Touring the Hickory Aviation Museum in Hickory NC | Historic Military Planes

We recently visited the Hickory Aviation Museum in Hickory, North Carolina, and I really didn't know just how much there was going to be to see until we got there.

Before we even walked inside, the place made an impression. The museum's new facility is huge, and on the day we visited we had blue skies with the mountains visible in the distance. The museum is located at the Dale Earnhardt Regional Innovation Complex and is connected with Catawba Valley Community College as an educational facility.

The new Hickory Aviation Museum facility opened in May 2026, so when we visited in August it had only been open for a few months.

And you don't even have to make it through the front door before seeing aircraft.

The Planes Start Before You Even Get Inside

One of the first things we came across was the massive Bell AH-1W SuperCobra. Standing underneath an aircraft like that is a completely different experience from seeing one in a photograph.

Nearby was also a replica of the Northrop F-15 Reporter.

When we visited, I couldn't find a way to purchase tickets online, so we simply bought ours when we arrived. The staff at the museum were extremely friendly and helpful, which was a nice way to start the visit.

There's also a gift shop with model aircraft, aviation collectibles and other souvenirs.

More Than Just Airplanes

One thing I really liked about the Hickory Aviation Museum is that it isn't simply a hangar full of planes.

There is military history everywhere.

We saw World War II memorabilia, uniforms, photographs, helmets and personal items connected to the people who actually served.

One display included a U.S. M5 anti-flak helmet, which was the final flak helmet design issued to American bomber crews during World War II.

Another display had a MiG-21 Lancer pilot's pressure suit donated by former Romanian Air Force pilot Julian Patilia. The suit was used for flying at extremely high altitudes.

There is also a Wall of Honor dedicated to members, friends and families connected with the museum who served in the United States military.

That part of the museum deserves some time. It's easy to become focused on how impressive the aircraft are, but there are real people and real stories behind these machines.

Historic Aircraft Everywhere You Look

There are more than 20 aircraft to see, and some of them are absolutely enormous when you're standing beside them.

Among the aircraft and displays we saw were the FM-2 Wildcat, P-80 Shooting Star, A-6E Intruder, F-105D Thunderchief, F-14 Tomcat, EA-6B Prowler, F-4 Phantom II and the T-34C Turbo Mentor.

The Wildcat immediately takes you back to the carrier aircraft of World War II.

Then there's the metallic P-80 Shooting Star, one of America's early jet fighters. What really caught my attention was how small the cockpit looked compared with the size of the aircraft surrounding it. I think I might get a little claustrophobic squeezed into some of these cockpits.

The museum also has an MGR-1 Honest John missile, an early U.S. surface-to-surface rocket system capable of carrying different types of warheads.

The A-6E Intruder and F-105 Thunderchief

The A-6E Intruder was another aircraft that stood out.

It was built as an all-weather attack aircraft capable of operating during the day or night. I also liked seeing some of the original-looking paint and artwork on the aircraft.

That's something I didn't completely appreciate before visiting this museum. Military aircraft weren't always just plain gray machines. Some of them have incredible artwork and personality painted onto them.

Skulls, flames, characters, lightning bolts and other artwork show up throughout the collection.

Nearby was the Republic F-105D Thunderchief.

Just standing next to aircraft this large is slightly intimidating. I've obviously flown on commercial airplanes before, but standing on the ground beside military aircraft gives you an entirely different idea of their size.

And then you start thinking about the pilots who actually flew them.

There are gauges, switches and buttons everywhere. I can't imagine the amount of training it takes to look at one of those cockpits and immediately understand what everything does.

A Pilot Who Is Afraid of Heights

Something funny came to mind while looking at all these aircraft.

I recently met a pilot and told him about doing the New River Gorge Bridge Walk in West Virginia.

He told me he could never do it because he's afraid of heights.

A pilot.

Afraid of heights.

That sounded funny at first, but his explanation actually made sense. When he's flying an airplane, he feels like he's in control. Standing hundreds of feet above the ground on a bridge is a completely different feeling.

