Co-founded by Kyle and Kregg Kirby, it opened to the public on 19 May 2007.

[3] In 2022, plans were announced for a new building located at Hickory Regional Airport.

In addition to housing the museum's aircraft, it will also serve as a training facility for the Catawba Valley Community College.

Stipulations of the plan include relinquishing the spot the museum has within the commercial terminal should commercial operations return to Hickory Regional Airport.

[7] This trend continued with the announcement of the arrival of an AV-8B in July of that year.