Alberta Aviation Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alberta Aviation Museum

Established	1993
Location	Edmonton, Alberta
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Bill Cottrell

The Alberta Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum is located on-site at the former Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport on the southwest corner of the field (11410 Kingsway Avenue).

The museum operates daily except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.

History

The Alberta Aviation Museum is housed in the historic Hangar 14, the last remaining example of a 'double-double' Second World War British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) hangar. These hangars, built for the BCATP across Canada, were made of pre-cut wooden timbers of British Columbia fir. They could be built as single units, double units, and the 'double-double' which is four units.

Hangars were built on the site from 1939 to 1942, including 3 double hangars for RCAF Station Edmonton, with one of the hangars originally opened 5 October 1940 as No. 2 Air Observers School (AOS) under the command of Wop May. Hangar 14 was completed in 1942 on a rectangular plan with an area of 6,689 square metres (72,000 sq ft) with a clear span of 34 metres (112 ft), and subdivided evenly by a firewall which acts as a support truss. After the United States entered the Second World War the airport was used to service United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft heading to Alaska until the new USAAF base that was to become CFB Namao (now CFB Edmonton) opened outside of Edmonton and absorbed some of the traffic. Following the war in 1946, Hangar 14 was used by No. 418 (City of Edmonton) Reserve Squadron, Pacific Western Airlines and for Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) construction before becoming a car dealership in the late 1960s.

Known in Edmonton as "The Hangar on Kingsway", it has been designated 'M' Hangar, Hangar #6 and later Building #14 by the Edmonton City Airport. Hangar 14 was designated a Provincial Historic Resource under the Historical Resources Act on July 4, 2000, and a Municipal Historic Resource by the City of Edmonton on August 31, 2004.

Current

With the closure of the city centre airport the fate of the museum was, for a time, uncertain. However, since that time the building has been designated as a municipal and provincial historic resource. The Alberta Aviation Museum, now recognized by the Alberta Museums Association, will remain in its current location and act as a community fixture for the new residential neighbourhood, Blatchford.

The museum hosts several groups including the 504 Blatchford Field Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, the 180 (20th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA) Royal Canadian Army Cadets, #700 (Edmonton) Wing - Air Force Association of Canada and 418 (City of Edmonton) Squadron Association.

Collection

Aircraft

Helicopters

Gallery

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with:Alberta Museums Association, Canadian Aeronautical Preservation Association, Canadian Museums Association, Canadian Heritage Information Network, Edmonton Heritage Council and Virtual Museum of Canada.