Aviation Alive: A List Of Museums

           Across Canada there are many places that you can go where you can learn more about the rich history of aviation in the country. As a creator documenting the history of flight in the prairies, I feel as though it’s my duty to recommend what I feel are some of the best museums. Seeing as today I’ll be filming at a museum this article seems rather fitting.

          Live in Regina? Bored of the same old attractions? Tired of the modern skyline? Look no further than Moose Jaw! Not only is the city just under an hour away, but it really has that vintage atmosphere and a rich aviation history to boot. Not only is there displays of former RCAF aircraft at CFB Moose Jaw and the information center along the highway, but the Western Development Museum has a tasteful and exciting collection of aircraft of all sorts, from a Snowbird display team Tutor to a very good collection of BCATP aircraft and a little bit of history surrounding the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance. Other exhibits include the railway, automotive history, watercraft, and exhibits featuring the story of First Nations people in Saskatchewan.

         What if you live in Moose Jaw? Do you want to shake things up a bit? Well, have I got news for you- there’s a museum dedicated to nothing but aircraft right here in the province; the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum located in Saskatoon. Not only is it a fairly new addition to the lineup of museums but they also feature some of the most well known aircraft in history such as the BF-109, DC-3, and a DHC-2 Beaver. Three of their exhibits are airworthy as well and for a good price you can go up for a ride. Those three exhibits are a Harvard, Tigermoth, and Cornell. All gave valuable service to the BCATP during the war and to fly in any is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

          But what if you’re a fanatic? You absolutely need to make a big trip out of it? Look no further than Alberta... in Calgary alone there’s two museums where you can find aviation history and aircraft of all kinds. Calgary is the home of the Hangar Flight Museum, where you can find aircraft such as a Lancaster, Hurricane Mk XII, CF-86 Sabre, and even tools that were used to construct to CF-105 Arrow prototypes. The Military Museums of Calgary also feature a CF-104, Sea Fury, and a Seafire F. XV. Other notable museums to visit is the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton and the Reynolds Alberta Museum in Wetaskwin, both of which have their fair share of faithfully restored classic aircraft; Nanton is even the home of a flyable Lancaster. 

          My final mention is a museum that’s fueled my passion for aviation over the years and it just so happens that I’ve mentioned it before- the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon Manitoba. Nowhere will you find a more complete collection of aircraft used in the BCATP than in that museum. Not only is the museum about aircraft but it also tells the personal stories of everyone from truck drivers to ground crew and mechanics, and all the way down to the families of those that served our country during that time. Often the personnel not flying are forgotten and the museum does a respectful job of telling the stories of everyone. Not only is it a museum, but it just so happens to be on the grounds of the most intact BCATP station left in Canada. If there’s any museum in Canada I would like to collaborate with one day, the BCATP Museum is definitely at the top of my list.

          So there you have it! A list of what I think are some of the best places in the prairies to learn about aviation and not just the machines, but all the people that worked on them. History comes alive in museums and in these places, it just might speak to you in mystifying silence.