Vintage takes flight when the Canada Aviation Museum and Vintage Wings of Canada team up for a series of technical ground school courses over the next few months.
Starting this Saturday, there will be monthly courses focusing on some of the most famed airplanes and fighters that were used in World War II.
The all-ages sessions will be focused on a classroom setting, learning about the ins and outs of the technical details of the planes and the history behind them. Those registered in the courses will also have the opportunity to see the planes and cockpits up close, with plenty of photo opportunities.
“The sessions are perfect for anyone with an interest in aviation,” said museum spokesperson Elizabeth Millaire. “You don’t need to be a pilot or have any flying experience to have a good time.”
The first session will focus on the North American Harvard 4, the most produced plane in Canada’s history, with 3,355 built and counting to this day. The Harvard is typically used for training pilots as its unique and challenging-to-fly construction has been used for decades to “keep pilots on their toes,” said Millaire.
“If you could land a Harvard, you could land anything,” she said of the trainer plane.
In March, the focus shifts over to the Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, the plane flown by Canadian WWII flight hero Hampton Gray, the last Canadian to be awarded a Victoria Cross in the war.
For the April session, students will explore the Curtiss-Wright P-40N Kittyhawk, an iconic fighter plane that was used in several ground attack campaigns in WWII by Canadian fighter pilots.
