Warbird Information Exchange

After an overnight in Toronto I was off to the Toronto Aerospace Museum (TAM)…

The TAM is located on the grounds of the former CFB Downsview and the museum building was once operated by deHavilland Canada. This same build was also used for the manufacturing of the Mosquito bombers during WWII. At the TAM there two projects under way of special significance in my opinion. The first project is the construction of an Avro Arrow full-scale replica. This is not an actual airframe, but rather a convincing looking shell. The size of the Arrow is impressive, something I didn’t appreciate when I have viewed an actual Arrow cockpit section at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa. The second project of special interest is the restoration of Lancaster FM104, the Lanc that was displayed near Ontario Place on the shore of Lake Ontario. The crew of the TAM has done some very good work and are including pieces of FM118 in the restoration. I made of point of photographing everything in their work area and was even able to hold the camera inside the fuselage through some openings and by using the flash I was able to get a number of internal photos. To find pictures TAM collection go to…
http://community.webshots.com/album/551529959ooWnTM
…and for pictures of the Lancaster restoration go to…
http://community.webshots.com/album/475085390VoehjS

Does anyone know where the Tiger Moth at the TAM came from? Here is a link to a picture of the one I am talking about…
http://community.webshots.com/photo/551 ... 2405ivrIwT


After leaving the TAM, I set off to Mount Hope (Hamilton) for the Canadian Warplane Heritage…

I hadn’t visited the CWH since 2002, so I was overdue for a visit. It was nice to see the Lysander in once piece and with the new paint, although it was tucked away in the restoration area and I couldn’t see much of it. Work was being carried out on the Firefly with the engine disassembled, as was the Stearman with the engine removed. I added the pictures I took to my CWH feature album along with pictures of CWH airframes of the past. You can find that album at…
http://community.webshots.com/album/547439001ZXCNwU

After leaving the CWH I was off to Tillsonburg. I stopped by the airport but there was no activity around the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, and that was the end of my day. After staying in Tillsonburg overnight I was off to Dunnville early in the morning. My first stop was the public library…

For a long time there has been a Harvard displayed on a pole there. In 2000 it spent some time on display in front of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, but after a new coat of paint it was returned to it’s pylon in front of the Dunnville Public Library. You can find more pictures here…
http://community.webshots.com/album/551526911mnyCqQ

Dunnville was of course the site of an airbase, on of many in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada during WWII. The site of that airbase is now the local airport. After leaving the library I drove south to the airport to find another Harvard on a pole…

This Harvard belongs to the 6SFTS Society, a museum which an Anson, Tiger Moth, Yale and Tracker in the collection in addition to the Harvard. Unfortunately I arrived before the museum was open, and I only could take pictures of the Harvard…
http://community.webshots.com/album/551529960VDVnJd

I have been told the 6SFTS Society Harvard is a composite airframe. That might explain why I have not been able to find an ID for the airframe anywhere in book, magazines and the internet. Does anyone know the source of the components that went into this airframe? Does anyone know the serial numbers of the airframes these components came from?

Dunnville, wasn’t the last stop on my road trip, and I left this pleasant small town to find an airport near Niagara Falls to attend the Russell Group’s air show, “Friendly Foes over the Falls”. Look for another installment of my road trip diary. Pictures from the show and a few more stops on the road trip are yet to come.

Regards,

Mike

P.S. As always you can find a list of recent updates to my website and photo albums at…
www.AerialVisuals.ca/News.html

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

C-GBWA ex United N7433U.

Jim

Thanks.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Fouga is N805DM, used to be based in Bromont.



Sorry, she used to be N805DM, but she's on the Canadian Register now.

_________________
Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

Hi Mike et al--

Fouga is C-FHGD. For whatever reason the registration, displayed prominently on the aft fuselage when the Fouga arrived at CWH, has since been removed.

I've been on a road trip as well recently, including CAvM, CWM, the Carp airshow and a swing through southern Quebec (must admit to being head over heels for Quebec City's old town--gorgeous). Two neat sightings were the stunningly original Fokker D.VII at the Brome County museum in Knowlton, and three Hawker Hunters at Aeroport Jean-Lesage in Quebec City. One Hunter was complete and the other two disassembled. One of the ones in bits was ex-CWH F.58 J-4006, still in the Swiss livery it had at Mt.Hope and still lettered "Canadian Warplane Heritage" on the tail! May eventually get some of the pix on Webshots and if so will post a link here...but I'm still one of those dinosaurs who refuses to abandon his 35mm SLRs...

S.

Steve,

Any idea if ex-CWH F.58 J-4006 is going to be fltyer or a source of spare parts for the Northern Lights group?

And will it be returned to CWH at some point or was it sold?

Andrew

The hunter that was in CWH museum was going to Northern lights to be made airworthy and when here contract was up she was going home to CWH and would be in airworthy condition. I wonder of this is not the case now and she is used as spares unless she is stored disassembled awaiting work or something?

_________________
Cheers,
Peter

________

I understand that after Northern Lights lost the CAF contract to Top Aces they disposed of many of the Hunters. I guess the three Steve saw are what is left. (Only two of the birds are left on the Canadian registry - C-GZIB and C-GZIC.) Would these be the other two birds you saw Steve? I think Northern Lights had at least eight or nine registered Hunters and a Lear Jet at the height of the operation. Too bad it didn't work out.

I heard the same story as Peter with regard to the CWH Hunter. Hopefully it will return to Hamilton or another museum rather than sit outside in Quebec in pieces.

Jim

Hi Jim--

The intact Hunter I saw was C-GZIC. I doubt the other two were ever on the register; they seem to have been spares "Christmas trees". J-4006, ex-CWH, is still in the same paint (original Swiss AF) she wore at Mt.Hope; the other one I couldn't see any ID on, but the livery was pale grey with red top decking and RAF roundels. If C-GZIB is also still about, perhaps she was in one of the hangars. I didn't think to ask (since I didn't know there was potentially a second complete Hunter still there)...

S.

Thanks Steve! C-FHGD is no longer a valid registration according to the Transport Canada site. I did find from Ollie'
info that it was previously N805DM, that it is s/n FM-18, c/n 256.

I too hope the Hunters go to a better home, but I don't know if they need to go to the CANADIAN Warplane Heritage.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Steve,

That would be XE587 former N587XE.

Jim

P.S.: Mike - I agree that the CWH didn't need the Hunter but it was a very nice static restoration. I'd rather it go back to the CWH than sit outside.

It would be nice to see a worthy museum like the CWH get all the remaining bits for free. They could stuff some shipping containers full of the parts then have material for trade or sale. Of course I don't know who owns what, and what the status of ownership is.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

It is now registered as N175FM to a company in South Dakota

Does CWH no longer own this F.58 J-4006 then?