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Around Town Royal Aviation Museum of Western


Canada’s bold new future By Derek Gagnon


the culture and heritage of Canada. Te museum was first opened to the public in 1978 at 11


T


Lily Street. It then moved to its current location at 958 Fer- ry Road (Hangar T-2)opening its doors in October 1983. A year later in 1984 HRH Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the doors of the Western Canada Aviation Mu- seum. In November of 2014 the museum received a ‘Royal’ designation and assumed its new name. Te Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is one of only six museums in Canada with a ‘Royal’ designation, an honour rarely be- stowed by HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Bush planes and the “Ghost of Charron Lake”


What sets the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Can-


ada apart from other aviation museums in Canada is its commitment to telling the story of Canada’s bush planes and the pilots that flew them, and how bush flying influ-


16 • Winter 2016


he skies of Manitoba and Canada’s North are set to be commemorated in the all new Royal Avia- tion Museum of Western Canada. Te museum celebrates the impact that aviation has had on


enced the development of Canada’s aviation and aerospace industry. Te museum has long been in the practice of retrieving


and restoring planes from around Canada. Some were at the bottom of lakes. Others were on the sides of mountains. Tese forgotten and neglected pieces have been found, transported to Winnipeg and restored to their former glory. Some bush planes in the museum’s col- lection include a Fairchild Super 71, a de Havilland DHC- 2 Beaver and the “Ghost of Charron Lake”, a Fokker Stan- dard Universal that was found upright on the bottom of Charron Lake after 75 years. Te “Ghost” was forced to land on the lake in Northern Manitoba due to bad weather conditions during December 1931. It broke through the ice shortly afterwards, leaving the crew stranded. Fortunately, these were bush pilots and even in the cold Manitoba winter, they knew how to take care of themselves. Many days later, a fur trapper came to their aid. Te Fokker sank in the spring melt of 1932, glid- ing to the bottom, where it remained for decades.


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