Vintage Wings of Canada

Vintage Wings of Canada is a not for profit, charitable organization, with a collection of historically significant aircraft. The facility is located at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by former Cognos CEO and philanthropist Michael U. Potter. Most aircraft in the collection are in flying condition, or being restored to flying condition and are frequently flown.[1]

Vintage Wings of Canada
LocationGatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates45.5178°N 75.5638°W / 45.5178; -75.5638
TypeAviation Museum
DirectorMichael Potter
CuratorRyan Silverson (Hangar Systems Manager)
Websitewww.vintagewings.ca
Vintage Wings Spitfire Mark XVI
Advance Aircraft Company Taperwing ATO of Vintage Wings
de Havilland DH 82C Tiger Moth of Vintage Wings

The facility is located in a 23,000 sq ft (2,100 m2) hangar that was designed to resemble a wartime military hangar. The hangar is open on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for public visitors. Visits from Monday to Friday need to be scheduled in advance. As well, the facility is host to group tours, aircraft fly-ins and visits by veterans with prior arrangement.[2]

Vintage Wings is a flying museum, which displays its aircraft in the air and on the ground at many airshows and other events such as Royal Military College of Canada graduation parades, Battle of Britain Sunday parades and many other air shows in Canada and the USA.[3][4]

Mission

The organization states its mission as:

...to acquire, restore, maintain and fly classic aircraft significant to the early history of powered flight...It is our goal to inspire and educate future generations about the historical significance of our aviation heritage and to demonstrate that these aircraft are more than just metal, fabric, and wood artifacts. We seek to keep the souls of these aircraft alive through the thundering sound of engines, the smell of leather, glycol, oil and sweat, as well as the laughter of their pilots as they dance with them in their natural element in the skies over Canada.[5]

History

Vintage Wings was created by former Cognos CEO and founder Michael Potter, following his retirement from the company. After retiring Potter developed an interest in collecting "exotic vintage aircraft", starting in 2000. As the collection grew Potter decided to form a foundation to acquire, manage, maintain and fly the aircraft. Potter recruited a cadre of professional pilots, including a number from the National Research Council Flight Test Laboratory, to assist in managing, displaying and flying the aircraft.[6]

Aircraft

Vintage Wings owns and operates many classic aircraft, most notably various Allied World War II era aircraft.

The aircraft owned by Vintage Wings are:[7]

List of aircraft operated in December 2018:

Aircraft for sale, sold or no longer in Collection include:[8]

Accidents and incidents

The Vintage Wings de Havilland Tiger Moth crashed at the Gatineau Airport on 28 August 2009. The visiting English pilot, Howard Cook, received serious injuries in the accident. He was practicing for the Classic Air Rallye the next day when the aircraft suffered an engine problem and crashed 50 m (164 ft) from the airport runway.[12][13][14][15]

References
  1. Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Donations". Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  2. Vintage Wings (January 2009). "The Aerodrome". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  3. Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Flying Events". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  4. Airshow Ottawa (2008). "Vintage Wings of Canada". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  5. Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Our Mission". Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  6. Vintage Wings of Canada (n.d.). "Michael Potter". Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  7. "Vintage Wings of Canada > Aircraft". www.vintagewings.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  8. "Vintage Wings of Canada > Aircraft > For Sale, Sold or No Longer in Collection". www.vintagewings.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  9. Vintage Wings (January 2009). "Vintage News – Cold Gold". Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  10. Niles, Russ (24 March 2017). "Vintage Wings Selling Hawk One". AVweb. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  11. "Canadian 'Stringbag' for the UK". Aeroplane. Vol. 47 no. 8. August 2019. p. 7. ISSN 0143-7240.
  12. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (August 2009). "Pilot survives biplane crash in Gatineau". CBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  13. Lofaro, Tony and Tony Spears (August 2009). "Man injured in crash of vintage biplane at Gatineau airport". Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  14. Niles, Russ (August 2009). "Vintage Wings Tiger Moth Crashes". Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  15. Niles, Russ (September 2009). "Pilot Recovering After Tiger Moth Crash". Retrieved 5 September 2009.
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