Earlier today (October 26), a groundbreaking was held at Hickory Regional Airport. The event kicked off the construction of the new Hickory Aviation Museum and Catawba Valley Community College Workforce Innovation Center.

The City of Hickory is partnering with the Sabre Society of North Carolina/Hickory Aviation Museum and Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) to construct a building with multiple uses. It will house the museum’s vintage military aircraft, preserve aviation history, and provide STEM education and workforce development opportunities to the Hickory region.

The expanded Hickory Aviation Museum will feature a hangar to preserve and display aircraft and will also serve as the site of CVCC’s Workforce Innovation Center, a regional educational campus with flexible use space providing high-tech equipment, classrooms, and virtual simulators for training.

According to the museum’s website, the existing Hickory Aviation Museum is a non-profit organization staffed by dedicated volunteers with a common obsession, the love of aviation. Admission is free, and on the weekends it makes a wonderful outing for the whole family. Youngsters of all ages can sit in the pilot’s seat and dream!

The museum originated from the Sabre Society, which was formed in 1991 to restore a North American FJ-3 Fury on display at a ballpark in Taylorsville. In 2022, plans were announced for a new building located at Hickory Regional Airport. According to information online, the new facility will cost a total of $22 Million, with $15 Million appropriated from the state budget and the remaining $7 Million from museum fundraising. Hickory City Council approved the design contract on June 21, 2022.