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ISSUE
177 - July 2011
Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed
1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week
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Toronto
Wings & Wheels Heritage Festival 2011 |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Roslin, Ontario, Canada |
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The iconic de Havilland of Canada Chipmunk,
celebrating a history of
designing and building great Canadian
aircraft. |
The sixth annual Wings & Wheels
event was held at the Downsview Park & Airport, formerly
CFB Downsview, at the end of May. Despite the poor weather,
crowd turnout was pretty good, as was the turnout of vintage
aircraft and antique, classic cars. |
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Another iconic
aircraft designed and built by de Havilland Canada, the venerable
Beaver, left. Classic and vintage are two words that can
describe the Ford Model A, right. |
As with any aviation event, weather
plays an integral role in the overall success or failure
of the occasion however, in spite of fog and low cloud,
many spectators made the trip to the airport to celebrate
in the history that surrounded them. Unfortunately, many
aircraft slated to participate in the static display weren't
able to fly-in for the weekend but those that did were
enjoyed by all who attended. |
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No other aircraft
in Canada sparks more conversation and stirs the mind than
the Avro Arrow, left, designed and built in the 1950s. A
piece of history, the Avro Aircraft logo signed by Arrow
engineer, Jim Floyd, right. |
The event was held in conjunction
with the Canadian Air & Space Museum at Downsview who
proudly displayed their full scale Avro Arrow 'model' in
front of the old de Havilland of Canada hangar where their
collection is housed. Designed and built in Canada in the
late 1950s, the aircraft was expected to see speeds in
excess of Mach 2 after initial flights saw it reach speeds
of Mach 1.5 to 1.9 with a service ceiling near 60,000 feet.
Today, only a few pieces of the original 6 aircraft remain
in various museums across Canada. |
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Canada's current
front line fighter, the CF-18, arrives in mid afternoon. |
Canada's current frontline fighter
made an appearance in early afternoon which drew crowds
to the fence to get a glimpse of the aircraft as it made
its approach and landing. The CF-18 Hornet, from Bagotville,
Quebec, was slated to arrive on Friday for media day but
due to weather, was forced to land at Pearson International
Airport where it stayed overnight and then made the very
short trip to Downsview on Saturday to join the static
displays. |
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One of the most
interesting features of many vintage and classic cars are
hood ornaments such as this one from an old Mercury, left.
Two classic Volvo's on display, right. |
Many owners of classic cars made
the trip in from various parts of Ontario as well. From
Ford Model A's to MG's to Volvo's to "V-dubs" there
was something there for everyone. Car buffs enjoyed getting
up-close and personal with these beautiful, old vehicles,
with many learning about the history of the cars, chatting
with owners and making new friends. |
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Turning heads
was this beautifully built Titan P-51D Mustang built, owned,
and flown my Ray Thwaites, Canadian Titan dealer. |
An interesting visiting aircraft
that had heads turning when it arrived was Ray Thwaites
Titan 3/4 scale P-51D Mustang, "Little Friends." The
kit aircraft was built at the factory in Ohio with Ray
making many trips to do much of the work himself with pride
of ownership a reflection of himself in this wonderful
airplane. Ray, the Canadian dealer of Titan aircraft, is
a former Air Canada Captain who now enjoys flying this
marvelous aircraft around Southern Ontario. |
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One of the most
recognizable aircraft from World War II, the Titan P-51D
Mustang shows most of the features of its full size original,
left. A tidy, clean and modern cockpit, right. |
The Titan Mustang has a cruise of
175mph with a top speed of over 200mph thanks to the 3.5L
Honda V6 Vitec engine which offers 244hp and pulled through
the air with its 84" Whirlwind prop. The 2-seat, dual
control aircraft also sports full retract gear, EFIS flight
instrument display (with analog gauges), all-metal construction
with electric trim and Fowler flaps. If you've ever wanted
to own and fly a warbird but can't afford, or find, the "real" thing,
Titan just might be for you! |
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Possibly the oldest
flying example of the de Havilland Chipmunk, this beautiful
aircraft returned to its roots and where the aircraft was first
built, left. Pushing the airplane into the hangar for static
display are the pilots and show volunteers, right. |
One of the stars of the event was,
what is believed to be, the oldest, flying Canadian built
de Havilland Chipmunk in the world, built in 1947, serial
No 11. The aircraft made the trip from Saskatchewan flown
by owners/pilots Dave Gillespie and James Brooke over 2 days.
