Vintage Wings of Canada
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| Location | Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada |
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| Type | Aviation Museum |
| Director | Michael Potter |
| Curator | Carolyn Leslie (hangar manager) |
| Website | www.vintagewings.ca |
Vintage Wings of Canada is a not for profit, charitable organization, with a collection of historically significant aircraft. The facility is located at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by former Cognos CEO and philanthropist Michael U. Potter. Most aircraft in the collection are in flying condition, or being restored to flying condition and are frequently flown.[1]
The facility is located in a 23,000 sq ft (2,100 m2) hangar that was designed to resemble a wartime military hangar. The hangar is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for public visitors. As well, the facility is host to group tours, aircraft fly-ins and visits by veterans with prior arrangement.[2]
Vintage Wings is a flying museum, which displays its aircraft in the air and on the ground at many airshows and other events such as Royal Military College of Canada graduation parades, Battle of Britain Sunday parades and many other air shows in Canada and the USA.[3][4]
Mission
The organization states its mission as:
...to acquire, restore, maintain and fly classic aircraft significant to the early history of powered flight...It is our goal to inspire and educate future generations about the historical significance of our aviation heritage and to demonstrate that these aircraft are more than just metal, fabric, and wood artifacts. We seek to keep the souls of these aircraft alive through the thundering sound of engines, the smell of leather, glycol, oil and sweat, as well as the laughter of their pilots as they dance with them in their natural element in the skies over Canada.[5]
History
Vintage Wings was created by former Cognos CEO and founder Michael Potter, following his retirement from the company. After retiring Potter developed an interest in collecting "exotic vintage aircraft", starting in 2000. As the collection grew Potter decided to form a foundation to acquire, manage, maintain and fly the aircraft. Potter recruited a cadre of professional pilots, including a number from the National Research Council Flight Test Laboratory, to assist in managing, displaying and flying the aircraft.[6]
Aircraft
Vintage Wings owns and operates many classic aircraft, most notably various Allied World War II era Aircraft.
The aircraft owned by Vintage Wings are:[7]
- Canadair Sabre Mk 5 in the markings of the Golden Hawks[8]
- Canadian Car and Foundry Hurricane Mk XII (Undergoing restoration as of May 2013)
- Curtis P-40 Kittyhawk
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (Sold as of Spring 2013)
- de Havilland Tiger Moth
- de Havilland Fox Moth (Sold as of 2011)
- Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing (Sold 2011)
- Fairchild Cornell
- Fairey Swordfish Mk III
- Fleet Finch (model 16B but with 160 hp)
- Goodyear FG-1C Corsair
- Hawker Hurricane Mk IV
- North American Harvard
- North American P-51 Mustang Mark IV
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX (Undergoing restoration as of May 2013)
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIVe (Undergoing restoration as of May 2013)
- Waco Taperwing ATO (sold summer of 2011)
- Westland Lysander Mk IIIA
- Boeing-Stearman PT-27
Accidents and Incidents
The Vintage Wings de Havilland Tiger Moth crashed at the Gatineau Airport on 28 August 2009. The visiting English pilot, Howard Cook, received serious injuries in the accident. He was practicing for the Classic Air Rallye the next day when the aircraft suffered an engine problem and crashed 50 m (164 ft) from the airport runway.[9][10][11][12]
References
- ^ Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Donations". Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ Vintage Wings (January 2009). "The Aerodrome". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Flying Events". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ Airshow Ottawa (2008). "Vintage Wings of Canada". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Our Mission". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ Vintage Wings of Canada (n.d.). "Michael Potter". Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ Vintage Wings (2012). "Aircraft1". Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Vintage News – Cold Gold". Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (August 2009). "Pilot survives biplane crash in Gatineau". CBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ Lofaro, Tony and Tony Spears (August 2009). "Man injured in crash of vintage biplane at Gatineau airport". Retrieved 29 August 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Niles, Russ (August 2009). "Vintage Wings Tiger Moth Crashes". Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ Niles, Russ (September 2009). "Pilot Recovering After Tiger Moth Crash". Retrieved 5 September 2009.
External links
