without TechOps, there would be no Delta Flight Museum.”    

All are invited to see the reimagined museum that highlights 100 years of Delta history.