View Full Version : For you WW2 Aircraft buffs.....
devilmaster
03-11-05, 07:15 PM
http://photos.imageevent.com/gmockrcpilot/lancaster/large/20050115LancasterInside04.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/gmockrcpilot/lancaster/large/20050115LancasterInside07.JPG
"Lancaster FM212 cleared to land"
After a recent meeting of the City's Lancaster committee, we wish to inform you all that a date has been selected upon which Avro Lancaster FM212 will be removed from its pedestal.
This will occur on Thursday, May 26th, 2005, (weather and ground conditions permitting). It will be lifted off the pedestal all in one piece, and set down gently on its undercarriage. It will remain in the rose garden area of Jackson Park, under security, for about 2 more weeks, during which time the public will have an opportunity to see the Lanc up close, and possibly even go on guided, supervised tours inside.
After the two week period is finished, our volunteers will remove the outer wings, engines and propellers and tow the fuselage to a temporary storage area being constructed in the park. A Permanent site for the Lancaster is still to be determined. Concept drawings are in the works for the Re-location Committee to consider.
A memorial for the over 400 airmen from the Windsor Area who lost their lives in WW2, the Lancaster has been on her pedestal for some 40 years. Weather and time have ravaged her, and so she must come down.
I posted this so if anyone feels like coming to Windsor in late may or early june to see her.
More photos: http://imageevent.com/gmockrcpilot/lancaster
More info: Http://www.ch2a.ca
Steve
There used to be a Lanc in downtown TO near the EX. It was taken down and now it is being restored to become a static display at the Toronto Aerospace Museum. I was there over the summer and it was in pretty poor shape after spending all that time outside. I'm sure the one in Windsor will be in similar shape.
Also the RCAF Museum at CFB Trenton is restoring a Halifax. (http://www.halibag.com/)
Cool display, but it's a shame it took them so long to realize it was a bad idea.
devilmaster
03-12-05, 09:55 PM
There used to be a Lanc in downtown TO near the EX. It was taken down and now it is being restored to become a static display at the Toronto Aerospace Museum. I was there over the summer and it was in pretty poor shape after spending all that time outside. I'm sure the one in Windsor will be in similar shape.
Also the RCAF Museum at CFB Trenton is restoring a Halifax. (http://www.halibag.com/)
Yer right mappy. The near destruction (as I had read) of Toronto's Lanc was the wake-up call Windsor needed. I'll be there when she comes down, hopefully I should be able to weasel my way into the plane for a look-see, even if they don't have guided tours.
Steve
oddlycalm
03-13-05, 05:46 AM
The upside is that it's not too far gone to be restored and it will make a great restoration project for the folks involved.
Steve, are they putting anything in the park in it's place?
oc
Michaelhatesfans
03-13-05, 11:51 AM
I was wondering how I could have gone to Windsor so many times and not noticed this... then I realized it was Windsor, Ontario... :gomer:
devilmaster
03-13-05, 12:32 PM
The upside is that it's not too far gone to be restored and it will make a great restoration project for the folks involved.
Steve, are they putting anything in the park in it's place?
oc
There has been talk about building or buying a replica of a plane to replace on the pedestal... Not sure if that has been finalized yet.
Steve, are they putting anything in the park in it's place?
oc
OC-
I just bought the latest copy of Flypast magazine there was a news blurb about it. The city of Windsor will be replacing the Lanc with life size replicas of a Hurricane and Spitfire.
I'll be there when she comes down, hopefully I should be able to weasel my way into the plane for a look-see, even if they don't have guided tours.
Steve-
One thing that you will notice is how small the interior of these things are. I happened to get lucky a few years ago in Hamilton and got a tour of the Mynarski Lancaster. I tried to squeeze into the tail turret and barely got myself in there. One of the pilots told me that the height restriction for tail gunners was 5'6" or less.
Last month I was in Phoenix and got a chance to take a tour of the Confederate Air Force's B-17 "Sentimental Journey". That was just as small as the Lanc. I also tried, unsuccessfully, to get in the belly ball turret. Those ball turret guys had to have been midgets. God forbid that they had a landing gear problem....
Michaelhatesfans
03-13-05, 01:23 PM
At least the city is behind it. We've been waiting years for this to be restored. It was one of those roadside classics, a B-17 providing shelter to a gas station. The gas station is long since gone, and there's a nursery below it now, but the nose has been gone for ages for restoration. I'm afraid by the time the nose is returned, the rest of the fuselage is going to be in desperate need of help... :(
http://www.thom.org/photos/bomberrestaurant.jpg
Edit: Right now, if you look at it just right, it looks like a red "x". I'll see if I can find a better photo.....
:gomer:
Joelski
03-13-05, 03:25 PM
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17registry/images/b17-4483514-4.jpg
I flew in the "Sentimental Journey" in Summer 2001. The 17 was one of the most remarkable aircraft out of the WW II era; beautiful, durable, and the crews could depend on it to get home as long as it wasn't cut in half. I had two great uncles that flew 17's with the U. S. Army Air Corps in the ETO, and the experience I had during that flight was chilling. My time spent around that plane was split between awe at what was achieved technologically that many years ago, and grief for so many who lost their lives fighting for the freedom of other countries. I was lucky that both of my great uncles returned safely after completing full tours. One last thing: those planes are not for old, broken down people to climb and crawl around in! I was sore afterward!
Sorry for the hijack and thanks for allowing me to share a treasured memory.
PS: I stand corrected:
Headlines have reiterated that fact with heart-warming redundancy:
40 ****S RIDDLE FORT, BUT FAIL TO DOWN IT.
LAME FORTRESS BAGS 6 GERMANS, MAKES HOME BASE.
B-17, SPLIT IN TWO, LANDS SAFELY.
FORT FALLS 10,000 FEET, BUT COMPLETES RAID.
FORT LIMPS HOME ON ONE MOTOR.
HARD-HIT FORT CUTS LOOSE BALL TURRET, GETS HOME.
FORT STRUGGLES HOME WITH TAIL BLOWN OFF.
TWO B-17S COLLIDE AND STICK TOGETHER IN FLIGHT.
Taken from this site (http://www.stelzriede.com/ms/html/mshwpmn1.htm)
FCYTravis
03-13-05, 03:28 PM
Not a hijack at all, Joelski - thanks for the reminiscences :thumbup:
Joelski
03-13-05, 03:34 PM
BTW: A 30 minute flight in a plane where true heroes defended our country cost me HALF what ChampCar charges for a pace car lap! :rolleyes:
devilmaster
03-22-10, 02:49 PM
just lookin through old threads....
they replaced the Lanc with mockups of a Hurricane and Spitfire, and made a flower bed underneath of the Lanc's sillouette.
http://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/ParksandRecreation/Images/Monuments/LargePictureofSpitfireHurricane.jpg
TravelGal
03-22-10, 03:01 PM
Very cool. Someone really put some thought into that. But what eventually happened to the original plane? Where is it now?
Don Quixote
03-22-10, 03:19 PM
Nice! Any word on the restoration project on the Lanc?
oddlycalm
03-22-10, 03:58 PM
Nicely done. :thumbup:
oc
devilmaster
03-22-10, 04:35 PM
Nice! Any word on the restoration project on the Lanc?
It is being slowly restored by the Canadian Historial Aircraft Association of Windsor.
http://www.ch2a.ca/MainWelcome.html
Its in storage at Windsor airport. I believe they bring it out as a static display for the airport component of the Red Bull air races.
Lanc 212 restoration webpage: http://www.ch2a.ca/lancaster/wordpress/
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