Training plan museum acquires historic aircraft

There is a buzz of excitement at Brandon’s Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum about the arrival of three vintage aircraft — and the planes haven’t even landed yet.

“We’ve been looking for a Norseman for a long time, so we’re pretty excited,” said Jeff Bell, the museum’s chief pilot.

“And it was a huge surprise to us, so we’re pretty happy about getting three of them.”

The Noorduyn Norseman was built in Canada, developed in 1935 by a man named Robert C. Noorduyn, who designed it as a bush plane for the rugged north. More than 900 were produced.

With the onset of the Second World War, nearly 700 were purchased by the United States military, and close to 100 acquired by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Of those, 38 were ordered for BCATP to train Canadian pilots, said Bell.

“Norseman is a pretty iconic piece of Canadian history, and it is a warbird. We consider anything a warbird that served in the military in some way, shape or form.

“They used them as general utility and navigation trainers and transported everything from officers to bringing the payroll to the stations every week. The fact that it’s designed and built in Canada, and is a huge part of history, made it something that we really wanted.”

Stephen Hayter, the air museum’s executive director, said he agreed, and laughed as he said sometimes when it rains it pours.

“You’re looking at acquiring one and before you know it, you have the opportunity to preserve three historic Norseman at one time, which isn’t typical and isn’t something we expected. I think at this point we may have the most Norseman (aircraft) in the world, which for aviation people that would really speak volumes,” Hayter said.

All three planes are being donated to Brandon’s air museum, and each one is coming from a different location.

One is in Red Lake, Ont., owned by an Alberta man who originally had it up for sale, but changed his mind when he found out that Bell, a commercial pilot, was associated with the museum.

The second Norseman is coming from Winnipeg’s Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. Hayter said it “actually flew during the Second World War.”

And the third — the only one of the trio that is airworthy — is in Flin Flon. It’s being donated by the owner of Wings Over Kississing airline, who used it to fly clients in and out of fishing lodges and provided pleasure flights in an around the community.

Bell said he doesn’t expect to be flying the Norseman from Flin Flon to Brandon until it’s safe to do so and conditions clear up from the wildfires.

But he’s prepared for the flight back, already having purchased new wheels, tires, brakes and landing gear.

“We’ve been sourcing parts the last three or four months,” he said.

“The tires were the last pair available in the United States at $8,000. Parts for the brakes came from the Netherlands, some came from Norway, and the set of plates for the brakes came from a collector in Colorado,” Bell said.

The two other planes will be shipped to the museum at Brandon’s Municipal Airport at a later date. They will be refurbished by the museum’s flying committee as static displays, with any parts left over to be used for the flight-worthy Norseman.

Once the plane is airborne, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum will become only the second museum in Canada to operate a Norseman as part of an active flying program. The other is at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ont.

Meanwhile, smoke from the wildfires has temporarily grounded the Brandon air museum’s pleasure flights.

But Hayter said as soon as it’s safe, they’ll start booking passengers.

“Weather permitting, we’ll be flying the Canadian Moth, the Cornell, the Harvard and the Fleet Finch soon. And stay tuned about the Norseman — it will be wonderful to see it back in the air.”

For more information about Brandon’s Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum call 204-727-2444.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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