Canadian Warplane Heritage takes flight again
Aviation fans are delighted to see the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster in the sky over southern Ontario this summer. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum reopened on June 26 after an extended 103-day closure with the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum is operating in a limited and controlled fashion, consistent with public health restrictions and safety precautions mandated by government and public health authorities.
Visitors, following social distancing guidelines, were thrilled to see the Lancaster make its first flight of the season on Canada Day. The iconic aircraft was sporting a Snowbirds 50th Anniversary logo on the nose in memory of Captain Jenn Casey and the aerobatic team’s remarkable 50 years of precision flight demonstrations across Canada and the United States.
The flight, also commemorating the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, took the Lancaster over Niagara Falls, across the lake to Toronto, around the CN Tower, and back to Hamilton International Airport.
On Aug. 8, CWH pilot and CEO Dave Rohrer flew a special Lancaster flypast over St. Peter’s Residence in Hamilton in honour of a lifelong fan, Sylvia Cook. The moving tribute to Sylvia, who has been diagnosed with dementia, earned front-page coverage in The Hamilton Spectator as shown.
As frustrating as the pandemic has been, aviation organizations continue to show the flag, as it were. Earlier this month, a very successful formation training clinic was held at Waterloo Region International Airport by the Waterloo Warbirds, the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, and the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team. A total of ten aircraft were involved.
The Snowbirds logo shown on the Mynarski Lancaster this year. (Gord McNulty)
The exercise gave pilots who have been flying much less because of the pandemic an opportunity to brush up on their formation skills. The action wasn’t publicized, as participants didn’t want to draw crowds to the airport, but the event attracted media interest. Check out the website update link in www.gusair.com for excellent coverage by Gus Corujo.
--- Gord McNulty, CAHS Vice President
Aviation fans enjoyed the resumption of action on the flight line at CWHM on Canada Day. (Gord McNulty)