Boundary Bay Airshow
The Museum was in attendance at the Boundary Bay Airshow on Saturday, July 16. The morning showers gave way to great airshow weather and a crowd of spectators. The Museum had three aircraft on display - the Fleet Canuck and the SE5a were flown in early in the day. The Sopwith Camel replica was assembled on site. The sales booth did a brisk business with plenty of souvenirs, T-shirts and coffee mugs available.
The WWI Camel fighter has two machine guns just in front of the pilot. But it also has a propellor in front of the pilot. How did the pilot avoid shooting the propellor off the aircraft when he fired the guns? This was a lively topic for our volunteers to answer!
Check out the Camel at:
The Camel being assembled by the crew.
The sales booth staff swung into action.
The Camel provides a perfect backdrop for the junior aviators.
The 'heavy iron' fighters and trainers await their turn at performing.
Canada Day, July 1
On Canada Day, the Museum unveiled a new display called “Aviation and the Crown – A Flight through History.” As we are an aviation museum, it seemed natural for us to explore the ways in which aviation has supported Queen Elizabeth as she connects with Canadians. As aviation has evolved, royal tours have been able to evolve as well, making it less taxing for the Queen to cross our vast country, and making it possible for her to include smaller and more remote communities on he visits. Particularly northern communities.
Unveiling the display panels.
The warm sunny weather made viewing the aircraft on display a pleasure.
The 'junior' crowd chose aircraft more fitting for their age...
The Canadian Museum of Flight takes particular pride in making it possible for all segments of our community to have an enjoyable and educational outing. In this instance, we are most pleased to recognize the support of Heritage Canada towards making that feasible.
Boundary Bay Airshow
The Museum was in attendance at the Boundary Bay Airshow on Saturday, July 16. The morning showers gave way to great airshow weather and a crowd of spectators. The Museum had three aircraft on display - the Fleet Canuck and the SE5a were flown in early in the day. The Sopwith Camel replica was assembled on site. The sales booth did a brisk business with plenty of souvenirs, T-shirts and coffee mugs available.
The WWI Camel fighter has two machine guns just in front of the pilot. But it also has a propellor in front of the pilot. How did the pilot avoid shooting the propellor off the aircraft when he fired the guns? This was a lively topic for our volunteers to answer!
Check out the Camel at:
The Camel being assembled by the crew.
The sales booth staff swung into action.
The Camel provides a perfect backdrop for the junior aviators.
The 'heavy iron' fighters and trainers await their turn at performing.
Canada Day, July 1
On Canada Day, the Museum unveiled a new display called “Aviation and the Crown – A Flight through History.” As we are an aviation museum, it seemed natural for us to explore the ways in which aviation has supported Queen Elizabeth as she connects with Canadians. As aviation has evolved, royal tours have been able to evolve as well, making it less taxing for the Queen to cross our vast country, and making it possible for her to include smaller and more remote communities on he visits. Particularly northern communities.
Unveiling the display panels.
The warm sunny weather made viewing the aircraft on display a pleasure.
The 'junior' crowd chose aircraft more fitting for their age...
The Canadian Museum of Flight takes particular pride in making it possible for all segments of our community to have an enjoyable and educational outing. In this instance, we are most pleased to recognize the support of Heritage Canada towards making that feasible.
George Miller
Longtime Langley pilot, George Miller, hung up his helmet after 68 years at the controls of an aircraft. The 87-year-old Miller ended his career by flying across the country to the Chatham, New Brunswick airport in his Ryan Navion.
Read more in the Aviation History section;
May 23, Victoria Day
The Museum was open on Monday - Victoria Day. With the sunny skies and warm temperatures it was the perfect opportunity for visitors to come to the Museum and view the extensive range of exhibits.
They could see the flying creatures on display - the Moth and the Finch...
de Havilland Tiger Moth.
Fleet 16 Finch.
Annual General Meeting
The Museum AGM was held in-person at the Museum on April 9. The quorum requirements were met with about 40 people present.
Treasurer, Al French presented the Financial Report. This was accepted by the Membership.
Bruce Friesen, Museum President reported on the progress made at the Museum in the last 12 months.
Director, Mike Sattler reported on future planning for the Museum.
Present Directors, Mike Sattler, Bruce Scott and Al French were re-elected to the Board. In addition, two new Directors were added to the Board – Joel Braun and Gwyn Symmons. Joel’s resume includes flying large airline aircraft and commercial construction, while Gwyn has extensive experience in urban planning and project management. They will both be valuable additions to the Board as the Museum moves forward to a new facility.
Time to visit
Now that spring is under way, why not plan an outing to the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley?
Here's what one group of pre-schoolers saw recently. They were excited at the impromptu airshow by a heavy-lift Bell 205 that hovered in front of them.
