Nimbus recently released their rendition of Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT) for X-Plane 12. The airport serves Charlotte, North Carolina, and has a yearly average of 53.4 million passengers, making it the sixth busiest in the country.

It opened 85 years ago as Charlotte Municipal Airport, funded by Works Progress Administration funding. It was the largest WPA project at the time, featuring a terminal, three runways, a hangar, and a beacon tower.

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The USAF took control of the airport shortly after due to World War 2, establishing an Air Force Base. Over 5 million USD were invested between 1941 (when the takeover happened) and 1946 when it was handed back to the city.

A 6,500 square meter terminal was built in 1954 to accommodate the ever-increasing passenger numbers. It had two floors, with passenger operations confined to the ground floor. 

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Major renovation work started in the late 1960s to keep up with the harsh demands of the jet age and become a major player in domestic traffic. This led to its eventual consolidation as a hub after the airline deregulation of 1978. 

A new 30,200 square meter terminal was built by Piedmont Airlines in 1979 and inaugurated three years later. 

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In 1990, a 7,400-square-meter international concourse was built, followed by an expansion of the central terminal building. 

A regional concourse was built in the early 2000s, adding a 32-gate concourse (Concourse E).

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Expansion work followed in 2015 with “CLT 2015”, a 2.5 billion USD investment to modernize and accommodate the envisioned passenger figures for the following decade and beyond. 

The airport currently has 115 gates on five concourses, all connected to the central terminal building.

It’s a hub for American Airlines and is also served by Air Canada Express, Contour Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines, and Volaris.

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The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with 3D interiors, PBR textures, dynamic lighting, custom jetways, an up-to-date ground layout, and more.

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It’s available on the X-Plane.org Store for roughly $26.95, requiring at least 2.5 GB of free hard disk space to install.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

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