Canadian Warplanes (2) Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Aviation Museum

Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton

The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical Warplane preserved in Canada.  Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these aircraft to provide and update the data on this website.  Photos are by the author unless otherwise credited.  Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, correctons or amendments to this list of Warplanes in Canada would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.

Edmonton, Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton Aviation Heritage Centre, 11410 Kingsway NW Edmonton, Alberta. T5G 0X4. Tel 780-451-1175.

Web site: https://albertaaviationmuseum.com/

(Author Photo)

Avro Anson (Serial No. 886).  The Avro Anson was developed from the company’s Avro 652 airliner in 1935 to fulfill the Royal Air Force requirement for a maritime patrol bomber. It was used briefly in that role at the beginning of the Second World War but its most important use was as a trainer for multi-engine pilots and aircrew.

The RCAF purchased about 1500 British-built Anson Mk. Is for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan but the huge expansion of the plan meant that more were needed. Two Canadian versions were developed and built at Victory Aircraft in Toronto. The Mk. II Anson had American manufactured Jacobs engines instead of the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetahs of the Mk. I, and hydraulically retractable landing gear.  Victory Aircraft built 1822 of the Mk. II.  Steel shortages led to the development of the Mk. V which had a molded plywood fuselage and Pratt and Whitney engines. 1069 of this version were built. The sturdiness and reliability of the Anson led to extensive civilian use after the war. A number of Ansons are still flying.

The Ansons were a constant site at Blatchford Field used by # 2 Air Observers School, located in the same hangar now occupied by the Alberta Aviation Museum. Thousands of navigators and bomb aimers learned their war-time craft at #2 AOS in these rugged and easily repairable aircraft.  Ansons were also a mainstay of other BCTAP flight programs across the Prairies.

Avro CF-100 Canuck, cam pattern, banking.  (RCAF Photo via James Craik)

(Author Photos)

Avro CF-100 Canuck Mk. 5D (Serial No. 18476), (Serial No. 100476), 440 Squadron.

Barkley-Grow floatplanes, Three Mile Island, Fort Smith, NWT.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3388054)

(Author Photo)

Barkley Grow T8P-1, CF-BLV, Yukon Queen, on permanent loan from the ASMC.  The Barkley-Grow company manufactured this airplane to compete with the Beech 18 and the Lockheed 10 Electra. Canadian Car and Foundry of Montreal bought licensing rights and three of the aircraft. Edmonton’s Grant McConachie liked the design because the fixed landing gear allowed the use of skis and floats for his Yukon Southern Air Transport routes. In 1939 he persuaded Canadian Car to sell him the three airplanes, valued at $70,000.00, for $1 each, the balance to be paid monthly from operating revenues.

During the Second World War McConachie’s Yukon Southern was absorbed into Canadian Pacific Airlines which operated the Barkley-Grows on northern routes. It proved to be a sturdy and reliable aircraft for those conditions. Yukon Queen (CF-BLV) was sold to Associated Airways in the 1950s, then carried Pacific Western Airlines livery after PWA acquired Associated in 1956. CF-BLV crashed on takeoff from Peace River in 1960 and was restored by a British Columbia group who gave it to the Aerospace Museum of Calgary. It is on permanent loan to this museum. Only 11 Barkley-Grows were built and all three survivors are located in Alberta.

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor, 1947.  The RCAF took delivery of its first C-45 in August 1939.  Three versions of the C-45 were used by the RCAF, the Mk. 3NM, Mk. 3TM and the Mk. 3T. The Mk. 3NM was used for navigation, bombing and weapons training, as well as photo survey work, the Mk. 3TM for VIP transportation and the Mk. 3T for cargo.  The RCAF purchased 394 C-45s. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3584070)

Beechcraft C-45H Expeditor Mk. 3NM (Serial No. 2366), CF-RSX.  CF-RSX went through many owners in Saskatchewan, Alberta and NWT before finally coming to the Alberta Aviation Museum. CF-RSX is painted in its Lethbridge Air Services livery to commemorate the operations of the original Alberta-based company.

Beechcraft D-18S Expeditor, Reg. No. N745PD, C-FDSV.

