In 1931, Richard "Dick" Henson established a fixed-base operation known as Henson Aviation in Hagerstown, Maryland. Over the years, the company operated as an Allegheny Commuter airline. On July 29, 1983, Piedmont Airlines received regulatory approval to acquire Henson Aviation, Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary, marking a historic moment in aviation as it was the first instance of a certified airline fully owning its regional affiliate.

Consequently, the airline was rebranded as "Henson, The Piedmont Regional Airline". Between 1983 and 1989, Henson experienced significant growth, quadrupling its size. Following Piedmont's merger with USAir in 1989, Ed Colodny, the CEO of USAir, rebranded "Henson, The Piedmont Regional Airline" to "Piedmont Airlines," operating under the USAir Express brand to safeguard their $1.59 billion investment in the legacy Piedmont Airlines.

Currently, the "new" Piedmont Airlines operates as one of six American Eagle regional airlines flying to over 50 destinations in the eastern and midwestern United States, along with Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City in Canada.

"As the state that was first in flight, North Carolina is excited to see Boom's progress toward delivering the world's first sustainable supersonic airliner. Our state has the skilled workforce, infrastructure and perfect location to help Boom revolutionize air travel."

Governor Roy Cooper
NORTH CAROLINA

Throughout its history, Winston-Salem's Piedmont Airlines stayed one step ahead of the competition by coming up with innovative ways to satisfy its customers, like a one-of-a-kind beverage that former passengers and employees still thirst for.

Boom Supersonic, the company building the world's fastest and most sustainable supersonic airliner, today announced it has selected the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina as the site of its first full-scale manufacturing facility.

The Overture Superfactory will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, including the final assembly line, test facility, and customer delivery center for the Overture supersonic airliner. Carrying 65 to 88 passengers, Overture is capable of flying on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at twice the speed of today's fastest passenger jets.

A big thanks to the NC Transportation Museum for hosting Tuesday's celebration.

They also put together this video of the event. What a wonderful Piedmont gathering it was! Enjoy!

The Piedmont Aviation Historical Society is proud to announce the creation of The Tom Davis Memorial Flight Training Scholarship at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in honor of Davis by the Tom Davis Fund.

The scholarship supports a flight student at $25,000 annually, in an effort to provide a significant financial gift toward a student pilot's flight training.

First preference shall be given to a descendant of an employee of Piedmont Aviation, Inc. In the event the first preference is not identified, it will then be awarded to a descendant of US Airways.

If those two preferences are not identified, then it will be awarded to a student from North Carolina.