What else is going on at Vintage Wings?

We all know that the Mustang has left the building, but what else is going on at Vintage Wings?

Lots! First off, our brand-new Events Calendar is up and running. It shows all of our flying activities, plus special events and volunteer opportunities. You can see details of the flying, in addition to being able to sign up for events and volunteering.

If it looks like we are really busy, well we are. Eighteen airplanes + beautiful weather = a busy time for all.

Check it out! http://www.vintagewingsmembers.ca/eventCalendar.cfm

Last Monday afternoon, the Hawker Hurricane put her wheels in the well for Toronto Pearson and the CBAA convention.

This past Wednesday the Spitfire, with her freshly-overhauled original engine, underwent a maintenance flight before being ferried to Toronto Pearson for the CBAA convention, followed by Hamilton this weekend. There were originally some oil pressure fluctuations, but bleeding the lines to allow trapped air to escape solved that problem.

Keith Sabiston, Beaver driver, and Andre Laviolette, AME, prepare the Beaver for flight while the Spit awaits her turn in the background.

A favourite of many, the deHavilland Beaver was out flying on Wednesday as well, as pilots performed their annual proficiency check.

As I type this, our talented Aircraft Maintenance Engineers are wrestling with the starter on the Lysander in an effort to get it serviceable. This afternoon should hopefully yield a maintenance flight, and if all goes well, the Lysander will depart for Hamilton as well.

Why are all of our aircraft headed to Hamilton, you ask? This weekend is Canadian Warplane Heritage’s (CWH) big 40th anniversary air show. As our close partners, Vintage Wings is supporting CWH with our Mustang, Spitfire MkXVI, Hawker Hurricane, P40 Kittyhawk, FG-1D Corsair, Westland Lysander and Hawk One F86 Sabre. There will be individual aerobatic shows by the Corsair and Sabre, as well as the ever-popular formation Heritage Flight. Visit http://www.hamiltonairshow.com/ for more details.

We also have several sponsored rides taking place today and tomorrow, one for a veteran’s 90th birthday! Just a note that the Yellow Wings aircraft (Harvard, Fleet Finch, Cornell and Tiger Moth) will be departing for their Down Home, Down East tour of the Maritimes July 9th. They will not be returning until the Wings Over Gatineau-Ottawa en vol air show in September, so if you were thinking of sponsoring one of these aircraft, don’t delay or you’ll miss the boat (so to speak).

Out west, the Stearman is now home in Alberta, tucked away in a cozy hangar at the Springbank airport, just outside of Calgary. It is available for sponsored rides, and after a team-effort cleaning, is sparkling and raring to go!

Coming up on Thurs, June 21, Vintage Wings is holding our First Annual Spitfire Classic Golf Tournament. Come out and celebrate the solstice with 12 cylinders and 18 holes! Details can be found on our spiffy new Events Calendar.

Next weekend, June 23-24, is the Canadian Owners and Pilots Associations’ (COPA) fly-in AGM and annual conference in Hanover, ON. Vintage Wings is sending our Spitfire, Hurricane, and P40 to support our good friends at COPA. A highlight will be the honouring of one of a handful of living Malta veterans – a perfect fit for our Warbirds of the Med theme. See http://www.copanational.org/ for more information.

For sponsored rides out of Gatineau, contact Alison or Amber at 819-669-9603.

For sponsored rides out of Springbank, contact Todd at info@vintagewingswest.ca.

Cheers all and have a great weekend!