Bell H-13B Sioux Helicopter, Canadian Army, CJATC Base Rivers, Manitoba.  (Library & Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4234651)

Bell Model 47G Helicopter.  The Bell 47 first came to Canada in 1948 and quickly gained recognition as a workhorse in aerial spraying, oil exploration and the transport of bulky items in remote areas.  The Bell 47G on display was assembled from parts and surplus components under the direction of museum volunteer and retired helicopter mechanic Pat Sauriol.

Boeing 737-200, C-GPIW, in PWA markings, fully operational, not flown.

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM281-S8-: CVA 180-5480)

Boeing CIM-10B Super BOMARC (Serial No. 4444), on display at the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, BC, ca 1962.

(Author Photos 1 & 2, Wayfinder Zukon Photo 3)

Boeing CIM-10B Super BOMARC (Serial No. 60447), mounted vertical.

(Author Photo)

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (Serial No. 133506), Serial No. 21506), PP-506. The T-33 Silver Star served with distinction in the RCAF from 1953 to 2005. It was the world’s first purpose built jet trainer and was developed from the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the United States’ first operationally deployed jet fighter. As more advanced jets entered military service, a two-seat trainer version of the Shooting Star, the T-33, was developed to introduce aspiring pilots to jets.

The Canadair T-33 Silver Star resulted from a 1951 contract to build T-33s for the RCAF. The Canadair version incorporated a Rolls Royce Nene 10 turbojet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed. Canadair produced 656 CT-133s and the jets were used extensively by the RCAF across the country and overseas.  418 (City of Edmonton) Squadron had two of them, based in the hangar that is now home to the Alberta Aviation Museum.  Besides its primary pilot training role, some CT-133s were utilized for photo reconnaissance work, armament training and maritime support.

The Silver Star’s jet trainer role ended in 1976 but there were still fifty of the aircraft serving with the Canadian Forces in 2005. The last serving Canadair Silver Star was retired from the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at CFB Cold Lake in 2005. It had been used as an ejection seat test bed for 46 years.

(Author Photo)

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (Serial No. 133533), (Serial No. 21533), 866B.

(Author Photos)

Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk. 1 (Serial No. 19101), PX-101, mounted on a pylon at Edmonton Municipal Airport, before its restoration, ca 1977.

(Author Photos)

(James Craik Photo)

Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk. 1 (Serial No. 19101), PX-101, silver.  The museum's Sabre was declared surplus in 1965 and served as a monument for 700 Wing, and later at Lancaster Memorial Park at Namao. When the air force left the air base, the Sabre found its final home in our hangar.

(Richard Filiatrault)

Canadair CF-104B Starfighter, Royal Netherlands Air Force (Serial No. D-5805), painted as RCAF (Serial No. 104651).  The real 104651 crashed on 24 Jun 1980 due to an engine bird strike.  Both pilots, one a Canadian Captain and the other a German exchange Pilot, successfully ejected and survived.  They were present at the Museum’s revealing of the restored aircraft.

Training for the CF-104 was carried out at No. 6 Strike/Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit at CFB Cold Lake. Servicing and upgrading of CF-104s was done at North West Industries facility in Edmonton. A two seater training version, the CF-104 D, was used to introduce pilots to an airplane that could exceed Mach 2.  Essentially identical to the CF-104D, it has been refinished in the Cold Lake colours of the 1960s and 1970s.

(Author Photos)

Canadian Vickers Viking Mk. 4, G-CAEB, 7/8-scale replica.  The Viking was amphibious, which meant it could operate off water or land. It was a single-engine biplane with a nearly flat-sided hull. It was manufactured in Canada by Canadian Vickers utilizing durable, seasoned Canadian timber. Eight Vikings were ordered by the Canadian Air Force in 1923 and were operationally deployed from 1924 to 1931.  The Museum’s 7/8 scale replica of Viking G-CAEB is on loan from the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton and was originally built for the 1993 movie “Map of the Human Heart.”

Cranwell CLA.4.  In 1927, a group of flying students in Edmonton purchased a set of plans for a Cranwell CLA4, a sesquiplane (one long lower wing and one shorter upper wing) designed by Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper, a lecturer at Cranwell Cadet College in England.  The aircraft, one of only three ever built, was assembled in a house basement, but then moved to Blatchford Field for flight trials.  On 18 Feb 1934, it crashed in the vicinity of 127 Street and 119 Avenue due to icing.  Alf Want collected and stored the wreckage, then donated it to the Edmonton Aviation Historical Society in the early 1980s.  The restored model rates as the oldest surviving airplane originally built in Edmonton.

