Hickory Aviation Museum
Traveling to the Warbirds Over Monroe Airshow in Monroe, NC, I have to pass by the city of Hickory, NC. And Hickory just happens to be the home of the Hickory Aviation Museum. I’ve been to this museum several times in the past for various museum aircraft arrivals and while on trips through Hickory. So I made a point to stop by again and see what’s new at the museum.
As a bonus to my visit, I got to meet one of their newly famous cats, Phantom, who had taken up residence in the museum’s Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and given birth to five kittens! A photo of a cat inside the T-33 canopy had hit the national news recently and created a bit of buzz for the museum. Phantom was kind enough to climb out of the T-33 and pose in front of it for me.
FYI - The kittens had been collected and taken to a local veterinarian to be prepared for adoption.
12Nov22
View of the Hickory Aviation Museum's aircraft collection. All aircraft are stored outside on the Hickory Regional Airport ramp with a small museum located inside the airport terminal. 12Nov22
View of the museum's outside aircraft collection from inside the museum. On display are artifacts and memorabilia ranging from WWI to the present day. There is also a section dedicated to NC natives and WWII heroes Bill and George Preddy. 12Nov22
Interior of the Hickory Aviation Museum with an F-14 Tomcat vertical stabilizer and cockpit setup. 12Nov22
A Norden bombsight and aerial reconnaissance camera on display. 12Nov22
Preddy Memorial section inside the museum. 12Nov22
Bill Preddy's seat from his P-51 Mustang. Recovered from the crash site in Czechoslovakia. 12Nov22
Grumman OV-1D “Mohawk” 12Nov22
Grumman OV-1D “Mohawk” 12Nov22
Grumman OV-1D “Mohawk” 12Nov22
Ling-Temco-Vought A-7A “Corsair” II and McDonnell Aircraft/Douglas F-4B “Phantom II”. 12Nov22
Ling-Temco-Vought A-7A “Corsair” II 12Nov22
McDonnell Aircraft/Douglas F-4B “Phantom II” 12Nov22
Curtiss XF15C-1 “Stingeree” 12Nov22
Curtiss XF15C-1 “Stingeree” 12Nov22
Republic F-105 “Thunderchief” 12Nov22
Republic F-105 “Thunderchief” 12Nov22
Douglas A-4 L“Skyhawk” 12Nov22
Grumman F-14D “Tomcat” 12Nov22
Grumman F-14D “Tomcat” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Northrop Grumman EA-6B “Prowler” 12Nov22
Sikorsky SH-3H “Sea King” 12Nov22
Sikorsky SH-3H “Sea King” 12Nov22
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Legacy Hornet 12Nov22
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Legacy Hornet 12Nov22
Lockheed P-3C Orion 12Nov22
Lockheed P-3C Orion 12Nov22
Lockheed P-3C Orion 12Nov22
Lockheed P-3C Orion 12Nov22
Lockheed T-33 “Shooting Star” 12Nov22
Phantom the cat posing beneath the Lockheed T-33 “Shooting Star” that she used as home for her litter of kittens. 12Nov22
Phantom was kind enough to sit still under the T-33 for several minutes while I took pictures. She was not interested in coming to me for a quick head rub. 12Nov22
One of the Hickory Aviation Museum's personnel came out and gave me the update on the status of Phantom and the five kittens. Phantom will remain at the museum where it is being fed and cared for. The kittens are at a local veterinarian's office and will be adopted out. 12Nov22
The Hickory Regional Airport has small boneyard out behind some hangers. A 1996 Scaled Composites 247 VisionAire Vantage sits in the foreground. A Spanish Hispano HA-200 Saeta sits behind it with other items that I could not recognize. 12Nov22
A Federal Express F-27 Mk.500 Friendship looking a bit worse for wear. 12Nov22