Western Canada Aviation Museum
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The Western Canada Aviation Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the second largest aviation museum in Canada. The collection is housed in an original Trans-Canada Air Lines (Air Canada) hangar dating from the 1930s.
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[edit] History
Incorporated in 1974, the Western Canada Aviation Museum has grown into an award-winning heritage institution dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Canada's aviation history.
The aircraft on display reflect the history of aviation development in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada and include examples ranging from bush planes to transport, military, private and commercial aircraft.
[edit] Exhibits
A fully enclosed Flight Deck to watch the landings and takeoffs at the renamed Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (after James Armstrong Richardson, Sr.) is one of the other attractions. The collection is housed in an original TCA aircraft hangar and includes a (recreated) terminal departure centre, several one-of-a-kind aircraft such as Canada's first helicopter, the CL-84 "Tilt-wing," Avrocar "flying saucer" (full-scale movie model), along with historic military jets, bushplanes and commercial aircraft.
[edit] Specific display aircraft
- Canada's first helicopter (built by the Froebe brothers in Homewood, Manitoba);
- The most complete Vickers Viscount in the world (which flew out of the hangar that now houses the Museum);
- A replica of CF-ARM, the Junkers Ju 52/lM that flew out of the Brandon Avenue base of Canadian Airways Ltd. Known as the "Flying Boxcar," this ungainly plane was the largest single-engine aircraft operated in North America.
- The Avrocar (aircraft) - A replica of the flying saucer that was built by a secret contract between the American military and Avro Canada during the Cold War years.
- In 2005, the Museum acquired a very significant Tiger Moth (designated a Canadian Heritage aircraft by the federal government) and the only Fokker Super Universal aircraft left in the world.
The Museum also houses an exhibit on Canadian Women in Aviation, flight simulators, a Black Brant Rocket (built in Manitoba by Bristol Aerospace) and other aviation memorabilia, such as a collection of first airmail covers (i.e. envelopes, including one signed by Charles Lindbergh and Orville Wright).
[edit] Children's exhibits
The Western Canada Aviation Museum offers a unique mix of history and science. Enter through "Gate 1" - the original Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) passenger terminal - and step back in time to let pioneer aviators of the north take the visitor on an inspirational journey through time! A visit will be filled with tales from the sky, great ideas (and not so great ideas) in flight, and a true appreciation for the adventuring spirit. Childrens exhibits include flight simulators and an extensive "Skyways Discovery Zone," an interactive discovery exhibit - a place where students can interact with the exhibits that demonstrate gravity and other aspects of flight. There are cockpits to climb into, engines to explore and many buttons and levers to push and pull... and an indoor runway perfect for paper airplanes.
[edit] Archives and Library
The comprehensive aviation reference library housed at the Museum is one of the largest in the country, with holdings of books, magazines, technical manuals and drawings, as well as some 40,000 photographs, films and audiotapes, many of which can not be found anywhere else.
One of the most treasured items in the archives is a rare, five-minute film of Amelia Earhart embarking on her solo, trans-Atlantic flight from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on May 21, 1932.
The library is open to the public on an appointment basis and photos, films and audiotapes are loaned or copied on request. It is a valuable resource for researchers, writers, historians and filmmakers - locally, nationally and internationally.
[edit] Recovery and restoration
The Museum has an active Restoration Department and has returned many bent and twisted aircraft to full display condition. The dedicated team of volunteers completed a full-scale replica of a Canadian Vickers Vedette Mark V (CF-MAG) aircraft in May 2002.
Current projects include the restoration of a Bellanca Aircruiser, Fairchild Super 71, Waco and Harvard.
The Museum has also championed the recovery of several aircraft, including the notorious "Ghost of Charron Lake" - a Fokker Standard Universal that has taken more than 30 years to locate and is currently in a phased recovery/retrieval before it begins its restoration.
