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Our Lancaster Will Fly Again Soon!
Update April 22, 2009: Members of the Media are invited to Canadian Warplane Heritage on Friday April 24th at 11:00am as we ‘show-off’ our latest acquisitions. Due to the generosity of the many ‘Lancaster Propeller’ supporters who answered our plea for financial assistance, Canadian Warplane Heritage was able to buy two (2) propellers from an aircraft parts dealer in Florida. The propellers, in original World War II packing boxes, will be made available for the media to view and photograph. The four (4) additional propellers that were procured from Greenwood Military Aviation Museum once overhauled will cost Canadian Warplane Heritage over $40,000. More importantly,
to those who answered our plea for financial assistance…..
We are currently in negotiations to acquire and transport a supply of Lancaster propellers to our museum in Hamilton which should occur over the next several weeks. At the present time we are planning to fly the Lancaster again in early May and feel confident that we can achieve this goal because of the tremendous generosity we have received from our supporters. Although we
have not yet received confirmation if the propellers generously provided
by the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum are useable; if they are
able to be overhauled then it will be very reassuring to know that
we will also have the luxury of owning some spare serviceable Lancaster
propellers for the our future Lancaster flight operations in years
to come. None of this could have been possible without the kind generosity
and support of our many CWH friends and supporters – once again
thank you all most sincerely. Update March 2009: Since the appeal letter was mailed to our members and supporters, we were fortunate enough to be contacted by the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum in Nova Scotia. They have generously donated two of their propellers to us, which could potentially be used as replacements for the short term. These propellers are currently being examined and overhauled to see if they can be made serviceable. Although the Lancaster blades are extremely rare, we have been able to locate several others in the U.S. Even if we are able to make use of the blades donated by the Greenwood Museum, we feel it necessary to purchase the blades that have been located in the U.S. while they are still available. We know that it is only a matter of time before there are issues with the replacement and/or other propeller blades and we feel it would be wise to prepare for the inevitable. The cost to purchase, ship and overhaul these blades would be just over $100,000.00 Canadian. We wish to express our sincere thanks to the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum for their most generous donation. Our Lancaster Is Grounded! At this time we are seeking your financial support for a very special project here at Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. During the annual inspection on our Lancaster bomber aircraft it was discovered that there is a corrosion issue with the propellers and until we can replace these propeller blades our Lancaster will be grounded. The propellers used on the aircraft are unique and although we have been fortunate enough to locate a very limited and currently available supply, the total replacement cost will be about $100,000.00. As I am sure you are aware, we own and operate one of only two Lancaster bombers still flying in the world today. This aircraft is the most popular and notable aircraft in our collection and we therefore receive many requests to have the Lancaster attend events throughout North America. Unfortunately without new propeller blades we will not be able to meet our flying commitments for the 2009 season. As this year is the Centennial of Flight in Canada, the Lancaster has been requested to attend a number of high profile events and venues including Air Venture at Oshkosh, WI, the largest air show in the world. It is also scheduled to go to Cold Lake, Alberta; Bagotville, Quebec; and Winnipeg, Manitoba; as well as attending several other events in Southern Ontario. In 2009 the Lancaster C-GVRA flight schedule has been planned to allow many hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy this aviation icon during the course of the summer as we celebrate 100 years of powered flight in Canada. In order to honour our commitments, we must endeavor to make our Lancaster airworthy once again. We have sent an appeal letter to our members and supporters and now we are asking for your assistance at this difficult time. With less than 2% of our annual operating budget coming from any government grant or assistance, we rely very heavily on supporters like you. As a donor, your investment in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an investment in a great Canadian success story. We still have a great deal to be accomplished here at the museum and we hope you will take part in this worthy endeavor.
Donations can also be mailed in to: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, ON. L0R 1W0 Please mark "Lancaster Propeller Fund" on your cheques.
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