It was expected the aircraft would arrive earlier in the
day but the low cloud and fog meant the arrival was delayed
until mid-afternoon. Despite that, the aircraft made it and
was the highlight of the day for many with it returning to
its place of birth, where de Havilland Canada built her some
64 years earlier. |
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The CH-146 Griffon
helicopter arrives for static display. |
There were a few helicopters buzzing
about including the Canadian Forces CH-146 Griffon that
flew in for the day from CFB Borden, Ontario. The helicopter
and its crew hovered about their landing area for a few
minutes offering the opportunity for an assortment of photos
before landing in the static display area. Once on the
ground, the crew closed up the aircraft and mingled amongst
the crowd. |
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Bombardier Global
- everybody should have one |
Bombardier Inc. had its Global 6000
corporate jet aircraft on display during the event and,
later in the day, another of their Global aircraft took
to the air for a test flight sporting its factory "colours." The
Global is often seen in the skies over Toronto and in Eastern
Ontario shooting approaches at CFB Trenton. A luxurious
aircraft that can fly farther and faster than other business
jets in the market today. If you've got a few extra dollars
and you're tired of flying "commercially" then
Global might be the way to go!!! |
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Once on a plinth
along the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto, this Lancaster
is in the process of being restored to static display by
volunteers at the Canadian Air & Space Museum, left.
The classic Canadian Navy Tracker on static display, right. |
During the show many people stopped
to visit with a man who really is living history, Mr. Philip
Gray, former World War II Avro Lancaster pilot. Originally
from Ladybank, Scotland, Mr. Gray learned to fly at Falcon
Field in Mesa, Arizona. During the war and while with the
RAF, he flew a wide variety of aircraft such as the Tiger
Moth, Stearman, Harvard (T-6 Texan), Wellington, Chipmunk,
Mosquito, Dakota, Tempest, Meteor and more, including many
civilian aircraft. An author in his own right, Mr. Gray
has a wonderful book that is highly recommended and a good
read titled "Ghosts of Targets Past." Mr. Gray
emigrated to Canada in 1990, settling in the Toronto area
and volunteers at the Canadian Air & Space Museum at
Downsview. |
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Mr. Philip Gray
standing by the Lancaster selling his wonderful book, "Ghosts
of Targets Past," left. Rolls-Royce Merlin and fuel
tank (above the engine) from the Lancaster, right. |
The Canadian Air & Space Museum
offered show visitors the opportunity to see an assortment
of aircraft and aviation related items they have on display
up-close-and-personal. Some of those attractions include
an Orenda/Avro jet engine, an Avro Lancaster World War
II bomber, currently under restoration for static display,
a former Canadian Navy Tracker, and a replica of the first
powered aircraft to fly in Canada, the Silver Dart, among
many other items and aircraft. If you're in the Toronto
area, a visit to the museum is recommended. |
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The Jet Aircraft
Museum was on hand selling their wonderful calendar, boosting
membership, left. One of the many things you could purchase
during the show, a little radio control helicopter, right. |
So, if you're looking for something
to do on a weekend in late May, the Toronto Wings & Wheels
Heritage Festival is a great place to go in order to get
your fix of classic cars and vintage airplanes. Browse
the vendors and aviation booths, walk around the static
aircraft, chat with pilots and museum volunteers, and enjoy
a spring day with family and/or friends taking in some
history where wings and wheels meet and mingle. |
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"Cockpit" of
a beautiful 1938 MG, left. The very odd looking 1974 VW "Thing," right. |
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One of the many items available in the
museum's gift shop, an Avro Lancaster throw. |
For more information on the Canadian
Air & Space Museum: casmuseum.org |
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Bombardier - Supporting the show with aircraft
and their fire truck. |
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Builder/Owner/Operator/Dealer
of Titan aircraft, Ray Thwaites stands proudly beside his Mustang,
left. From behind, she's still a pretty airplane is the Mustang,
right. |
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The "Mako Shark" T-33 from the
Jet Aircraft Museum and Hammond Aviation. |
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Cockpit and nose of the CF-18 Hornet |
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