Curtiss Stinson Special replica, marked "901".  The museum’s replica Stinson Special was built by volunteers over a four-year period, taking more than 20 thousand hours of construction. It was rolled out in 2006.  Katherine Stinson was an American aviatrix who thrilled thousands, and made tour stops in Alberta in 1917 and 1918. During her second trip she made a special flight, carrying mail from Calgary to Edmonton, the first airmail flight in Canada.

Curtiss JN-4D Jenny (Serial No. 3793).  This biplane was the oldest airworthy aircraft in Canada when it last flew in 2009.  It was built by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in Buffalo, New York, in May 1918.  During the First World War it was stationed at Waco, Texas and was used for training pilots.  After the war it was owned and flown in Uruguay by a Hungarian pilot who had flown for Germany during the war.  In 1929 he put the Jenny into storage where it sat until it was purchased by an American missionary in 1971 and repatriated to the United States.  Unable to complete the restoration process, he sold it to Jack Johnson in 1977.  After 21 years of painstaking work, Johnson's Jenny took to the skies again on 16 July 1998.

The Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, and its Canadian counterpart the JN-4 'Canuck' were the first aircraft produced in large numbers and widely used as trainers durng the First World War.  After the war many Jennies were purchased by private pilots.  A Curtiss JN-4 Canuck called "Edmonton" was also the first aircraft flown by Edmonton's fledgling commercial aviation company, May Airplanes established by brothers Wop May and Court May in 1919.  (The "Edmonton" Canuck is now on display at the Royal Alberta Museum.)

(Author Photo)

de Havilland DH 60 Cirrus Moth, G-CYYG (Serial No. 503), on loan from the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.  The Moth was a light biplane initially produced in England.  By 1928, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada began to assemble Moth aircraft in Toronto and Moths became a standard trainer in the RCAF and flying clubs across the country.  The museum's Moth arrived at Blatchford Field in 1928, a year after the airport opened.  It was one of the first aircraft to be operated by the Edmonton and Northern Alberta Aero Club.

(Author Photo)

de Havilland DH 82C Tiger Moth, RCAF (Serial No. 2114), C-GDWI.  Designed in England in 1931, the Tiger Moth was the primary trainer for the RCAF and all other Commonwealth countries through the Second World War. The Canadian version had a more powerful engine, enclosed and heated cockpit, brakes, tail wheel and the ability to operate on skis. The Tiger Moth was considered an ideal trainer because it was sturdy and forgiving. It was also difficult to fly well, requiring constant attention from the pilot.

The museum's airplane was one of more than 1500 built by de Havilland Canada at Toronto and was shipped to Edmonton in 1942 for #16 Elementary Flying Training School. Sold as war surplus like many hundreds of others after the war, it was eventually purchased by Norman Reid. Mr. Reid grew up in Edmonton and after training here and serving as a navigator in the RAF, became a highly successful engineer. He flew the airplane for some years in Victoria before donating it to the Alberta Aviation Museum.

(Author Photo)

de Havilland DH 98 Mosquito B Mk. 35, RAF (Serial No. VA114), marked as (Serial No. HR147), TH-Z, "Hairless Joe", CF-HMQ.  This Mosquito was built at Christchurch, Hampshire in the UK.  It was purchased by Spartan Air Services Ltd., for their aerial survey operations in Canada.  It was acquired by Jake Campbell in 1963 and restored to represent a Fighter Bomber version as flown by No. 408 (City of Edmonton) Intruder Squadron, RCAF, during the Second World War.  The museum's mosquito was displayed at the main gate of the air base at Namao until spring 1975.  The aircraft was turned over to the Alberta Aviation Museum's restoration group in late 1992. The aircraft has been modified and painted to resemble Mosquito FB MkVI HR147 / TH-Z flown by Wing Commander Russ Bannock during the summer of 1944.

