[3] Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a variety of aviation exhibits with a majority relating directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II.

The focus devoted efforts to restoring the Ford Island control tower and signed a lease with the Navy to begin repairs.

Visitors to the museum gain access via tour bus from the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites on Halawa landing.

[5] Due to airport expansion plans, the Pacific Aerospace Museum operation was suspended in the fall of 2001 and finally removed two years later.

[6] A few of the exhibits were salvaged by the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor foundation as well as responsibility for the education and scholarship programs.

[18] Due to its historical significance, as the location of the first radio alert of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the museum plans to spend over $7,500,000 repairing the Ford Island control tower.

[19] It was registered as a category 1 structure in the 1978 Pearl Harbor Naval Base Historic Preservation Plan and is being restored by Kiewit Building Group; the same contractor who built the museum.

[20] A grant through the United States Department of Defense appropriations for the stabilization and restoration of a historical landmark was given to the museum for $3,800,000 which provided the initial funds to start the project.

[22] In 2010, records filed with Congress shows that defense firms had donated nearly $449,000 to the museum during efforts to raise money to restore the tower.

[31] The remains of the Japanese A6M2 Zero "B11-120" from the carrier Hiryu piloted by Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, who crash landed on Ni'ihau after the second wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor, are stored at the museum.

[35] The plane, called "Swamp Ghost", was supposed to fly to Hickam Field on December 7, 1941 but was delayed due to engine trouble and avoided the attack.

After the bombing, the plane was attacked by nine Japanese fighters on its return to base, was struck on the wing, and crashed in marsh water.

[38] The film explains the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to museum guests and won the 2010 Pixie Gold Award from American Pixel Academy.

[39] In 2013 the museum planned to host 1,500 Chinese nationals from Amway China on Ford Island who were particularly interested in the Flying Tigers exhibit.

[42] In June 2013 the museum fought the US Navy's plan to install 60,000 photovoltaic panels over 28 acres on the Ford Island runway.

[43] In 2008, the museum received a grant from BAE Systems to fund its Barnstorming program to build wind tunnels and plane props that will tour local schools to teach aerospace education to sixth graders.

[47] While former and active military tourists gain access through the Admiral Clarey bridge and because Ford Island is still part of the active military base Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, non-military tourists gain access via the National Park Service's Halawa Landing, now known as the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites, for tickets to the museum and then are transported via tour bus onto the installation for the museum and the USS Missouri.