Warbirds enthusiasts keep history in flight

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A community of wartime-era airplane lovers gathered in Brandon this week at an annual meeting to maintain their niche hobby.

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A community of wartime-era airplane lovers gathered in Brandon this week at an annual meeting to maintain their niche hobby.

The Warbirds Canada Conference & Annual General Meeting took place on Friday at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum. Roughly 25 people attended, coming from places like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Association president Dave Hewitt said the meeting is about keeping warbirds in the air in Canada — preserving history with running engines.

Murray Palmer of Sannichton, B.C., stands in front of a Fairchild PT-26 Cornell, which he helped rebuild from 1983-85, while taking part in the Warbirds Canada Conference & Annual General Meeting at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
Murray Palmer of Sannichton, B.C., stands in front of a Fairchild PT-26 Cornell, which he helped rebuild from 1983-85, while taking part in the Warbirds Canada Conference & Annual General Meeting at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

“Our goal is to keep them flying so people get to see and hear them,” Hewitt said. “It’s a collaborative effort to bring enthusiasts together to keep these warbirds flying in Canada.”

The running planes serve to capture history much better than idle planes, he said.

“The smell, the sound, the speed — you can sit there and look at a B-17 bomber, but to see it flying, you go, ‘Wow,’” he said.

Keeping old planes alive means keeping history alive, he added.

“We have to remember the past and learn from the past. These airplanes are representative of that era.”

Brandon is a good place to host the event because it is central in Canada and has a great facility, Hewitt said.

The community comes together to share information on how to find rare parts for the 80-year-old planes. Information is also shared on how to navigate regulations.

Jeff Bell, a pilot at the Brandon museum, said members of the community help each other overcome two common issues.

“Operating these airplanes isn’t easy because parts can be kind of challenging to find,” he said. “And the rules and stuff can be challenging sometimes … That’s kind of the gist of the group.”

Participants in the conference at the air museum look over the memorial commemorating Canadians who died while serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
Participants in the conference at the air museum look over the memorial commemorating Canadians who died while serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Bell said many attendees were from other museums like CATP that operate aircraft.

A representative from Transport Canada was part of the event.

Pilot and aviation enthusiast Mark Odegard travelled from his home in Winnipeg. The niche interest in planes with military history requires some care, he said.

“Like all hobbies, it’s a labour of love,” said Odegard. “If you don’t like to get dirt under your fingernails, you’re in the wrong place.”

The interest has introduced him to many people, such as Kansas City residents, he said. He joined the community in Canada because it just aligns with his interests and his “passion for the history.”

“Warbirds Canada is such a proponent for keeping the history alive,” he said. “It’s such a close-knit community. We’ll trade parts with a museum in Great Britain. We do a lot of that.”

Speaking at the event was British Columbia resident Murray Palmer, who has personally rebuilt planes for the museum in Brandon. Palmer said he shared his experience to the group.

“I felt like it was a real privilege,” he said.

Cam Harrod of Dundas, Ont., looks over a Fleet Finch 1 while taking part in Friday's conference. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
Cam Harrod of Dundas, Ont., looks over a Fleet Finch 1 while taking part in Friday's conference. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Palmer has been rebuilding and piloting planes for most of his life. The functioning Cornell PT-26, sitting in the hangar in Brandon, was built by him in 1985, he said.

“I had this desire as a kid — all I really wanted to do was work on warbirds,” he said.

The conference came to Brandon for the first time this year. Museum executive director Stephen Hayter said there’s not many places left that perform this role of having historic planes that fly.

“We have one of the biggest collections in the world,” he said. “The fact we are still flying is rare by itself.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com

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