Many Edmontonians served with the Air Forces of Canada and the United Kingdom during the Second World War flying Mosquitos. The RCAF’s 418 (City of Edmonton) Squadron compiled an impressive combat records and Wing Commander Russell Bannock was the most decorated.  When war broke out in September 1939, Russ Bannock joined the RCAF. After training at Trenton and Camp Borden in Ontario, Bannock was sent to instructors’ school at Trenton, then served as chief instructor at No. 3 Central Flying School at Arnprior, Ontario until 1943.

He longed to fly the Mosquito and in 1943 was posted to Greenwood, Nova Scotia for training on this aircraft. There he met his navigator, Robert Bruce, RAF, and upon graduation they were posted to 418 Squadron in June 1944; Bannock as a Squadron Leader. On the night of June 14/15, 1944 flying HR 147 / TH-Z, Bannock and Bruce scored their first victory downing an Me 110 while on a night intruder mission over Avord, France.  About this time the first pilotless V1 flying bombs were launched against London and the Mosquito night intruder squadrons were assigned to protect the city. Despite their speed, the Mosquitoes could only catch the V1s in a dive from 10,000 feet. Bannock and Bruce scored their first V1 kill on June 19/20, 1944 and went on to destroy nineteen V1s.

Russ Bannock was promoted to Wing Commander and became the Commanding Officer of 418 Squadron in October 1944. In mid-November he assumed command of 406 Squadron. At war’s end his total score was 11 aircraft destroyed (nine of which were aerial victories) and four damaged.  After the war Bannock joined deHavilland Canada and had a distinguished career as a test pilot and manager, a member of the Board of Directors, and eventually President and CEO. He also operated his own consulting firm, Bannock Aerospace Ltd. and in 1983 he was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.  In 2015 Bannock was further honoured by Edmontonians by having a street named after him.

(Author Photo)

de Havilland Australia DH.100 Vampire Mk. T.35, (Serial No. 4179), RAAF A79-675, N11933.  Privately owned pending sale.

(DND Photo via James Craik)

Douglas CC-129 Dakota Mk. 4SC (Serial No. KJ956) and coded KT*956 from No. 105 Communications and Rescue Flight, RCAF Station Namao.   Painted in the colours it wore (other than the unit code) when it flew with the North West Air Command (K) Flight and Tactical Air Group Communications and Rescue Flight at RCAF Station Edmonton where it was coded CC*956. N o. 105 C&R Flight also dispatched a number of aircraft to drop para-rescue specialists at the Para-Rescue School at Jasper and Namao, Alberta.  No. 105 C&R Flight existed from the 15th of January, 1954 to the 1st of January 1959, when it was absorbed into No. 435 (Transport) Squadron at Namao and formed a para rescue flight within that squadron.  (Chris Charland)

(Author Photo)

Douglas CC-129 Dakota (Serial No. 12927), C-FROD, privately owned, flyable.

Ercoupe Model CD (Serial No. 4770), CF-FYA, being restored to airworthy status.

(Author Photo)

Fairchild FC-71C (Serial No. 17), CF-ATZ.  This aircraft was manufactured in Montreal and served with Canadian Airways in 1933.  It was damaged at Lake Aristofats, NWT in Sep 1949, where it remined until its recovery in 1980.  Restoration began on 5 Jan 1981 and lasted six years.  It is painted in its original colours as worn in 1933.

The American company Fairchild, which made cameras for aerial photography, opened a factory in Montreal in 1929 and began producing the 71-C. With its enclosed cabin, large payload and ability to operate on wheels, skis or floats, it became the first successful all-season bush plane. It was used by both the RCAF and the RCMP.  This Fairchild, CF-ATZ, was the 17th produced at Montreal and began service with Canadian Airways Ltd. in 1933. It was flown by Edmonton Bush Pilot Punch Dickins on an epic 13,500 kilometre survey trip around the Northwest Territories and Alaska in 1935. In 1941, CF-ATZ featured in the first American feature film shot in Canada, "Captains of the Clouds," starring James Cagney.

In 1949, CF-ATZ, now owned by Matt Berry’s Territories Air Services, crashed on takeoff from Taltheilei Narrows, NWT. In 1981, an Edmonton group, assisted by Buffalo Airways and Air Command 435 Squadron, moved the wreckage to Blatchford. Restoration work led by Gordon Cannam and Chuck McLaren started in 1984, and when the Alberta Aviation Museum opened in 1991, CF-ATZ was its first major exhibit.

