The B.C. Aviation Museum officially welcomed its star attraction on Friday, cutting a ribbon and popping some champagne to honour the massive Martin Mars water bomber and the hundreds of people involved in bringing the historic plane to its new forever home.
Tourism Minister Lana Popham cut the ribbon during the event at the museum at Victoria International Airport and dozens of the invited guests were able to board the Martin Mars and view its cockpit and some of the plane’s inner workings.
Air Canada donated a stairwell to enable access for the visitors.
The museum is planning public access to some parts of the interior of the Martin Mars during the last weekend of September. Currently, guests of the museum can view the Martin Mars — with its 200-foot wingspan — on the museum grounds.
Museum president Steve Nichol said Friday’s event was a time to honour some of the key players involved in acquiring the Martin Mars as a permanent static display. He said the key stakeholders who were instrumental in “saving this iconic national treasure for B.C. and the rest of Canada” included the Victoria International Airport, the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Coulson Aviation and Nickel Brothers.
He said more than 500 volunteers were involved in the project and about 40 organizations, businesses and various levels of government also played roles in acquiring, preparing and moving the plane.
Wayne Coulson, president of Coulson Aviation which donated the plane, and his son, Britt Coulson, and their families were among the guests.
The Canadian Snowbirds, which accompanied the Martin Mars on its last flight from Sproat Lake, were also honoured. Tens of thousands of people watched the plane make its last flight in August to Patricia Bay in North Saanich.
Thousands more watched Nickel Brothers Movers get the plane out of the water, across the airport and safely to the museum.
Mars project lead Richard Mosdell, who got the whole Martin Mars restoration going and saw it through to the end, was also recognized for his energy in the project. “Without his vision and passion, it most likely would not have come to fruition,” said Nichol.
The Martin Mars water bomber fought fires in B.C. and other provinces for more than half a century. It could dump more than 27,000 litres of water on a fire and became a symbol for the fight against wildfires and protection of the forest industry in the province.
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