The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada (formerly the Western Canada Aviation Museum) is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The museum opened to the public in its new location on 21 May 2022.[2]
The museum developed a master plan for a new facility in 2013 with the design firm Reich&Petch.[8]
The museum received the Royal designation on December 19, 2014, to become the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.[9]
The museum closed its Ferry Road site in October 2018 after the lease on the hangar expired. However, following a grant from the federal government in July 2019, construction of a new 8,000-square-metre (86,000 sq ft) museum building began in May 2020.[10][11][12] By November that year, construction was more than half complete,[13] and construction of the facility was completed on August 4, 2021.[14]
Exhibitsedit
The museum has a large hangar floor, and a mezzanine with a view of the adjacent Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport runways. Aircraft are displayed on the floor and suspended from the ceiling, and include one-of-a-kind aircraft, military jets, bush planes, and commercial aircraft. Exhibits are clustered in zones representing different aspects of aviation history, such as Canadian Innovation, Northern Connections, and Military Skies. Interactive displays such as Experience Flight and the Mechanics Workshop present a hands-on educational experience.
Collectionedit
The museum's collection includes over 90 historic aircraft, 70,000 artifacts, texts, and photographs.[15]
The comprehensive aviation reference library housed at the museum is one of the largest in the country, with holdings of books, magazines, technical manuals, and drawings, as well as some 40,000 photographs, films, and audiotapes, many of which cannot be found anywhere else.[58]
One item in the archives is a rare, five-minute film of Amelia Earhart embarking on her solo trans-Atlantic flight from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on May 21, 1932.
The library is open to the public on an appointment basis and photos, films, and audiotapes are loaned or copied on request.
Recovery and restorationedit
The museum has an active Restoration Department and has returned many damaged aircraft to full display condition. A team of volunteers completed a full-scale replica of a Canadian Vickers Vedette Mark V (CF-MAG) aircraft in May 2002.
The museum has facilitated the recovery of several aircraft, including the "Ghost of Charron Lake" - a Fokker Standard Universal that has taken more than 30 years to locate. It is displayed as it appeared at the bottom of the lake.
^"Canada's First Helicopter". Winnipeg Free Press. November 12, 1974. p. 3.
^ abLove, Myron (June 8, 2020). "Winnipeg aviation museum begins construction of new facility amidst COVID-19". Journal of Commerce. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"Western Canada Aviation Museum". Winnipeg Free Press. July 25, 1975. p. 14.
^"A fond farewell to Hangar T-2". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. March 25, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada". Reich&Petch. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"A Royal Designation for Aviation Museum". Western Canada Aviation Museum. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Construction on new Winnipeg aviation museum cleared for takeoff with federal funding". CBC. July 23, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^Dawkins, Glen (July 24, 2019). "Western Canada aviation museum ready to take flight". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"Construction begins on Royal Aviation Museum". Winnipeg Sun. May 2, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"Construction more than half complete for Royal Aviation Museum". Skies. November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"One of Canada's largest collections of aviation history coming to life at YWG". www.waa.ca. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^"Our Museum - Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada". royalaviationmuseum.com. February 1, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
^ abc"Packing up the RAMWC". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. April 3, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Avro Canuck, CF 100". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. June 20, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Avro Canada Avrocar". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. June 23, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Beech Musketeer, CAF 134235". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. June 25, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Beech Expeditor, RCAF 1477". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. June 25, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^ abcdefg"Winnipeg - Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada". SpottingMode. September 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^"Bellanca Aircruiser, CF-AWR". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. July 22, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
^"Bristol Freighter, CF-WAE". Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. June 25, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2020.