At the Hickory Regional Airport, where the future home of the Hickory Aviation Museum begins, exciting developments are underway. On October 26, 2023, representatives of the City of Hickory, the Hickory Aviation Museum and the Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) gathered to break the ground in a pioneering facility that merge the preservation of aviation history with practical education. This joint effort combines the city of Hickory, the Saber Society of North Carolina (which operates the museum) and CVCC, aims to create a dynamic space for the presentation of vintage military aircraft and the further development of MINT focus on the workforce training.
Since this milestone, construction has progressed steadily, and the recent updates of the museum's social media channels show that the first aircraft is now moved to the new building. These aircraft are carefully kept to protect them from ongoing construction activities, while commercial residents continue the careful work that is necessary to bring the new museum to life.
The first aircraft that the facility entered was an FM-2 Wildcat, Bureau number 16278, which was built by General Motors by the Division Eastern Aircraft. This robust fighter of the Second World War flew combat missions in the Pacific Theater before it was assigned to NAS Gllenview, Illinois. In 1946 it fell into the Lake Michigan, where it remained until his recovery in the early nineties. After a thorough restoration by the National Naval Aviation Museum, the wildcat joined the Hickory Aviation Museum collection in 2021.
The to-1/TV-1 “Shooting Star”, a US navy variant of the Lockheed P-80 jet, followed in exactly the following. This aircraft was built in 1945 for the U.S. Army's air forces before its conversion for the naval service. Many aviation enthusiasts will recognize it from his time in the legendary Walter Soplata collection in Ohio, where it painted blue and marked with the number “689” on the fuselage. The museum acquired this rare early jet in 2022.
The new establishment of the museum is not just about preserving history, but also about preparing the next generation. Through its partnership with CVCC, the Museum Programs will support the Colleges Workforce Innovation Center. From this autumn, CVCC training in Marine -Motor systems and boat drive will offer, whereby the future plans for training are to be expanded into the training of aviation expectations. In 2024, the museum continued to grow its collection by adding a De Havilland Otter and an AV-8B harrier and further strengthened its role as a regional center for aerospace and practical learning. To pursue the advances of the museum or support its mission, visit www.hickoryaviationmuseum.org.
**UPDATE** After the article was published, we learned that the museum volunteered the Turbo-Mentor de Havilland Otter, AV-8B Harrier II and the F/A-18 Hornet Blue angel #5 interiors on Friday.
