After the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) took ownership of the planes, three historic aircraft will now have a permanent home there.
The Supermarine Spitfire, Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck, and North American Sabre, on display for several years via donation, are now the property of the Hamilton-based museum after Ingenium and its Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa gifted the aircraft.
According to Al Mickeloff, marketing manager at CWHM, ownership now grants the museum access to the cockpits, enabling it to restore the objects that had been sitting about for a while.
The Spitfire, which the museum had been looking for ever since the tragic loss of its Hurricane in a 1993 hangar fire, will be the first item on the list for restoration.
“But now we can get into it and we’ve decided to take the Spitfire and restore it to flying condition,” Mickeloff told 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today.
Our first step in the restoration will be a fundraising effort that will start in the spring. In the meanwhile, we will inspect the aircraft to determine what is actually needed for its repair.
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The craft is “nearly complete,” according to Mickeloff, but it will need a thorough restoration that will involve disassembling it.
He added, “We’re going to have to get a new propeller and send the engine out to a competent overhaul facility in the U. S.
CWHM president and CEO Dave Roher said the CF-100 and the Sabre are also in great condition and may need some minor work, but are expected to remain as static pieces in the gallery.
After examining the Spitfire from top to bottom, the curators concluded that it need a “Merlin” engine, which is expected to cost more than $200,000.
Roher said on 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton, “We may have to do some fabric work as well, so the total project will probably take $250,000 to $300,000 to complete to put it back in the air.”
However, the item is likely valued between $3. 5 and $4 million, thus it is unquestionably worthwhile.
Rohrer predicts that it will take 18 to 24 months to finish restoring the Spitfire.
The announcement coincides with the CWHM’s 50th anniversary, which was marked by an airshow, a black-tie gala, and a homecoming celebration in October.
Founders Dennis Bradley and Alan Ness began the first workings of the eventual museum by restoring a vintage Firefly fighter in 1972 into working condition.
The pair would put the plane on display and occasionally fly it out of the Hamilton Airport.
The CWHM, a non-profit organisation that runs only on donations, has seen the number of aircraft in its collection increase to about 50, as well as the number of volunteers who help with restorations and present exhibits that tell the history of each jet.
Mickeloff said, “We rely on donations, and that’s how many of the aircraft have arrived.
“Sometimes there’s a handful of guys who see an aircraft, they pool their money and they think we should have it.
Therefore, people donate the funds with the goal of purchasing this specific aircraft.
Due to their appearances at air shows in countries including Japan, Germany, France, and the UK, the museum’s aircraft are in high demand.
To offer you an illustration, Mickeloff added, “In 2014, we flew the Lancaster across to England for 18 hours.
“We flew it for over two months across the nation, visiting various air shows and events. We estimate that we put the aircraft in front of 10 million people. ”.
On its 50th anniversary, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum takes ownership of three aircraft.
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