The UAS started in 1968, originally located at Newtownards Aerodrome, and had moved to the disused airfield of RAF Langford Lodge by 1994,[1] occupying buildings including the control tower and half a hangar as their Heritage Centre.

[2] The society's first full airframe, acquired in 1984, was a Grumman Wildcat, known by the Royal Navy as the Martlet, which, with the help of other groups and a British Army helicopter, had been recovered from a nearby lake, Portmore Lough.

[11] Chairman Ray Burrows was awarded the MBE in the 2020 New Years Honours list, "For services to the Ulster Aviation Society, Heritage Sector and to the community in Northern Ireland".

[13] The society has a large collection of aviation-related material, including cockpit sections from a Tornado, a Canberra, and a de Havilland Devon, a restored tail-gun turret, and a Learjet 45 test airframe (built by Short in Belfast).

There are also several themed display rooms, a library, and advanced PC-based flight simulators with VR capability and controls for fast jets, helicopters, and propeller aircraft.