Editing Elizabeth City, North Carolina (section)

==U.S. Coast Guard==
[[File:Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City 1999.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station]]
Established in 1940 and located southeast of Elizabeth City's corporate limits, [[Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City]] is one of the largest [[United States Coast Guard]] Air Stations in the nation at over 800 acres,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitnc.com/listings/view/39053/united-states-coast-guard-complex|title=United States Coast Guard Complex|publisher=Visit NC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710081254/http://www.visitnc.com/listings/view/39053/united-states-coast-guard-complex|archive-date=July 10, 2013|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> and is home to six commands - Air Station Elizabeth City, Aviation Logistics Center, Aviation Technical Training Center, Base Elizabeth City,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uscg.mil/baseelizabethcity/|title=USCG Base Elizabeth City, NC|accessdate=February 18, 2023}}</ref> C-27J Asset Project Office (APO), and Small Boat Station Elizabeth City - as well as the off-base National Strike Force Coordination Center located in northern Elizabeth City. As a component of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]], the base, along with a host of defense contractors anchored by [[DRS Technologies]], provide a host of local jobs and maintains an influx of Coast Guard and industry employees from all around the country.

The USCG Air Station and the Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC) in Elizabeth City were featured in numerous scenes of the 2006 Disney movie [[The Guardian (2006 film)|''The Guardian'']], standing in for [[Kodiak, Alaska]].

Elizabeth City is also home to one of the United States' few [[airship]] factories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcomlp.com/facilities.html|title=TCOM - Leader in Affordable Persistent Surveillance Solutions - Design, Manufacture of Tethered Aerostat Systems - For over 40 years, TCOM innovations have defined the industry, and our pioneering achievements continue to revolutionize the design, manufacture and deployment of LTA systems. With corporate headquarters in Columbia, MD and manufacturing and testing facilities in Elizabeth City, NC, TCOM is the world's only company solely devoted to the design, fabrication, installation and operation of persistent surveillance aerostat systems.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306192816/http://www.tcomlp.com/facilities.html|archive-date=March 6, 2005}}</ref> Many of the nation's commercial blimps are made and serviced here. The current airship facilities evolved from what had previously been [[Naval Air Station Weeksville]], operational from 1941 to 1957. NAS Weeksville's LTA craft played a vital role in German [[U-boat]] spotting during World War II, helping to minimize losses to East Coast [[Freight transport|shipping]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elizcity.com/weeksnas/ |title=U. S. Naval Air Station (LTA) Weeksville, North Carolina...............................................................................................................................................ICW-NET Elizabeth City NC |access-date=February 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323080732/http://www.elizcity.com/weeksnas/ |archive-date=March 23, 2009  }}</ref> NAS Weeksville was home to two hangars, one still existing as corrugated steel, and a slightly larger one constructed out of [[Southern Yellow Pine]], to conserve metal for the WWII war effort. This latter hangar was the largest wooden structure in the world until its demise by fire in 1995.

A joint public-private [[airpark]] adjacent to the Coast Guard base is in the planning stages. Intended to make Elizabeth City a premier hub of the [[aviation industry]], the airpark hopes to attract major tenants as well as the Aviation Science programs of [[Elizabeth City State University]] and related programs by the [[College of the Albemarle]].