Repaired flight museum roof welcomed but permanent building crucial

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After wind and snow twice shredded the fabric of a tent sheltering a small squadron of prized aerial artifacts, the temporary hangar’s been given new life.

While that’s good news for aircraft and visitors, operators of Calgary’s Hangar Flight Museum say the restoration efforts point out the need for a proposed expanded and permanent building.

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“This reinforces the need for a new facility expansion replacing the (fabric) hangar that’ll be heat controlled and better able to preserve our artifacts,” said museum executive director Brian Desjardins.

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But for now, museum officials are welcoming completion of a second repair of the fabric shell that was strafed by heavy snow and wind in 2021 and last February.

They’ll celebrate the hangar’s return on Friday, just ahead of Remembrance Day ceremonies.

The damage left exposed to the elements four aircraft including a Second World War-vintage Avro Lancaster Bomber and Douglas DC-3.

The restoration this time involved a host of stakeholders, among them engineers, who erected what Desjardins called a sturdier structure better able to withstand extreme weather.

“It’s a way more robust repair – the big difference is there are extensions added to the top of the metal trusses that pushes the fabric above them, so snow-weighted fabric doesn’t rub against the trusses,” he said, adding the canopy is now double-layered.

The fix cost about $250,000 with insurance covering slightly less than half – the rest made up from city and donated funds, said Desjardins.

That’ll not only protect the aircraft but restore the experience of visitors who’d been given a 20 per cent discount, he said.

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“Fortunately, there was no damage to the aircraft after being exposed for such a long time,” said Desjardins.

But the museum’s longer-term focus remains on its plan for a $60 million expansion that would provide 60,000 sq. ft. of space and the exhibits to fill it.

That support would provide space for a Cold War-era Avro CF-100 Canuck fighter plane that’s to return to the museum following a $400,000 restoration.

Also expected is the arrival in the next five years of the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber, the so-called wooden wonder of the Second World War, now being restored at the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton.

Because of its unique wooden construction, the mosquito “can’t be parked outside, on the grass,” said Desjardins whose display space now hosts more than 30 aircraft, both civilian and military.

In addition, the museum needs room for thousands of artifacts after being designated Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

“We’re bursting at the seems, we have no more space,” said Desjardins.

The museum is projecting a record 50,000 visits this year “which is great to have, but we need a new building,” he said.

Last November, city council approved a $14.5 million grant for the expansion, funds the museum hopes to leverage for provincial support and ultimately federal dollars, he said.

This winter, the organization will launch a capital campaign targeting corporate and individual donors, added Desjardins.

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Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

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