By Sheena Roszell

Historic plane on display at GP Airport

May 29, 2018 | 12:30 PM

The Fairview Aircraft Restoration Society will have a historic plane on display today (Tuesday) at the Grande Prairie Airport.

The Canso Patrol Bomber started its life in 1944 during World War II.  The aircraft would fly over the North Atlantic and protect the convoys, troops, and supplies – watching for enemy submarines. After the war, it was repurposed to haul freight, and from there it was converted into a wildfire water bomber and spent almost 30 years fighting fires across Canada.

President of the club, Doug Roy says when the plane was heavily damaged by fire in 2001, they decided they would restore it.

“When we realized what we had, the historical significance of it – we had to restore it and then use it as a flying museum,” explained Roy.” Take it around to air shows and smaller communities.  One of our mandates has always been to share it with school children.”

He says they’ll be flying the massive piece of history here.

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“Oh, it’s flying,” he said.  “It’s a big plane, with a 104-foot wingspan on it.  You take it through the air only.”

He says all small towns struggle with getting enough visitors to their museums, so they’ve decided to take the show on the road…or to the sky.

The public is welcome to tour the aircraft from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Happy Gas Hangar at the GP Airport. They’ll be accepting donations that will go towards regular maintenance and fuel costs.

“It’s very expensive to fly.  We burn 80 gallons an hour and it doesn’t fly that fast,” said Roy.