Fleet 80 Canuck (Serial No. 305), W, marked with inaccurate RAF roundels, C-FMHW.  The Fleet Model 80 is a Canadian design that answered another pressing problem for the aviation industry. It was primarily used to train pilots, many of whom went on to fly in larger more capable aircraft. They were perfect for the task due to their low operating costs and side-by-side seating which made instruction easier.  Painted in RCAF yellow, the museum's Fleet, CF-MHW is one of the last Canucks built. Owned for many years by Graham Heard of Edmonton, the aircraft was donated after his death in 2002.

Fokker Universal, G-CAHE, "Ontario", fuselage, cabin and nose, separate tail section displayed.   A Fokker Universal was the first aircraft to fly over the North Pole with Admiral Byrd in 1926. Six Fokker Universals were also purchased by the Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries in April 1927 for use by the 1927-28 Hudson Strait expedition, which examined ice conditions leading into Hudson Bay. One of those Fokkers was G-CAHE.

Upon completion of the northern expedition, G-CAHE was stored, then purchased by Maritime and Newfoundland Airways in 1931. One of its pilots, Z. L. Leigh, flew freight, including rum, from North Sydney to the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. When this business venture failed, Leigh helped form a new company, Explorers Air Transport Ltd., and moved G-CAHE to Cooking Lake, Alberta, along with one other Fokker Universal. G-CAHE was then sold to United Air Transport, Grant McConachie’s fledgling company, in 1933. When McConachie took possession of the aircraft on a lake near Prince George, it was in poor shape. He operated the Fokker Universal for four years, using it to haul fish and miners, before selling it to George Dalziel, who in turn sold it to Peace River Airways in 1938. The following September, G-CAHE crashed after snagging telephone cables at Peace River.

The aircraft was never the same after the accident and was ferried back to Cooking Lake in 1940 and left to deteriorate. Eventually, the remains of G-CAHE were removed to a warehouse in Edmonton, and then donated to the Alberta Aviation Museum. Today, the remaining pieces are on exhibit portraying a northern crash site.

(Author Photo)

Fokker D.VIII replica.  Fokker’s final aircraft of the war was a parasol-winged monoplane with the single wing mounted on struts above the fuselage similar to the upper wings of biplanes. The airplane evolved into the D.VIII.  Nicknamed the “Flying Razor” by Allied pilots because of its single wing and sleek shape, its light weight helped it be a nimble, capable, easy-to-fly fighter.  The Alberta Aviation Museum’s Fokker replica was built by Everett Bunnell from 2004-2011.  Bunnell began building his D.VIII in the basement of his home and upon completing it at the age of 91, he donated it to the Alberta Aviation Museum.

Link Trainer Mk. 4, Type AN-2550-1, AN-T-18.

 (RCAF Photo courtesy of the Shearwater Aviation Museum)

Lockheed Vega V-146 Ventura, RCAF.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3650941)

Lockheed Ventura GR V, RCAF 2183, D, Jan 1944.

Lockheed Vega V-146 Ventura Mk. V GR, RCAF (Serial No. 2195), CF-FZV, under restoration by the Ventura Memorial Flight Association.  149 Squadron.

McCardy Lysander, C-FOQI, 2/3-scale replica, 1992, moved to NLAM in 2009.

(Author Photo)

McDonnell CF-101B Voodoo (Serial No. 101032), ex-USAF (Serial No. 57-0359), painted as (Serial No. 17425).

(Author Photo)

McDonnell CF-101B Voodoo (Serial No. 101060), ex-USAF (Serial No. 57-00433), mounted on a pylon.  416 Squadron.

(Author Photo)

Noorduyn UC-64 Norseman Mk. IV (Serial No. 494), mounted on skis, CF-EIH.  Noorduyn's Norseman was the quintessential Canadian bush plane, it sold around the world and became a mainstay for the Canadian and American military during the Second World War.  More than 900 were built between 1935 and 1959. As many as two dozen were active at Blatchford Field.  The Alberta Aviation Museum has two; the bright yellow "HPY" perched on a pedestal outside and the immaculately restored green and yellow "EIH," on display inside.  