An airshow for pre-schoolers.
Spring time
This is the time when birds are nesting. Where, apart from trees and hedges? Aircraft parked outside are a prime target and keep our volunteers on their toes with inspections...
A bird's nest in one of the display engines.
Here is the antidote to bird's nests in the engine compartment.
Many thanks to Happy Ho's Upholstery Ltd. in Langley for urgent repairs to the cover.
Tour Guides/Docents
Robert Gillcash has stuck up his hand to be our lead tour guide/docent for our general public tours. Thank you, Robert!
Robert says: “I have taken on the role of Lead Tour Guide and the first step I am doing is recruiting a lot of tour guides. Giving tours is a lot of fun, I really enjoy meeting our guests, talking to them, and even helping them learn a lot about our airplanes and how they work.
If you are even slightly interested in doing this, please contact either myself or Bruce Friesen, at the museum.
In addition to recruiting volunteers, I will also be arranging instructions, so you'll know what to say and show along the route. Finally, I'll be arranging schedules for the Tour Guides, so that we have a good amount of guides available on weekends and for private tours. Please give some serious thought to helping our wonderful little museum grow to its fullest potential.”
Please do!
Family Day 2022.
The Family Day weekend at the museum was a great success. Total visitors over the two days approached 550, which is by far our best accommodation of guests for the past two years, and a very welcome indication we can be of value to our community. There certainly were lots of smiles on leaving!
The Museum's SE5 sits outside in the chill sunshine awaiting admirers...
...while the Harvard wistfully scans the sky and the mountains.
Remembering Rose Zalesky
With profound sadness, the Directors and Members of the Canadian Museum of Flight Association note the passing of Rose Zalesky.
Rose holds a special place in our hearts as her character and commitment were fundamental to the success of our venture. In the 1970s, Rose, along with her late husband Ed Zalesky and three others, had the vision to protect and preserve our aviation heritage. And the organizational skills to collect and document most of what we now so proudly present to the public.
Rose invested many thousands of hours in the administration and management of our collections and of our organization. The evidence of her huge contribution of time, energy and skill resides in our corporate records. In our archives is an immense body of correspondence between Rose and donors, buyers, sellers and CMFT (as it was then) members. Each communication was personal, personable, positive, constructive and professional.
At this time of reflection, each of us is keenly aware that we are standing on the broad and strong foundation to which Rose contributed so much, as we strive to do our bit towards Rose’s passion: “Bringing British Columbia’s aviation past into the future.”
Remembering Rose Zalesky
With profound sadness, the Directors and Members of the Canadian Museum of Flight Association note the passing of Rose Zalesky.
Rose holds a special place in our hearts as her character and commitment were fundamental to the success of our venture. In the 1970s, Rose, along with her late husband Ed Zalesky and three others, had the vision to protect and preserve our aviation heritage. And the organizational skills to collect and document most of what we now so proudly present to the public.
Rose invested many thousands of hours in the administration and management of our collections and of our organization. The evidence of her huge contribution of time, energy and skill resides in our corporate records. In our archives is an immense body of correspondence between Rose and donors, buyers, sellers and CMFT (as it was then) members. Each communication was personal, personable, positive, constructive and professional.
At this time of reflection, each of us is keenly aware that we are standing on the broad and strong foundation to which Rose contributed so much, as we strive to do our bit towards Rose’s passion: “Bringing British Columbia’s aviation past into the future.”
Press
Don't forget to have a look at the Press section for the latest news from around the hangar;
Restoration News
Check out the steps that are being taken to restore a J3 Cub back to flying condition.
The process is under way at the Museum to restore this rudder to flying condition.
See more in the Restoration section of the website;
Donations of old photographs
The Museum welcomes the donation of artifacts of significance to the history of aviation in BC. On the list are photographs that document this history.
Visitors come by the office and drop off a box of books, photos, logbooks, tools etc. Some of the photos (prints and color slides) are of old aircraft that most people cannot identify. So the detective work starts. What is the aircraft, who owned it, what is the location?
Unfortunately, sometimes the person leaves before contact information is gathered and we have no way of tracing the story behind the photos.
Unfortunately, sometimes the person leaves before contact information is gathered and we have no way of tracing the story behind the photos.
For details see our Press section;
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)
During World War 2, Canada was a major contributor in training aircrew for the battles around the world. The plan was known as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). This year, 2020, is the 80th anniversary of the Plan being put into action.
To remember and honour this massive war effort, the Canadian Museum of Flight has a special display in the hangar. Come and visit the Museum.
One of the aircraft used to train fighter pilots was the Hawker Hurricane, shown in this RCAF photo;
Coming to visit us? Here's some suggestions;