Established in 1974, the museum's mission is to collect and preserve all aspects of aviation heritage, with an emphasis on Queensland's aviation history. The Queensland Air Museum boasts the largest collection of historical aircraft in Queensland and a variety of other aviation-related exhibits, including equipment, artifacts, photographs, and books. The aircraft collection represents various military aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Navy (RN), Republic of Singapore Air Force, and Polish Air Force, among others.
In August 2013, Air Marshal Geoff Shepard AO (ret), former Australian Defence Force Chief of Air Force, became the patron of the museum, recognizing its tourism potential. The museum's origins date back to June 1974 when it was inaugurated with the official unveiling of a Canberra aircraft at the Pioneer Valley Park in Kuraby, Brisbane. As the collection grew, it was moved to its current location at Caloundra Airport.