Canada Aviation Museum

Canada Aviation Museum

Educational Services

General Guided Tour

Prepared by: Giacomo Panico

Revised by: Rénald Fortier

Updated: February 6, 2000

Introduction

·Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Canada Aviation Museum.

·Together we will explore one of the most impressive collections of aircraft in the world. We’ll begin the first flying machines in Canada, through both World Wars, bush aircraft, airliners, and conclude with jet fighters.

·Our tour will last approximately 40 minutes. If you have any questions during our tour, please do not hesitate to ask me.

A.E.A. Silver Dart

·We begin our tour underneath the first plane that flew Canada’s first heavier than air, powered, controlled flight, the Silver Dart.

·Its first flight in Canada occurred at Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia, on February 23, 1909, almost six years after the Wright Brothers of the United States.

·They chose a frozen lake for the first flight. Why? Ans: They needed a large open space with few obstacles, and there were no runways in Canada at the time.

·The aircraft was developed as part of the Aerial Experiment Association’s goal of introducing flying to Canada. The AEA was founded by Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, with the financial assistance of his wife Mabel. Joining Mr. Bell were 2 Americans and 2 Canadians, including J.A.D. McCurdy, who flew the aircraft on its maiden flight in Canada.

·Lets take a look at what the aircraft is made of. At the time, there were very few companies that manufactured airplane pieces, so it was made of various materials that were available. Bamboo, friction tape (hockey tape), motorcycle wheels, rubberized-silk for the wings, wooden steering wheel, at shoulder height, there is a piece which controls the ailerons for controlling the banking of the wings. Not too sturdy is it?

·Unfortunately, the original Silver Dart was destroyed in a crash almost 6 months after its historic flight. In 1956, a group of RCAF volunteers began building a replica, which flew at Baddeck Bay, on February 23, 1959. Why 1959? Ans: To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first flight in Canada. The aircraft took off from the same lake as the original, in front of VIPs and dignitaries, and crashed! The pilot was unhurt, and the aircraft was repaired and put on display at the Museum.

·While the Silver Dart is a replica, most of the aircraft in our collection are originals. In some cases, major work was required to make the aircraft presentable and to ensure proper preservation. Great attention is given to maintain authenticity whenever possible.

·In the early days of aviation in Canada, progress was slow when compared to Europe. As a result, when the First World War began in 1914, aircraft were ready for use as military weapons. Lets take a look at some of the aircraft used in that war.

R.A.F B.E.2c

·Here we have an example of an early aircraft, the B.E.2c, designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory of England.

·The aircraft has been restored by the Museum, but it was decided to leave one side exposed so that we may appreciate how the aircraft was constructed.

·This is aircraft is typical of early machines. It has two seats, with no guns or bombs. Can anyone guess what role this aircraft played in the war? Ans: General reconnaissance and observation. The pilot sat in the back, and the observer sat in the front seat, a basket bolted to the fuel tank! (Possibly the world’s first ejection seat.) The observer would be scouting the terrain for enemy troop movements, assisting in aiming the artillery, and providing other important information for the military planners.

·Of course, the enemy was not the least bit pleased in losing the element of surprise. As a result, aircraft were dispatched to intercept these observation planes. Now there would be a fight to dominate the skies, and that required fighter aircraft armed with air-to-air weapons. For the crew of this plane to defend itself, the observer would have to carry a pistol, or shotgun, or a heavy machine gun. But if you’ve noticed the wiring surrounding the observer, you can appreciate that most of the time they would shoot their own aircraft! The Nieuport 12 was much better suited for air-to-air combat.

Nieuport 12

·With the Nieuport 12 we have a reversal in the position of the crew. The pilot now flies from the front, and the gunner has fewer obstructions for firing his machine gun. However, the gunner can only shoot at aircraft behind his own. The challenge with a forward firing machine gun is the propeller.

·One solution is to place the machine gun on the top wing. This wasn’t always practical for the pilot to fire while flying, especially if the gun jammed, which occurred quite often. The other solution was to synchronize the propeller with the machine gun.

·A Dutch engineer named Anthony Fokker, working for the Germans, developed the first synchronized machine gun. The firing of bullets is timed with the blades.

Notes on the First World War

·Canada of course participated in the First World War, but when war was declared, we had neither pilots or aircraft in the armed forces. Canadian airmen (about 22,000) for the most part flew with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service of Great Britain. These would later combine to form the Royal Air Force, who’s insignia is visible on the Sopwith Snipe above you. When Canada formed its own air force in 1924, the Roundel, as it is called, was adopted. It was only following the Second World War that the symbol was modified by substituting a red maple leaf for the red circle. Australia modified it by placing a red kangaroo, and New Zealand a red kiwi bird. Good thing we didn’t put a red beaver!

