Boeing 737 Fuselage to Grace New Park Entrance

When it's completed this spring, a new park at Greenville Downtown Airport will have a most unique entryway — a 15-foot section of a Boeing 737 jet.

The fuselage, which arrived by truck last week from Mississippi, is now in the hands of students with Greenville Technical College's Aircraft Maintenance Technology program. The students's task will be to modify the fuselage into a handicapped-accessible park entrance,” stated Hank Brown, owner of Greenville Jet Center.

"As soon as Greenville Tech completes the necessary changes to the fuselage, it will be installed along with a new fence at the front of the park,” said Parks McLeod of McLeod Landscape Architects, designer of the park.

The public, aviation-themed park, which opened last fall as an open green space, is nearly complete. 

An educational amphitheater, irrigation system, grass, fencing, paved exercise "Perimeter Taxiway" and the walking "Runways" are all in, McLeod said. This spring, aviation-themed playground equipment will be added for children 2 – 5 years of age and the park’s “Runways” and “Perimeter Taxiway” will be painted to look like real ones, he said. 

“Many local individuals and companies have donated to the park project and we have held several fundraisers,” said airport director Joe Frasher. “We are now applying for grants, planning more fundraisers and seeking financial help to add aviation-themed playground equipment for school aged children, and for a picnic pavilion. We even have a fundraising 5k on the Runway planned for Saturday, May 25," added Frasher.

Security changes at GSP International since 9/11 have prevented the school tours that used to be commonplace. Frasher and others hope the new park will help fill that void, as well as perhaps inspire generations of children to enter the aviation field as adults.

"Our region is attracting many aviation companies and they are having a hard time finding skilled workers," said airport public relations director Lara Kaufman. "We believe that exposure to aviation may inspire some kids to enter engineering, air traffic control, aircraft maintenance, or to become a pilot or CNC machinist. All of these are high paying jobs that are or will be needed to be filled locally"

The park is located at 21 Airport Road Extension in Greenville.