One of only a few PBY-5A Canso aircraft remaining will be at the Muskoka Airport in Gravenhurst on Canada Day.
Bev Wieben, director of the Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society (FARS), explains it was built in Montreal, Que. in 1944 by Canadian Vickers with it taking flight in June of that year. She says it was in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) No. 162 Squadron until 1961 with stops in Yarmouth, N.S. and Gander, Nfld. before it was stationed in Iceland.
When the plane was retired, Wieben says it frequently switched hands with it first being possessed by the federal government as a Crown asset and stored in Vulcan, Atla. before being purchased by Calgary’s Frontier Airlines, converted to a water bomber and used for field aviation. It was then sold to a freight company in Northern Ontario, then used by Northland Air and Midwest Airline, both located in Winnipeg, Man., in the 1970s, and Norcanair in Saskatoon, Sask. before it was purchased by the provincial government in Newfoundland and Labrador, had its color scheme changed to orange and green, and was used to fight wildfires. But, in 2001, Wieben says it crashed and sank to the bottom of a lake in Inuvik, N.W.T.
It was only years later when Wieben’s father-in-law Don found it sitting on the shore.
“When we purchased the aircraft, we didn’t know if it would ever be able to fly again,” explains Wieben.
The previous owners had taken it to shore, removed the equipment, and left it until they were able to get the needed resources to get it to their workshop. However, they were never able.
A group led by Don gathered the equipment needed and travelled to the Northwest Territories to bring the plane back to Alberta, albeit in pieces.
It was dragged to Tuktoyaktuk, travelled on a barge to Hay River, then dismantled and strapped onto the back of a transport truck for the journey to Alberta.
“It was true community spirit,” says Wieben. “Once people found out we were doing this, help came from everywhere.”
The restoration process began in 2008 and nearly 10 years later, the plane took off from the Fairview Municipal Airport in Fairview, Atla. “They came from all across Canada to see this flight,” says Wieben.
Ever since purchasing the plane, she says the goal has been to take it on a tour throughout Canada.
The RCAF celebrated it 100th anniversary on April 1, 2024, so she says the timing is perfect.
The aircraft will touch down at the Muskoka Airport on June 30 and will be on display for the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Canada Day. Wieben says everyone will be able to touch and walk through the plane with FARS members around to answer questions about the aircraft.
“It’s all 1944 in there,” she says about the plane’s interior. “It’s quite amazing. If you get a chance to sit in one of those two front seats, you’ll be transferred back in time.”