Planes to be on display in shows this summer

Keep your eyes to the skies this July and August as the Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre brings two aviation events to Thunder Bay in recognition of the 100th anniversaries of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Ontario Provincial Air Service.
The first event will take place at the Wasaya Hangar from July 5-7 and will feature a PBY-5A Canso aircraft that will be on display for tours.
"The Canso is a vintage restored aircraft that is 80 years old," Denise Lyzun, the Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre's executive secretary and event co-ordinator, said.
The aircraft was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and built in 1943.
It was used for coastal patrols, convoy protection in the Atlantic Ocean, and hunting German U-boats and submarines during the Second World War.
Lyzun said it later served as a freighter and is most well known in Canada as a water bomber.
"The aircraft sunk in Inuvik, left abandoned and Buffalo Airways offered it to a group of farmers in Fairview, Alberta," she said. "They (farmers) took it upon themselves to rescue this aircraft, which in itself was a feat, and it was nine years later before they restored it. It made its new inaugural test flight in 2017."
This summer the Canso is being flown across Canada on tour as a heritage aircraft.
The historical Lancaster Bomber will fly over Thunder Bay in mid-July and possibly land at the Thunder Bay International Airport to refuel before leaving. There is no stopover scheduled for the aircraft as it is undergoing a busy year with tour bookings across the country.
The Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre's second event, called Wings of Time, will take place at the Air Bravo hangar on Aug. 10-11. The two-day aviation display will feature four Harvard aircraft that were all built in Thunder Bay at the former Canada Car plant and served as trainers for the RCAF after the Second World War.
"Two of the Harvards will be providing flights and most of those are booked already," Lyzun said.
"The other two will remain on the ground and provide an opportunity for visual tours."
Lyzun said both events are made possible with the help of funding from the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, CIBC and sponsorships and donations from local businesses.
Lyzun said elaborate air shows like the community has seen in the past cost an exuberant amount of money to host, and then there are the added costs of liability insurance.
"That's part of the reason why we can't bring them here," she said. "The other reason was the air shows lost a lot of money because of the (close proximity of the residential area to the airport) and people would sit on their roofs rather than go and pay to park their car (and enter the event)."
Paul Pepe, manager of Tourism Thunder Bay, said aviation events like these add to the diversity of things for both residents and visitors for things to do during the summer months. He said the increased costs are a huge consideration for event organizers.
"That's where the static displays are an important part of aviation events because people have to pay (or donate) to go through the gates to see them," Pepe said.

Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal