Warbird Information Exchange

Hi all,

I will be visiting inlaws in Brantford Ontario on Tuesday and Wednesday. Besides CWH in Hamilton, is there anything else aviation worthy of visiting nearby these two cities? I've been to the Brantford airport before also. Any leads will be appreciated...........Roger in MI

Sorry to miss you at the show on Saturday Mike H.

Hi Roger--

CWH is certainly the main aviation attraction locally, of course. There are a few vintage birds at Brantford airport too. Also in Brantford, tucked away in an industrial district near the river, there's an interesting military museum that holds fullsize mockups of four WWI aircraft (Nieuport 17, Fokker Dr.I, Albatros D.V and Pfalz D.III) among military vehicles and memorabilia. Sharing the building is a collection of vintage motorbikes.

Also based at Mt.Hope is Sandy Thomson's Fury (NX1324, the one that was at Gennie, OSH and Yankee). It lives at the Avitat (Marsh Bros., which a bit ironically is quartered in the remaining, nicely renovated, bay of old CWH Hgr#3). Might be worth trying to get in touch with Sandy.

If you're into Navy history as well, the celebrated ex-RCN destroyer HMCS Haida is now berthed near the old Star RCNR base on Hamilton waterfront. It and the adjoining (brand-new) maritime museum are open for tours. Also, there is another small military museum in Battery Lodge on the grounds of Dundurn Park on the west edge of downtown Hamilton (about 250 paces from where I'm now seated!).

Bit farther afield there are Guelph airpark (Tom Dietrich/Tiger Boys); Victoria (Brampton) airport (Great War Flying Museum); and the 6SFTS museum at Dunnville. And of course there's the Connie and a couple other ground-bound oldies at Toronto (Pearson), and TAM at Downsview. At Markham is the Al Rubin collection (very private) and at Chippawa is the Ed Russell fleet (ditto). In Dundas there's a T-33 on a pylon at the local AF club. In Kitchener there's a GRP Spit replica atop an aviation theme giftshop on Victoria St.

And BTW, if as many warbird guys do you also like old cars...there's a nice cruise night Tuesdays at the Wilson Street Canadian Tire just off the 403 in Ancaster, and further northeast on 403 at Mapleview Mall in Burlington (Fairview St) there's a cruise Wednesday nights that frequently draws as many as 450 cars.

And of course there's an itty bitty "museum" in my loft!

Hope you enjoy your local stay...

Cheers

Steve T

Steve,

Thank you very much, I'll definitely check out what I can from that group you listed, time allowing. I appreciate all the info. The ship sounds cool too. I forgot to mention I'm into antiques and classics besides the warbirds.

Roger

Steve,

Better late than never? Just wanted to say thanks again for the info, I got to CWH, Dundas (T-33), the Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford, and took a tour of the ex-RCN Haida destroyer. Thanks.............Roger

Hi Roger--

Thanx for the thanx! :D Glad I was able to provide a vector or two. That's one of the many things that's great about WIX: it can function as a kind of online Warbird tourism office...

Cheers

Steve

You mention Brantford, Ontario. Back in 1981 I traveled to Ontario looking for a WWII aircraft that was reported to be near Brampton. Got the names mixed up and I accidently visited the Brantford Airport--an easy mistake. I inquired at the airport office about the aircraft, if they knew the owner. NO was the reply. But the secreatary told me her father planned recovering a Hawker Hurricane from Nova Scotia. To say the least, I was surprised.

I mentioned this occurrence to warbird recovery expert Jack Arnold who lived in southern Ontario. He visited the airport office and obtained the name of the secretary's father, then called and bought the wreck from him over the telephone. Arnold visited the crash site and hauled the remains from the lake. This became a restoration project which he later sold.

It is surprising what one may find at the Brantford Airport.

Norman Malayney

On my drive by at the Brantford Airport, there are the remains of one C-54 and a complete C-54 along with a C-117 (Super DC-3) parked outside, for those interested................Roger

Roger and Norm et al--

Yep, the propliner hulks at Brantford are the residue of Toronto-based Millardair, which ceased operations sometime around 1989. At one point there were four C-54s (C-GQIA/QIC/FFQ/FMQ) and at least four C-117D "Super DC-3s" stored in the open at the Gilbert Aircraft end of the line. A couple of the C-117s were refurbished and put back into operation by Gateway Airlines, a cargo outfit based at Brantford. Two of the C-54s eventually "escaped" (C-GQIA is still parked at Toronto along with C-GDWZ); C-GFFQ was given the chop a few years ago so the nose section could be used, reportedly, in a vampire film starring Christopher Plummer!

Norm, great to hear from you on WIX. Jack Arnold was one of the great characters of our local warbird scene for a lot of years; rather neat that all these years later his Hurricane project is back in southern Ontario with Ed Russell. As late as 1989, there was an ex-Hurricane Merlin and (bent) prop mounted on a trailer outside Gilbert Aircraft at Brantford for display and bearing signage saying it was Jack Arnold's. Only managed to visit his place on Cockshutt Road once, though, and only ever got about three pix! BTW his Harvard, Proctor remains, and composite T-33 airframe went to Al Rubin; the T-33 is the one now on a pole in a park in Fort Erie.

S.