Unified in Flight

SINCE ITS OPENING in the 1990s, the Hickory Aviation Museum (HAM) has served as one of the largest aviation museums in North Carolina. This year, through the support of several community partners, CVCC and HAM have come together to construct a new kind of facility—one that welcomes students and visitors to engage with history, academics, and aviation.

FLYING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Last Fall, CVCC and the Hickory Aviation Museum (HAM) broke ground on a one-of-a-kind project that brings history, learning, and innovation to life.

Where can higher education take you? For friends and family of Catawba County, an exciting new building will change the face of learning—whether you are coming to college for the first time or you’re just eager to explore the Hickory Aviation Museum.

The brainchild of brothers Kyle and Kregg Kirby, the Hickory Aviation Museum first opened in the late 1990s, soon after the Kirbys located a FJ-3 Fury Korean War era fighter jet near the border of Taylorsville, NC. After receiving approval from the proper authorities and speaking with the Hickory Regional Airport, the Kirby brothers were successful at re-homing and restoring the jet. It has remained in the museum’s collection for the past 30 years. In 2007, thanks to the generosity of the City of Hickory, the museum found a new home in the south terminal of the Hickory Regional Airport. This relocation has not only allowed the museum to expand, but also provides visitors a place to discover the “Golden Age of Aviation.”

Current inventory includes military aircraft, helicopters, and equipment which dates as far back as the 1940s.

HAM has gained traction in recent years, too. In 2020, the museum was honored to add a Blue Angel Jet to its collection. As inventory has continued to grow, the museum has acquired more and more aircraft which needs protection from harsh weather and other damaging circumstances.

The solution? Build a museum that will last for generations. Ideas were tossed around, but the concept was first presented by Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, President of CVCC, and Mr. Kregg Kirby, co-founder of the Hickory Aviation Museum. Hinshaw and Kirby have worked together in both personal and professional capacities, and they share a vision that moves beyond anything this region has ever seen: fusing higher education and aviation in one central location.

Within months, the CVCC Workforce Innovation Center/Hickory Aviation Museum was born.

“The City of Hickory is proud to partner with the Hickory Aviation Museum and CVCC to create a remarkable and transformative project,” said Hank Guess, Mayor of Hickory. “This expansion will be an awesome and inspiring tribute to our aviation heritage.”

This center will preserve more than aircraft and artifacts—it will preserve the very value of academic excellence. As visitors travel through the 105,000 square foot building, they will find themselves on the highest ground in Hickory. Teachers, students, or visitors can study and learn while surrounded by beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The building’s centerpiece, a grand hangar, will serve as a preservation site for vintage military aircraft.

“It is an embodiment of our pride in the aviation legacy,” said Guess. “It has contributed so much to our region’s identity.”

Catawba Valley Community College is excited to be just one partner of this event. Our institution acknowledges that a project of this scope and size can only be accomplished through the support of our community.

As CVCC President Hinshaw states, “Our leadership says yes. Our leadership delivers. And with that, we ought to be successful.”

The CVCC Workforce Innovation Center is expanded to accommodate up to 1,000 students throughout the academic semester. With the facility’s high-tech amenities, students will be able to take courses in STEM-related programs, and participate in simulation experiences. It is a game changing era of education for Catawba Valley Community College.

Hinshaw remarked on his hopes for the facility—that the Workforce Innovation Center/Hickory Aviation Museum become a beacon of our future, inspiring students and visitors alike to keep learning and keep growing. We want to change the lives of our students, and we want our community to strive for progress in whatever shape or form is required.

“This groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of a journey that will shape the future of our communities, our children, and generations to come,” said Hinshaw. “Education is the cornerstone of progress, the key to unlocking the potential of our next generation, and a testament to our commitment and passion for assuring that everyone has opportunities to be successful.”

Frank Weisser, retired U.S. Navy Commander and Blue Angel solo pilot, attended the ceremony as special guest. During his 10-year career with the Blue Angels, Weisser traveled the country participating in shows and delivering retired jets to qualified museums. His talents even took him to the big screen— Weisser is the stunt double who flew Tom Cruise’s jet in Top Gun: Maverick.

But in 2020, before Top Gun, Weisser came to Catawba County to deliver the Blue Angel jet to the Hickory Aviation Museum. He recalled his first experience in Hickory as a welcoming, exciting time. Not only was the city eager to work with Weisser, but also, the museum was honored to become a permanent home for this portion of aircraft history.

It was during the groundbreaking that Weisser shared his heartwarming message. “As we stand here today, in what will be the location of one of the finest museums of the country...[it] makes Hickory an aviation destination,” he said. “What is more incredible than the machines are the stories of the men and women who flew them and maintained them.

“[This museum] has the potential to inspire young men and women not to spend their lives tied to the ground—literally or figuratively. It might inspire them to have an aviation career, or it might help them realize they can do things they did not think were possible.”

By combining a passion for education and aviation, all partners—the City of Hickory, the Hickory Aviation Museum, and CVCC—are reminded that Catawba County works better when we depend upon each other.

Weisser states it best. “I have had a privilege of taking airplanes all over the country…out of all the cities we delivered those airplanes to, there was one where, when I landed, I didn’t know a single person, and I felt like I was home. And that was in Hickory.”

Thanks to the collaboration of the City of Hickory, Catawba Valley Community College, the Hickory Aviation Museum, and David E. Looper & Company, the Catawba Valley region looks forward to the construction of the Hickory Aviation Museum & CVCC Workforce Innovation Center.

**Special thanks to Generous Donors, the Hickory City Council, the North Carolina General Assembly, the CVCC Board of Trustees, the Hickory Aviation Museum Board & Volunteers, the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, Long View Mayor and Town Council, the Burke County Board of Commissioners, David E. Looper & Company, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, the NCDOT – Division of Aviation, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Hickory Aviation Museum displays aircraft that dates back to the 1940s. Many of its artifacts were produced for WWII, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan.