I visited Delta's flight museum and saw 100 years of aviation history — including a legendary Boeing 747

I went to the Delta Flight Museum at Delta Air Lines headquarters in Atlanta. The Museum is home to exhibits like the first Boeing 747-400 ever made.

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Mar 30, 2025 - 06:20
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I visited Delta's flight museum and saw 100 years of aviation history — including a legendary Boeing 747
The Spirit of Delta Boeing 767 at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Spirit of Delta Boeing 767-200 is the centerpiece of the Delta Flight Museum.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

  • The Delta Flight Museum is located near Atlanta's airport at the headquarters of Delta Air Lines.
  • The museum has been closed to the public for renovations but will reopen in April.
  • Exhibits include the first Boeing 747-400 ever built and a working Boeing 737 flight simulator.

This year, Delta Air Lines is celebrating its centennial.

Huff Daland Dusters, the humble crop dusting operation that grew into the world's most profitable airline, was founded in Macon, GA, in March 1925.

Delta's roots in the American South remain a key part of the airline's hospitality and people-driven culture, the airline's Chief People Officer Allison Ausband told Business Insider in an interview.

"We've never lost sight of where we started," Ausband, whose Delta career began as a flight attendant four decades ago, said.

The airline recently closed the flight museum located at its headquarters on the northern edge of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for renovations and the installation of new exhibits in celebration of its 100th anniversary.

I recently toured the newly revamped museum ahead of its reopening to the general public.

The museum's main facility is housed in a pair of former maintenance hangars dating back to the 1940s.
The Delta Flight Museum hangars at Delta Air Lines headquarters.
The hangars that house the Delta Flight Museum.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The hangars, which total 68,000 square feet of space, date back to 1941 and 1947, respectively. They are among the last remnants of the original Atlanta Municipal Airport.

The entrance to the museum's lobby features columns made from the nose gears of retired airliners.
The entrance to the Delta Flight Museum with columns made from the nose gear of airliners.
Delta Flight Museum entrance.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The Delta Flight Museum was established in 1995 and operates as a nonprofit funded through ticket sales and donations.

The museum's renovated lobby resembles an airport terminal from the early days of flight.
Three photos show the lobby, front desk, and theater entrance at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Museum's lobby.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The new museum experience starts with an immersive video presentation on Delta's history.

The first stop is the Legacy Hangar, which focuses on Delta's early years.
A model of a Huff Daland Duster hanging in the Delta Flight Museum.
A Huff Daland Duster model.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The first thing you see after the video is a model of the original Huff Daland crop duster from 1925.

Before commencing passenger operations, the company's original mission was to combat the boll weevil infestation that threatened the cotton crop in the American South.

Across the hangar is a facade replicating Delta's first headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana.
A vintage facade designed to mimic Delta's early terminal at Monroe Airport at the Delta Flight Museum.
A facade of Delta's Monroe Airport terminal and headquarters.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Delta was headquartered in Monroe from 1928 until it moved to Atlanta in 1941.

At the center is a Curtiss-Wright/Travel Air 6B Sedan, Delta's first passenger plane.
The legacy hanger at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Delta Flight Museum's Legacy Hangar with the Travel Air 6B Sedan.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Delta Air Service started passenger flights in 1929 using its fleet of four Travel Airs. Behind the plane is an interactive exhibit complete with AI video generated from vintage photos highlighting the building's past as Delta's primary maintenance hangar.

The museum is home to a Douglas DC-3 airliner that flew from 1941 to 1958.
A Douglas DC-3 in the Legacy Hangar at the Delta Flight Museum.
A Douglas DC-3 at the Delta Flight Museum.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

In 1993, a group of Delta retirees found the plane flying cargo in Puerto Rico and brought it back to Atlanta for restoration. The DC-3's restoration helped spur the creation of the Delta Flight Museum in 1995.

