Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre facts for kids
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Bushplane Heritage Centre
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| Established | 1987 |
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| Location | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
| Type | Aviation museum |
The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (CBHC) is a special museum located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It sits right on the north bank of the St. Marys River. This museum is all about showing the history of "bush flying" and how Canada protects its forests from fires.
Bush flying means using small airplanes to fly into remote, wild areas, often landing on water or short, rough runways. These planes are called bush planes. The museum was started in 1987 by local volunteers. They wanted to save the history of these important planes and how they helped fight forest fires from the air.
The CBHC has a very large building called a hangar. It is about 64,000 square feet in size. Inside, you can see more than thirty different aircraft on display.
History of the Museum
The museum is built on a site that has a lot of history. It was first used as an air base in 1924 by the Ontario Provincial Air Service. This service used planes to watch over and protect Ontario's vast forests.
The museum gets its money from a few places. It earns money from its gift shop, from people paying to enter, and from membership fees. The museum does not rely on money from the government to operate every day. However, some of the costs for new exhibits and displays have been covered by donations from companies and special programs for tourists. This support helps the museum grow and add new things for visitors to see.
The museum also manages the Sault Ste. Marie Water Aerodrome. This is a special airport where planes that can land on water (called seaplanes or floatplanes) take off and land.
In 2024, the museum put a new model on display. It was a quarter-sized model of an HS-2L aircraft. Just one month later, the museum released a book. This book was about the planes used by the Ontario Provincial Air Service. A volunteer at the museum wrote the book.
What You Can See
The museum has many interesting exhibits for visitors. You can learn about the important role women played in aviation. There is also a film that shows how airplanes help fight forest fires.
You can even explore a replica of a fire tower. These towers were used to spot forest fires from high up. The museum also has a flight simulator. This lets you feel what it's like to fly a plane! The museum is also home to the Entomica Insectarium, where you can learn about insects.
Aircraft Collection
The museum mainly focuses on planes that can land on water (floatplanes). It also shows bush planes, which are designed for rough landings in remote areas. You can also see waterbombers, which are planes that drop water on wildfires. The collection includes other items related to aviation and forestry.
Here are some of the aircraft you can see at the museum:
- AEA Silver Dart – a replica plane
- Aeronca 11 Chief
- Aeronca Champion
- Beech 18
- Beech C-45
- Bell 47D
- Buhl CA-6 Air Sedan
- Buhl CA-6 Air Sedan
- Canadair CL-215
- Cessna 172
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
- de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
- de Havilland Canada Turbo Beaver III
- de Havilland DH.83C Fox Moth – a replica plane
- de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
- Fairchild F-11 Husky
- Fairchild KR-34
- Fokker F.VIIb-3m
- Fokker Super Universal
- Grumman CS2F Tracker
- MacGregor MG-65
- Noorduyn Norseman
- Noorduyn Norseman
- Republic RC-3 Seabee
- Saunders ST-27
- Stinson SR-9 Reliant
- Taylorcraft 20
- Thomas Esperanza
More to Explore
- Virtual Museum of Canada
- List of aerospace museums
- List of airports in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario area