·Our image of World War I aviators is one of flamboyant gallantry, but the truth is that thousands of young men died horrible deaths in their flying machines. Parachutes were scarce and their use was often discouraged since it might be viewed as an act of a coward.

Avro 504K

·This aircraft did serve in the First World War, but we have it on display more for the invention it was used for testing.

·The gearing system on the propeller allows the pilot the change the angle of the blades, which controls the pitch of the propeller. The pitch determines how much air is moved by the blades as they rotate through the air, and thus determines how hard the engine needs to work. We call this invention the variable pitch propeller.

·This is similar to gears on a bicycle. When you need to climb a hill, you select a gear that makes it easy to peddle. You don’t move very fast, even though you are pedalling very quickly. On take-off, a pilot will select a small angle or fine pitch to accelerate and climb quickly, thus using less runway. For a bicycle, you will want to change to higher gear when cruising, and to an even higher gear when descending a hill, or else you would find it too easy to peddle, and you would not achieve a high speed. A pilot will select a larger angle for the blades, or a coarse pitch, to avoid over speeding the engine, and the aircraft will travel faster and consume less fuel.

·You are not only looking at an example of the variable pitch propeller, but possibly the first working one in the world and this is the type of aircraft used for its tests in 1927. The reason we have it on display, is that the variable pitch propeller is a Canadian invention, developed by Canada’s first aeronautical engineer, Wallace Rupert Turnbull of New Brunswick.

·Today, the variable pitch propeller and its variations can be found almost all propeller aircraft. It may not be worth it to install on smaller private planes.

Curtis HS-2L

·Do we have a flying boat, or a floating plane? Ans: We refer to these aircraft as flying boats.

·This aircraft also served in the First World War, but its importance to Canada is as a civilian aircraft. Curtis HS-2Ls were used by the U.S. Navy on Canada’s Atlantic coast to patrol for German submarines. Following the war, 12 of these aircraft were donated to Canada, and the aircraft became Canada’s first bush aircraft. The flying boat was well suited for Canada’s geography; small population, remote areas, lots of forests, few runways, many, many lakes and rivers.

·In 1919, a Curtis HS-2L named La Vigilance conducted Canada’s first commercial bush flight. Unfortunately, in 1922 La Vigilance crashed on take off from a small lake in northern Ontario. As we will see in a moment, Canada’s reputation in bush flying is one of our country’s greatest aviation achievement. So when the Museum was searching for aircraft to add to its collection in the early 1960s, we began an extensive search for a Curtis HS-2L. Forty-seven years had passed since its crash. The aircraft was salvaged and transported to the Museum. Guess where it is now? Just around the corner!

·The aircraft we have been admiring is in fact a reconstruction/restoration which was constructed using several HS-2Ls, including some parts from La Vigilance. We have named this “new” aircraft La Vigilance.

·The HS-2L was a good start for Bush Flying, but we should remember that it was designed to fly anti-submarine missions near the coast, and as such lacks some important traits to fly in Canada’s bush, especially all year round. The hull cannot be modified for snow/ice, it has an open cockpit and a limited cargo area. Another problem which may not be as obvious is that the engine is cooled by a liquid, as is evident from the radiator in front of the engine. This is similar to how most car engines are cooled. Most of you have probably had a bad experience with a broken cooling system in your car; steam blowing everywhere and you’re stranded on the side of the road. Imagine for a moment what a cooling problem would mean for the pilot of this aircraft as they are flying over a forest!

·For bush flying to take the next step, an aircraft would have to be designed specifically as bush plane, and it would have to meet the harsh requirements of Canadian bush flying, all year round. Our next aircraft is such an aircraft.

Noorduyn Norseman

·Now here we have a genuine bush plane. It can be fitted with wheels, floats, or skiis for the winter. It has a heated cabin, and a large cargo area since more cargo means more profits for the operator.

·Looking at the engine, we immediately notice its large size. This engine is an air cooled radial engine, which eliminates the use for a radiator. By placing the cylinders in this circular configuration, we allow air to cool the entire engine. The disadvantage is that this larger frontal area creates more drag, but speed is not a bush pilot’s priority; reliability is.

·Speaking of reliability, let’s look at one of the most successful bush planes ever.

De Havilland Canada Beaver

·De Havilland Canada of Downsview, Ontario, was formed in the 20s to build aircraft that were designed by the British De Havilland company. Following the Second World War, DHC began designing their own planes. The Beaver was built in response to the demands of Canadian bush operators and first flew in 1947. With its all-metal construction, high-lift wing, and flap configuration, the Beaver was a robust aircraft withexcellent short take-off-and-landing or STOL capability even with heavy loads.

