The first aircraft to land on the present site of the Toowoomba Airport at Wilsonton arrived from Warwick in 1911. By 1928 the site was well established as an airport and the Toowoomba Aero Club had been formed. QANTAS was operating a scheduled service from Brisbane/Archerfield to Toowoomba Airport and onto Roma, Charleville and Longreach.

In 1936, Toowoomba became the QANTAS base for Australia's first scheduled international flights to London. DH86 four-engine biplanes landed in a Toowoomba paddock en route Singapore. Shortly after the start of World War II, the Toowoomba Aero Club disbanded as a patriotic gesture until 1946. Under the Presidency of Dr Mervyn Hall, the club was re-established and re-named the Darling Downs Aero Club , with a view to being the aero club for the entire Darling Downs and south western Queensland regions. 

A makeshift tent was erected in Bridge Street near the corner of Greenwattle Street. The Royal Queensland Aero Club provided Tiger Moths every weekend for flying training. Soon after, the first hangar was built in Bridge Street and became DDAC's home for a number of years, until it burnt down. By 1952, DDAC had employed a full time instructor and purchased their first aeroplane - a Tiger Moth. During this period, flying training was subsidised by the Australian Federal Government who thought it was advisable for the defence of the country to have a pool of qualified pilots available to serve in the military. The Department of Civil Aviation believed its function was to both regulate and promote aviation in Australia. 

Sir Donald Anderson ran the Department of Civil Aviation , and on a visit to Toowoomba, President Jack Kelly pointed out to Sir Donald that DDAC needed a hangar on the southern side of the newly constructed runway, and it so happened there were plenty of hangars at Oakey. The Department owned the Oakey Airport which had been a major RAAF Base during the War.

In the mid sixties, Sir Donald arranged for the sale to DDAC, for the price of 1 pound, one of the Bellman h angars at Oakey, on condition that DDAC pay for the removal and reconstruction. Jack Kelly was a builder and arranged just that. DDAC constructed the Bellman hangar on the southern side of the Toowoomba airport in its current location on Mutze Street. 

Not long after, money was raised to build a small brick building for the aero club on the eastern side of the Bellman hangar. 

Another hangar, which had been built next door, was purchased by DDAC in the mid-1960s and it became the central point of operations for the flight training operation and still is today. The club peaked in 1964, the last year of the subsidy scheme, flying over 6000 hours in Tiger Moths, Chipmunks, Austers, Cessna 150s, 172s and a Victa Airtourer.

In early 2000, DDAC updated its facilities by extending the original office building offering improved briefing rooms for students. Today, the principal objective of the Darling Downs Aero Club is the promotion of aviation in Australia and in particular, Southern Queensland. DDAC supports aviation in all its forms, emphasising safe, affordable and enjoyable flight. Anyone with an interest in aviation is welcome.