Warbird Information Exchange

Welcome to WIX, aabryant!

Hi there,

I thought I'd just add a little comment on the topic of the Martin Mars.

Both airplanes are for sale. That is, with the intention of both of them, plus support equipment being sold to a company that would use them as water-bombers. The fact remains that these airplanes are extremely important to the forest fire protection in BC, and I'm sure would be very important anywhere there are fires to fight. So, obviously the airplanes are hoping to be sold to a company willing to operate them as water-bombers. If there is a company that buys one or both of them, they are required by contract to give one of them to the Town of Port Alberni when they are done using them. If no forest fire protection company buys either of them, one of them defaults to the property of the Town of Port Alberni. Therefore; only one is for sale for perminent ownership, since one is guaranteed to be in Port Alberni when retired.

I hope that clears things up a little.

Cheers,

David
Vancouver, BC

P.S. If anyone needs any info from my neck of the woods drop me a line.

David: Thanks for the info. from British Columbia. I have been a great admirer of those two beautiful red and white Mars flying boats for many years and wish I had the opportunity to see them in action out there. They are a unique aviation treasure and they have done an outstanding job fighting forest fires in the Northwest.

I think the perspective of the Glenn L. Martin Museum and the perspective of myself and probably a lot of other aviation enthusiasts is that if the time is coming when these airplanes are not going to serve in an active firefighting role and are not going to continue to be maintained at the high level they have been, then it would a fantastic and legitimate opportunity to see one of the great aircraft flown to be seen on the East Coast for the first time in 50 to 60 years or more and to receive a final resting place in a museum at the site of its birth.

I think it would be great if these beautiful giant red and white flying boats could continue to be maintained at a high level and fly forever. Realistically, I don't know if that can happen or not. If not, I would think that preseving one in an approriate place like Maryland is not an unreasonable option.

Best wishes to you and everyone else who has benefitted from and enjoyed the Mars aircraft in Canada for the last 45 to 50 years.

Take Care,
Jim C.

Hey Jim,

I think it would be most ideal to have one Martin Mars in Port Alberni, and one at its birthplace.

The two Mars from my understanding have been kept in amazing operating condition and could be flown for many more years to come, but at a cost. As much as there are still many spare parts and spare engines to be used when needed, the price tag for operating them appears to be too high for TimberWest. I hope that there is a company that does purchase them and uses them for a few more years in BC because without those two birds, our Province could be in a lot of trouble.

It's always been a reassuring thought that when our CL-215's, Trackers (Fire Cats), and DC-6's can't get the fire out, we still have the Martin Mars up our sleeve.

Cheers,

David

any idea if one of them sold yesterday? i understand bidding was ending jan.31 at midnight.

Dec. 31st was only the deadline for submitting a bid. Apparently Timber West will release a short list of bidders late in January. I don't know the timeline beyond that, although I imagine TW would want the deal closed before the fire season starts. Nor do I know the evaluation criteria.

That said, daveymac82c was correct when he said that Timber West wants out of owning the Mars but still wants their services. There were definitely bids submitted that proposed to continue flying them as fire bombers. Don't be surprised if these proposals are favoured over offers from museums.

-M.M.

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Getting either of these birds out of Canada may encounter the same roadblocks and frustrations as the folks in Seattle have encountered in attempting to get the Connie out of Toronto.

It seems that being the last one or two of its species left in Canada constitutes some sort of "heritage" in the eyes of the CCP in Canada.

Walt

Thanks - Brian. That's an interesting website with different links concerning the Mars.

I am hoping that one of the Mars aircraft ends up in Maryland. I know there are a lot of different feelings and viewpoints on these airplanes, but I don't think they can fly forever (not meaning that they have reached the absolute end of their practical flying life yet), but I would make two points:

Once they do stop flying as working aircraft and they are going to be sold, they should be preserved in a meaningful way. It would make eminent sense and be appropriate for one of these to be at the Martin Museum in Maryland. It would be tragic to see either one scrapped, and it does not make sense to me for both aircraft to remain static displays in British Columbia.

Just my opinion - I look forward to hopefully getting a chance to see one of these magnificent aircraft in the air on the east coast one more time.



Jim C.

Maybe it will happen after all!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/us/21mars.html

That's Great to see coverage of the effort in the New York Times. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Mars will be winging its way across the Chesapeake Bay sometime this year. You can count on me being there to watch it if this comes about.

I urge anyone interested in seeing one of these great airplanes return to its birthplace, to contribute to the effort:

http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/mars/index.html

Bring the Mars Home!

I sent my contribution a few weeks back.

Jim C.

I did the same, when I was there a month or so ago.

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

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Brian, thanks very much for the information and links regarding the newly formed British Columbia/Canada - Maryland/U.S. Alliance to acquire the two Mars aircraft.

This is great news and hopefully will bring about the long term preservation of these historic aircaft, with one remaining in Western Canada and the other one returning to its birthplace in the Eastern United States.



Jim C.