Warbird Information Exchange

I have put together a quick list of preserved Vampire airframes in Canada. Is the list accurate or are there others?

Vampire F 1 TG/372 Canada Aviation & Space Museum, Rockcliffe
Vampire F 3 VP720 / 17031 / N41J CFB Comox, Vancouver. (stored)
Vampire F 3 VP747 / '17012' / N6860D Langley, BC (Museum)
Vampire F 3 VP770 / CF-RLK Calgary Airport, Alberta (Museum)
Vampire F 3 (VP770) 17069 Calgary Aviation Museum
Vampire F 3 VP772 / 17071 / N6883D Wetaskiwin, Alberta (Museum)
Vampire F 3 VP773 17072 / N6878D Markham, Ontario, Canada (private)
Vampire F 3 VP775 17074 Canada Aviation & Space Museum, Rockcliffe
Vampire FB 5 NZ5774 / WA411 Yesterday's Air Force, Bill Lamberton (Seattle, Canada) (private)
Vampire FB 6 J-1145 Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Hamilton
Vampire T 35 N11933 / N6528Z / A79-657 Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton. (loan)

David

Do you have the Jet Aircraft Museums example? Currently at Flite Line Services, not sure on the serial #. I am sure one of the JAM guys will chime in
2020 Edit-Now Waterloo Warbirds
https://waterloowarbirds.com/our-aircra ... ire-mk-55/

I understand the Jet Aircraft Museum is trying to get Buffalo Joe's Vampire on loan

NZ5774 is now with the Bagotville AIr Defence Museum. It was last seen under restoration with a trade school in Montreal, but I'm not sure of its current status.

also add:

Vampire F.3 17020 is under restoration with the Western Canada Aviation Museum
Vince O'Conner has an ex-RCAF nose section

Jim

Yep, off 17007. He has the tail booms and engine as well.

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Gentlemen,

Thank you for your enthusiastic responses.

Can I please one or two more questions?

F 3 17067 Where is Vince O'Connor based and what does he intend to do with this airframe?

Is VP770 / CF-RLK - or is it 17069? - still at Calgary?

Thank you in advance.

Rgds,

David

Last time I was at the National Aviation Museum at Rockcliffe in Ottawa, i got to visit the relatively new storage hangar jammed with all sorts of 'hidden treasures. I noticed a set of vampire wings along the wall but didn't notice any other parts of it (at least from what I remember). There may have been a number on the wings but it was at least a couple of yrs ago so i can't recall.

Going through my photos from when I toured the storage wing at Rockcliffe, I didnt seem to have any pictures of the wings you mention.
Heres a picture of the Vampire in the main museum instead!



Cheers!

17069/CF-RLK are the same aircraft; came from a tech school to the Calgary museum back in the 70s. It should still be at Calgary. When I saw it (1995) it was on show outdoors but looked in excellent shape, with what must have been very recent paint (unfortunately the serial was dyslexically presented as "10769"!).

The Thomson/Rubin one (ex-John Travolta) suffered a serious mishap several years ago and is now a stored wreck, but still substantially extant.

Here's WCAM's 17020 when she was with CWH in the late 80s...



S.

I have been picked up on the fact that 17068 / CF-RLK are the same aircraft! Is WCAM's 17020 an addition to the list of preserved aircraft in Canada - sorry being thick again?

Hi Dave--

17020/N6863D wasn't on your initial list but Jim added it about three posts down. It was with CWH for a number of years (circa 1975 through about 1991, iirc), but never went beyond the initial survey stage; the pic of it I posted shows the nearest to completion it came with CWH except that someone later painted the front of the nose in the blue and white 400 (Aux) Sqn stripes and markered "C-GCWV" on the tail!

The wrecked F.3 was the one based at Batavia NY with Genesee Warbirds; I'm unclear on its ownership at that time but am pretty sure by the time it visited Oshkosh, not long before its accident, it was with the Thomson/Rubin collection, a (very) private operation mostly based at the airfield at Markham, Ontario. Most of their aircraft are jet-era statics--CF-5s, CF-104s, T-33s, a Sabre 5, et cetera. They also have a Harvard and a Miles M2H Hawk Major.

S.

S.

I see it now! It must be these new glasses?

Can I ask if you know where is Vince O'Connor is based with F 3 17067 ?

Thank you for your help

D.

Vince lives near Uxbridge, Ontario.
I had thought his parts were off 17007, but looking at the photos I have and the photos Kevin took in the links below, the middle number on the nose is obscured in all of them.
So it could be 17007, 17067, or 17087?
http://www.barnstormers.com/eFLYER/2009 ... Again.html
http://www.barnstormers.com/eFLYER/2009 ... gain2.html

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The identification of this airframe could be a problem? I have spent some time looking for an email address, without much success

I wonder if the cockpit section of Mike O'Connor's Vampire could be VP779 / 17078 / N6878D? It was reported to be at Markham at some stage and operated by Wings of Flight?

Dave--

Vince O'Connor, not "Mike", and no, they're different Vamps; the pix show Vince's as retaining 50s RCAF paintwork (albeit very faded), and the Thomson/Rubin Vampire wore a fanciful RAF desert camo scheme (seemingly cribbed from a Desert Air Force Kittyhawk!) when it was still flying with Travolta and then out of Batavia. The linked two-part online article covering both Vince O'Connor's and Al Rubin's aviation ventures shows photos of the O'Connor cockpit section and also the wings of the wrecked machine (actually the wings appear undamaged). The two sets of parts could certainly be combined to make one intact Vamp, though.

S.