I'm still amused by the idea of a pilot saying, "Nope, that's too high."

The F-14 Tomcat

Of course, it's hard not to notice an F-14 Tomcat.

The F-14 is huge, measuring about 63 feet long with a maximum wingspan of more than 61 feet.

Its cruising speed was around 610 mph, while its maximum speed could reach approximately 1,544 mph, close to Mach 2.

And after looking at the seats, I can also confidently report that they do not appear to have been designed with lumbar support as the top priority.

The EA-6B Prowler and F-4 Phantom II

The EA-6B Prowler has one of those aircraft names that just sounds fierce.

This particular aircraft also had some great artwork, including a skull and flames.

The museum's F-4 Phantom II is another legendary aircraft. The Phantom served for decades in numerous roles and became one of the most recognizable military jets of the Cold War era. It could fly at more than twice the speed of sound.

It's difficult to understand those speeds while you're standing beside the aircraft completely still.

The Shark-Mouth T-34C Turbo Mentor

One of my favorites was probably one of the smallest aircraft.

From the upstairs viewing area you can look down over the museum, and that's where the T-34C Turbo Mentor really caught my attention.

It has that awesome shark-mouth paint scheme on the front that makes it look much fiercer than you would expect from a training aircraft.

The T-34C Turbo Mentor was used to train generations of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators.

One of the interesting things explained during our visit was how much actual flying the aircraft requires from the pilot. It doesn't simply do everything for you. That makes it a fitting aircraft for teaching someone the fundamentals of actually flying.

And yes, the shark mouth definitely helps.

Pieces From the USS Coral Sea and USS Essex

Some of the smaller artifacts were just as interesting as the airplanes.

We saw two chairs from the pilot's ready room aboard the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), a Midway-class aircraft carrier that served the United States Navy for decades.

Another display contained a United States flag that had been flown aboard the USS Essex during the 1958 Lebanon operation. The flag was later donated to the museum by Ken Smith, who had been aboard the Essex.

You can walk past something like a chair or a flag fairly quickly, but once you read where it came from, it suddenly becomes one of the more interesting things in the building.

A Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower

They even have a mobile air traffic control center.

These portable control towers could provide air traffic control services in locations where a permanent tower wasn't available or wasn't operational.

And yes, we went inside.

There are so many smaller displays like this around the museum that it would be nearly impossible to show everything in one video.

Getting Inside a Cockpit

One of my favorite parts of the entire visit was actually getting inside one of the aircraft cockpits.

After spending all that time looking at planes from the outside, climbing into one gives you a completely different perspective.

There isn't exactly a tremendous amount of room.

There was even a warning to watch your head, which turned out to be useful advice.

Looking at all the controls from the pilot's position really makes you appreciate what it takes to operate one of these machines.

Remembering the Men and Women Behind the Aircraft

As impressive as all of these planes are, the museum is also a reminder that they represent generations of people who served our country.

I want to say thank you to all of the men and women who have served in the United States military.

It's a very special job that takes a very special person, and seeing the aircraft, uniforms, photographs, equipment and personal memorabilia together makes that history feel much more real.

Is the Hickory Aviation Museum Worth Visiting?

For me, absolutely.

There is a ridiculous amount to look at. Some of the aircraft are massive, others have fascinating histories, and some of my favorite things ended up being the smaller artifacts that I wasn't expecting.

I also liked that you can get close enough to really examine the aircraft instead of just looking at them from far away.

The upstairs viewing area is especially worth checking out because you can look over much of the aircraft collection at once.

And if you're anywhere around Hickory, North Carolina, I definitely think the Hickory Aviation Museum is worth adding to your list.

We tried to show as much as we could in the video, but there is simply too much inside the museum to cover every single thing.

You can watch our complete CoreniaBug Hickory Aviation Museum tour to come along with us as we explore the historic planes, military exhibits, unusual aircraft artwork and even climb inside a cockpit.

Thanks for coming along on another CoreniaBug adventure, and I'll see you in the next one!