Charlotte Looks Big From the Air (Raleigh, Greensboro: home, construction, school)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As a Raleigh-area native, I've always maintained that the Triangle and Charlotte weren't all that different in size, give or take a few hundred thousand residents... But flying into CLT from RDU this morning, we came in from the north (I recognized construction work on the Yadkin River Bridge Replacement), and there were huge swaths of residential developments everywhere, and Lake Norman was extremely developed.
All of this together with Charlotte's tall downtown has changed my opinion on Metrolina (greater Charlotte). It is without a doubt NC's most heavily populated area.
Now, I hope US Airways makes a lot of money this year, because Charlotte's airport needs a serious updating. The suspended ceiling tiles were dirty, the carpet is hideous (purple, pink, black), and I just think Charlotte deserves a better first impression.
For those of you who haven't seen Raleigh-Durham's new Terminal 2, designed by Greensboro native Curtis Fentress who graduated from NC State's School of Design (like me), here are some pictures:
My wife says the Charlotte is one of the better ones she has seen. She has been to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonville, and a few others places I can't remember.
I think Charlotte-Douglas is okay, at least compared to a few others I've been to like MEM and BWI. But it's not quite up there with the likes of ATL and LAX. A couple of improvements here and there never hurts.
We at Charlotte probably wont have anything this busy because we are a low cost airport. That's one of quite a few reasons we have such a massive airline hub.
As a Raleigh-area native, I've always maintained that the Triangle and Charlotte weren't all that different in size, give or take a few hundred thousand residents... But flying into CLT from RDU this morning, we came in from the north (I recognized construction work on the Yadkin River Bridge Replacement), and there were huge swaths of residential developments everywhere, and Lake Norman was extremely developed.
All of this together with Charlotte's tall downtown has changed my opinion on Metrolina (greater Charlotte). It is without a doubt NC's most heavily populated area.
Here's an aerial video of central Charlotte from the north.
I flew from RDU to ATL with a stop in CLT. Charlotte's skyline rocks. The Californian sitting next to me commented on the red clay soil. He had never been to NC.
I flew from RDU to ATL with a stop in CLT. Charlotte's skyline rocks. The Californian sitting next to me commented on the red clay soil. He had never been to NC.
I so agree! Love to fly in during the day and take in the view
I will never forget my most memorable view of Charlotte from above however.
It was 4 days after Hurricane Hugo struck.
With a newborn child my husband did not want me to stay in the middle of all the choas. He drove us to the airport (something that should have taken 30 minutes but instead took almost 3 hours due to so many trees blocking all the roads we tried) and I caught a flight home to mama. The plane was actually full of moms and their young kids doing the exact same thing
As we lifted off from the end of the runway there was a very audible collective gasp from everyone on the plane.
The sight of all the thousands of downed trees scattered everywhere like pickup sticks was truly overwhelming.
And it went on and on for miles and miles until we rose above the clouds and couldn't see the ground anymore.
It's funny, I always think Charlotte looks kind of puny when I take off or land. It's just kind of pops up off the landscape. Especially consdering how sprawled out it is.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
