Historic Avro images discovered at the Museum
Museums are known for having only a small portion of their collection on display. Some of the displays are tucked away in storage and may become 'lost in time' to the present employees.
During a recent inventory, a box of old glass negatives was discovered. The images were like a time warp of the early days of aircraft manufacture in the British Empire. They tell the story of the early days of Avro, the British manufacturer that was known in more recent times for the Lancaster and Vulcan bombers.
www.canadianflight.org/content/historic-avro-photographs
Hampden repair progresses
A heavy snowfall severely damaged the Museum's WW2 Hampden bomber in December of 2008. Steady progress has been made since that time on repairing the damage.
The repair took a great leap forward on March 5, 2011 when the repaired left inner wing was joined to the fuselage. With the BCIT team supervising the proceedings and with crane operator Dustin Yanish using his controls to within a mm the wing was swung into place. The attaching bolts were tapped into place and the job was complete. The excitement was evident among the reconstruction team and the Museum onlookers at this step to bring the Hampden back to its former display glory. The team could not rest there, however, and also placed the propeller on the engine by the end of the day.
For more on this story go to the Hampden story in Collection and scroll down to read the account of the damage and repair.
Museum featured on Groupon
November 25, 2010
What is Groupon? That's a good question, as it is one of the new media phenomenon that didn't exist a few years ago. We anticipate it will help generate visitors from all over the Lower Mainland to the Museum. Here's what they say about themselves;
Launched in November 2008, Groupon features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in a variety of cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe and soon beyond (read: Space). We have more than 300 people working in our Chicago headquarters, a growing office in Palo Alto, CA, as well as local account executives in many cities.
Our company philosophy is pretty simple: we treat our customers the way we like to be treated. That boils down to a few key things:
We sell stuff we want to buy. A great price is only half the battle - it's also got to be a great product or service. Between our top-rated business partners and unbeatable prices, you should feel comfortable venturing out and trying something new - just because it's featured on Groupon. We want Groupon to be an addiction you can feel good about.
Annual General Meeting 2010
The AGM was held April 24th with a limited turnout. The election for the Board of Directors saw two new faces, and congratulations are extended to Daryl Carpenter and Bruce Friesen. Returning directors were Paul De Lange and Vic Bentley. All four terms are for two years.
A special thanks to outgoing directors Carol Bellavance and George Miller who have been staunch supporters of the Museum for years.
Presentations were made by the President, Gord Wintrup, Treasurer, Paul De Lange, General Manager, Terry Brunner and Website Coordinator, Vic Bentley. A special presentation on work done by the Board on Strategic Planning was presented by Colin McDonald. To read this report, click here.
Back to Baddeck - the CMF experience
Under the leadership of the Canadian Aeronautical Preservation Association (CAPA), aviation museums and aviation heritage sites across Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada with a unique and historically oriented event - a coast-to-coast-to-coast flying relay to mark this very significant aviation milestone. This Canada relay stopped at all of the CAPA member museums across Canada, at each provincial/territorial capital as well as in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and was completed using a variety of vintage aircraft.
The Canadian Museum of Flight (CMF), BC’s only flying aviation museum, played a major role in this relay. The Museum’s Harvard flew from Comox to Victoria and the Tiger Moth, from Victoria to Langley. This story unfolds as the CMF’s 1937 Waco and crew took their turn at being a part of history and continuing the relay, with the mail bag in hand, to Nanton, AB.
Canadian Museum of Flight Announces New Logo.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Museum of Flight on April 25, 2009, the new Museum logo was officially unveiled.
The Museum has had a new logo in transition for some time – that of the Handley Page Hampden. The Hampden is a unique symbol at our Museum, but virtually unknown except among dedicated aircraft fans. This logo also had some shortcomings in its presentation. While it was acceptable on letter size printed material, it lacked definition when printed on larger items, such as shirts.
The Directors studied this problem and came to the decision that it would not be acceptable to go back to the previous logo of the yellow Tiger Moth. Instead we should be forward looking to something that is unique in our collection. One aircraft that met the criteria was the Waco AQC-6 Cabin biplane. It has a long history of flying in BC – about 55 years – and was a unique airplane compared to the ubiquitous Tiger Moth. The red and cream colour scheme made it especially suitable for use as a logo for the Museum.
Well known local photographer, Cam Hutchins, provided the image taken during air-to-air photography with Museum aircraft, and Acro Media Inc. of Kelowna, BC did the design work to provide the logo that is now in use.
HEAVY SNOWFALL DAMAGES HISTORIC AIRCRAFT
December 2008
Langley, British Columbia – December 28, 2008 – Despite the best efforts of Museum volunteers the recent extreme weather in the lower mainland has caused considerable damage to some exhibits at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, BC. Hardest hit is the Museum’s Handley Page Hampden, a World War 2 bomber that was raised from the oceans depths off Vancouver Island in 1985.
Ongoing efforts to clear the rapidly accumulating snow from the wings of the aircraft were overwhelmed during the night of December 26 when a failure of the left wing internal structure occurred as a result of the weight of the snow on the wing. The wing separated from the fuselage and collapsed onto an adjacent display case containing one of the aircrafts original engines. The wing itself suffered considerable damage at both the root and tip. Further damage is visible on the tail of the aircraft although a full investigation of this area has yet to be completed.
The Museum’s Hampden is the sole survivor of its type on display anywhere in the world although another example was recovered recently from a crash site in Russia and is under restoration in Britain. The twin engine Hampden was part of the Royal Air Force’s front line equipment at the start of World War 2 but was soon rendered obsolete and retired from active operations against Nazi Germany during the summer of 1943.
One hundred and sixty Hampdens were built in Canada during WW2 and many were used on the west coast to train crews in the difficult missions of attacking enemy shipping with torpedoes. The Museum's aircraft was lost on just such an exercise on November 15, 1942 when it crashed into the ocean moments after dropping a practice torpedo. Following its recovery the aircraft was the subject of a long and challenging restoration to static display condition which was completed in 1998.
It is anticipated that a lengthy program of repair will be required to put the airplane back into displayable condition and the Museum is putting out a plea for the public's assistance in providing both financial and practical support to help re-build this important piece of Canadian history.
For more information contact General Manager, Terry Brunner at the Museum at 604-532-0035 or at cmflight@telus.net
Museum under Distinguished Patronage.
July 8, 2008
The Museum is delighted to announce that His Honour, the Honourable Steven Point, Lieutentant Governor of British Columbia has accepted our invitation to become Honorary Patron of the Canadian Museum of Flight.
The Lieutenant Governor is the representative of Her Majesty The Queen of Canada in the Province of British Columbia, and as such, takes precedence over everyone in the province except the Sovereign. The Lieutenant Governor personifies the Crown, which is both the apex and the unifying link in the constitutional and political structure of the province — executive, legislative, and judicial. All legislation must receive Royal Assent before it becomes law. It must therefore be signed by the Lieutenant Governor. All Orders-In-Council and official proclamations are also signed by the Lieutenant Governor in the name of The Queen.