·Production continued until 1967. Amazingly, it continues to serve as a rugged bush plane to this day, and a Beaver dating back from the 1960s can cost up to $400 000, far above the selling price at the time of production.

Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

·We now find ourselves in the ‘Pushing the Envelope’ exhibit which highlights some Canadian contributions to the aviation industry.

·In the early 50's, Canada found itself playing an important role in the defence of North America since our location placed us directly in the path of attacking Russian nuclear bombers in the event of war.

·Our main defensive aircraft at the time was the CF-100 Canuck, a good all-weather interceptor, but the feeling at the time was that interceptors would need to become supersonic and capable of carrying missiles and advanced radar systems.

·Avro Canada was contracted by government to develop the CF-105 Arrow. The engines, missile system and electronics were planned to be “off the shelf” foreign designed components, built here under license. But as the project developed, Avro Canada found itself designing these components. Performance targets were set very which meant the design of the Arrow became a technical masterpiece at the forefront of aviation engineering. Avro Canada put almost all of its resources behind the project, and at its peak the company had 14,000 employees. With this development of new technology, costs escalated far above the initial price tag.

·On the same day that the Arrow was first introduced to the public in 1957, the Russians grabbed the headlines by launching the world’s first artificial satellite, Spotnik. The satellite itself was not a danger to Canada, but its launch demonstrated that the Russians now had a rocket powerful enough to launch nuclear weapons without a bomber. There was a feeling that the manned aircraft’s days were numbered.

·The Arrow first flew in 1958, and by early 1959, a total of 6 Arrows prototypes had been built, including Arrow 206 which was the first one fitted with the Iroquois jet engine built specifically for the Arrow.

·Sadly, Arrow 206 never had a chance to fly since the government cancelled the project in February, 1959. Avro Canada fired most of its employees. By order of the government, the six Arrows were lined up, the blow torches were lit, and the aircraft were cut to pieces, drawings and related equipment were destroyed. If we examine the back of this nose section, we can see the blow torch marks. This nose section is the largest piece left of the Arrow project. We also have some wing tips, an engine, drawings, and other related pieces.

·The destruction of the aircraft has led to a great deal of speculating, and conspiracy theories have been proposed by many. Even 40 years after the cancellation, we do not have all of the answers.

Lockheed Electra

·In 1936, two of these Lockheed Electras were used by Canadian Airways on the Vancouver-Seattle route as Canada’s first modern airliners. The aircraft were purchased one year later by Trans-Canada Air Lines which was formed by the Canadian government. Today, Trans-Canada Airlines is called Air Canada.

·Passengers of this Electra would be greeted by this lovely flight attendant. Airlines for many years hired only women as flight attendants, and for many years they were required to be nurses. Since many passengers were travelling by air for the first time, airlines wanted to re-assure them that flying was a safe and comfortable environment. Since nurses were used to comforting strangers, nurses were a logical fit. However, the airlines also had some hiring policies which we would find unacceptable by today’s standards. The women had to be young, attractive, within certain dimensions; between 5'2" and 5'6", under 125 lbs, and they also had to be unmarried!

·The aircraft may be familiar to you if you have seen pictures of Amelia Earhart. In 1937, she attempted to fly around the world in an Electra. Unfortunately, her aircraft went missing over the Pacific Ocean one of the last legs of her journey. No trace of her or her aircraft has ever been found since.

·In 1967, another American pilot named Ann Pellegreno commemorated Amelia’s attempt by successfully flying an Electra around the world. In fact, the aircraft behind me is the actual plane she used!

Second World War

·We arrive now at our Second World War island. The island is dominated by the large Avro Lancaster bomber. Not only was this aircraft flown by Canadians, but as of 1943, Lancasters were also built in Canada, at a factory in Malton Ontario, near Toronto. Canada had the raw materials, the workers, and the security of not having its factories destroyed by German bombs. The Lancaster you see here was built in Canada in 1945 and flown to England, but too late to participate in any bombing operations. The yellow bomb stickers visible on the side of the nose represent missions flown, which of course is not accurate for this particular Lancaster.

*Educator’s Note: The Museum’s aircraft was used as a maritime patrol aircraft when it returned to Canada. The RCAF refinished it to bomber markings before placing it in their collection, but the paint scheme is inaccurate. Many Lancaster crew members have expressed concern over this and it is the Museum’s long-term goal to give the Lancaster its proper paint scheme.