The origins of the museum lie in the establishment of Fagen Fighters Restoration in 1998.

[1][2] In May 2016, the museum unveiled a boxcar used in the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust it had acquired from Georgenthal, Germany.

[3] A tornado that struck the airport in July 2016 damaged a number of other buildings, but did not affect the museum.

[4] In 2017, the museum purchased a collection of spare parts that belonged to collector Jay Wisler.

[1] The museum opened a fourth hangar featuring U.S. Navy aircraft in December 2023.