Contact(s)
Monday, July 1, 2024 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Muskoka Region
1011 Airport Road
Gravenhurst, Ontario
P1P 1R1
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Community
Muskoka Region
The Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society presents the PBY-5A Canso on tour in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the RCAF landing at the Muskoka Airport. Departing from the base in Fairview, Alberta, on June 16, the Canso will visit several communities across Canada over the span of five weeks, sharing its stories with the public, especially students and aircraft enthusiasts.
Monday, July 1
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Muskoka Airport, 1011 Airport Rd, Gravenhurst
The Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society (FARS), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating Canada's aviation heritage.
The 360 Canadian Cansos built at Cartierville, Quebec, were each powered by two R-1830 Twin Wasp engines. These engines were reliable and powerful, and enabled the Canso to perform its missions with distinction. In fact, 162 Squadron RCAF, which operated the Canso in Iceland and Scotland, was the most successful anti-submarine squadron in the Second World War, with five U-boats destroyed, one shared sinking, and one U-boat damaged. Our Canso was stationed in Iceland.
The Canso is a rare and remarkable plane that played a vital role in Canada's history. It was used as a patrol bomber and submarine hunter during the war, flying over the north Atlantic, escorting troop and supply convoys between Canada and Europe. Out of 3,600 of these aircraft built worldwide, our Canso is one of about thirteen remaining airworthy examples of this aircraft type. It was also one of the first aircraft to be converted into a water bomber to fight forest fires across the country. This Canso has a distinctive orange and green paint scheme that represents the provincial colours of the Province of Newfoundland who repainted it from its wartime non-specular white camouflage colours, during its conversion to become part of their airtanker fleet.