Canadian Museum of Flight

Restoration Projects

Restorations

Have you ever wondered how the Museum obtained some of the aircraft in its collection? The background stories are many and varied. Some were bought, while others were donated as parts awaiting restoration and assembly.

The stories of some of these collections and restorations would fill a book of its own! The Museum’s Hampden light bomber was dredged from the sea near the Victoria, BC airport.

Here is an example of what the volunteers were up to when the Museum was young. There were many stories of old aircraft lying beside a Prairie farmer’s barn. The volunteers would take truck and trailer and go in search of whatever they could find. An example is the Museum’s Westland Lysander. Parts were located at several locations, loaded on a trailer and brought back to the Museum facility in Surrey.  

“Will it fly again?” A typical example of a ‘find.’

Parts of a Lysander ready for a long road trip.    Once the parts were onsite, then the work of sorting and cataloging the parts began. This may result in another trip to pick up additional parts. But slowly and surely the aircraft was restored to a shadow of its former flying glory.  

The Lysander fuselage is shown approaching completion.   The Lysander is on display in the Museum hangar in Langley, BC. Come and see what has been accomplished by the Museum volunteer team. Read about this unique aircraft at; Westland Lysander

The Canadian Museum of Flight has aircraft, aircraft engines and other components in storage, all of which form the basis of future restoration projects. Some of these are;

de Havilland Tiger Moth. In 2014 our Tiger Moth had a mishap shortly after takeoff. The Museum Board of Directors have placed a restoration/replacement cost of $85,000 on the project. Progress has been steady with the major rebuild of the wooden wings completed. All four wings have their new fabric covering applied, with finishing and painting to follow. The damaged forward fuselage has been stripped and repairs are almost complete. The Gipsy Major engine rebuild has had some setbacks but detailed assessment is under way.

Cub J3C-65. Restoration in progress. Click on the link to get the latest news: Cub J3C-65. 

Fairchild Cornell. Awaiting restoration.

DH60 Moth. Awaiting restoration.

Bell 47J Ranger. Awaiting restoration.

Noorduyn Norseman. Awaiting restoration.

Dagling Glider. Awaiting restoration.

Lockheed Lodestar. An ex-TCA aircraft is awaiting reconstruction in Abbotsford.

Bristol Bolingbroke IV. Awaiting restoration. The Museum has all the major components in storage. The nose section has been restored by volunteers and is on display in the hangar. Our thanks to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mt. Hope, ON for their assistance with the glazing for the nose section.

The Bolingbroke nose section in storage.

The nose section on display in the Hangar. (Photo credits: D. Cardy)

In addition, a number of aircraft engines are in storage awaiting restoration to display condition.

The Museum is always interested in hearing from people with an interest in restoration projects. Work on aircraft that are being restored to airworthy condition is overseen by a licensed aircraft engineer. Many of the Museum projects are restored to display quality and generally are externally complete. These projects may be of interest to the amateur restorer. Do you have skills in woodworking, machining, welding, signage, or a host of other talents? If so call our General Manager at 604 532-0035 for more information.