Next to the DC-3 is a Link flight simulator from the 1940s/50s.
A vintage Link flight simulator at the Delta Flight Museum.
A Link flight simulator from the early 1950s.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The hangar is also home to a Stinson Reliant from the 1940s used as a pilot trainer by Northeast Airlines.

The 'Fly Delta Jets' tunnel connects the Legacy Hangar with the Spirit Hangar, which holds exhibits from the jet age.
The "Fly Delta Jets" tunnel connects the Legacy Hangar with the Spirit Hangar at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Fly Delta Jets tunnel.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The tunnel has become a popular photo spot for museumgoers and employees.

The Spirit Hangar is so named because it's home to the Spirit of Delta.
The side of the Spirit of Delta Boeing 767 at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Spirit of Delta.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The Spirit of Delta is a Boeing 767-200 that was purchased by employees and given to the airline in 1982 as a show of appreciation for giving employees an 8.5% raise despite posting the first loss in company history.

Three Delta flight attendants led a funding drive that raised $30 million in just a few months.
The Spirit of Delta Boeing 767 at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Spirit of Delta Boeing 767.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The Spirit of Delta spent more than 23 years flying Delta passengers around the country before retiring to the museum in 2006.

The museum is also home to the nose section of the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar prototype.
Three photos show the outside of the nose section of a Lockheed L-1011, its flight deck, and the conference roof at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Lockheed L-1011 Conference Room.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Delta employees salvaged the 65-foot-long section in 1989. It has been used as a movie set and gift shop before becoming a conference room.

Besides airplanes, the museum also houses thousands of pieces of aviation memorabilia.
Three photos show the vintage uniforms and memorabilia at the Delta Flight Museum.
Vintage uniforms and memorabilia at the Delta Flight Museum.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

There are loads of vintage uniforms and interesting items from Delta's past including typewriters that passengers could borrow on flights and the only Delta co-branded Coca-Cola cooler in existence.

The museum also houses artifacts from more than 40 airlines that have merged to form Delta Air Lines over the years.
The Color Wall, a wall of memorabilia from the 40 airlines that merged to form Delta, is organized into the color of the rainbow at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Color Wall.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

More than 200 items from airlines like Pan Am, Northwest, and Western have been arranged into the colors of the rainbow.

There's also a real Boeing 737 flight simulator.
The Boeing 737-200 flight simulator at the Delta Flight Museum.
The 737-200 flight simulator.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The simulator is fully operational for museumgoers to try their hands at flying for an additional fee.

Outside the museum is a Douglas DC-7B.
A Delta Douglas DC-7B airliner outside at the Delta Flight Museum.
A Douglas DC-7B at the Delta Flight Museum.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The DC-7B debuted in 1957 and was the last propeller-driven aircraft type the airline bought for passenger service. Delta's first jet, the Douglas DC-8, arrived just two years later in 1959.

There's also a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 that joined the Delta through its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 exhibit outside at the Delta Flight Museum.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 exhibit.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Delta was the launch customer for the DC-9 in 1965 and has been a major operator of the aircraft and the multitude of variants it spawned over the years. It currently operates the final version of the DC-9, the Boeing 717-200.

By the front gate is a Boeing 757-200 that flew for Delta from 1985 to 2013, including a year with the airline's shortlived Song low-cost brand.
A Delta Boeing 757-200 parked outside at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Delta Boeing 757-200 exhibit.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The 757 wears Delta's Classic Widget livery, the carrier's standard look from 1968 to 1997.

The most famous part of the outdoor exhibit is the Boeing 747-400.
The Boeing 747-400 exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.
The Boeing 747-400 known as Delta Ship 6301.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

The aircraft, Delta Ship 6301, was the first Boeing 747-400 ever built and entered service with Northwest Airlines in 1989. It flew for Delta until September 2015 after logging more than 61 million miles.

Unlike most of the other aircraft in the museum, the 747's interior is open to the public.
The main cabin of the Boeing 747-400 Exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.
The 747's main cabin.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Parts of the plane's ceiling and walls have been removed, and the floor has been replaced with glass panels so that people can view its inner workings.

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