CF-EIH was initially delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1942 and used in Quebec and New Brunswick.  In August 1946 it was transferred to War Assets Corporation for disposal, and purchased by McDonald Aviation Co. of Edmonton, Alberta, who sold it to Associated Airways on 14 May 1947, who registered the aircraft as CF-EIH.  The aircraft crashed during a landing at Allen Lake, NWT on 25 August 1947 while being operated by Charter Airways, Yellowknife, NWT.  Stan Edkins salvaged EIH in August 1993, and the Alberta Aviation Museum restored the aircraft from 1994-1997.  Mackenzie Air Services was the largest civilian operator of the Norseman.  Although "EIH" was not one of them, it has been refinished in Mackenzie Air Services colours.

(Author Photos)

Noorduyn UC-64 Norseman Mk. V floatplane, CF-HPY, mounted on a pylon.

(Author Photo)

North American B-25J Mitchell Mk. III (Serial No. 5273).  Being restored.  No. 418 (City of Edmonton) Squadron, RCAF, was based in Edmonton from 1946 to 1957.  It was primarily a Search and Rescue Squadron and Tactical Air Command Squadron, with 12 Mitchells and two CT-133 Silver Stars stationed here.  The Museum’s bomber is a gift from Terry and Brian Harrold. This aircraft was originally taken on strength by the RCAF in August 1953, spending most of its service life at No. 2 Air Navigation School in Winnipeg before being retired in February 1962. The Harrolds were active in purchasing several B-25s after the war, most of which were converted to airtankers for forest fire fighting purposes.

When this aircraft was restored, it was decided to commemorate one of 418 Squadron’s Mitchells from the 1950s – HO 251, which was involved in the infamous crash into the side of the hangar that today houses the Alberta Aviation Museum. In May 1957, this particular B-25 suffered a hydraulic brake line failure that led to a loss of steering capability causing the aircraft to veer into the side of the hangar. The cockpit was crushed but both officers on board were fortunate to escape with relatively minor injuries.

Picard Hot Air Balloon, 1968, CF-POP.

Piper PA-18 Super Cub, C-FPGD.  The Piper Super Cub is a descendant of the Piper J-3 cub, designed in the 1930s. With a redesigned cabin, larger payload and bigger and more modern engine and instruments, it emerged in the 1950s as a favourite with bush pilots because of its ability to take off in 200 feet while still hauling 800 pounds of people, fuel and cargo.

The sturdy little plane was easy to repair due to its tube and fabric design and was just as comfortable on floats and skis as on wheels. A "tundra tire" modification saw the plane mounted on giant balloon-like tires that allowed it to operate in almost any terrain. As a testament to their design, more than 400 Super Cubs remain active in Canada today.

The Museum's cub spent most of its life in Washington state and British Columbia before crashing in 1997. It was donated as a mostly-rebuilt, but unfinished airplane. Museum volunteers completed the aircraft for display.

Quicksilver I, C-IBOE.

Sindgler Hurricane 5/8-scale replica, C-GHHB, 1987.

Stinson SR-9FM Reliant, C-FOAY.  The museum's Stinson flew the North for more than 50 years and was acquired in 1992.  Restoration of the aircraft too about 15 years of on and off work.

Toucan, C-INRO.

WACO UIC Biplane, CF-AAW, built in 1933.  The American-made Waco (pronounced Wah!-koh) Standard Cabin Series biplanes were popular as private, corporate and charter operators.   The Waco was a popular aircraft because it provided a relatively comfortable interior for its pilot and passengers.

The Waco's lower wing limited its usefulness on rugged undeveloped airstrips, unlike the more popular bush planes which featured a single high wing for better ground clearance. But airports, even primitive ones, were becoming more common during the late 1930's.  This allowed utility aircraft like the Waco speedy access to those areas. With its creature comforts, the Cabin Series proved popular as executive aircraft. The museum's Waco UIC was originally owned by Duane Stranahan, the Champion Spark Plug Company magnate of Toledo, Ohio.  The aircraft passed through a series of owners until Jack Johnson acquired and restored the aircraft in 1983, registering it as CF-AAW. Mr. Johnson kindly donated the aircraft to the Alberta Aviation Museum in 1996.

2024, Canadian Warplanes II.