The Western Canada Aviation Museum was incorporated in 1974 for the preservation and promotion of Canada's aviation history. In November 1974 the Museum had put forward an application to the Federal government for a grant to set up a at the St. Andrews. However, the Museum ended up at the Winnipeg International Airport site instead. By the next year, the Museum had in its collection, 25 military and civilian aircraft. The aircraft on display reflect the history of aviation development in Canada, and more specifically in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a major hub for aviation development in Canada, and includes examples of aircraft and artifacts ranging from bush planes to transport, military, private, and commercial aircraft. The museum received the Royal designation on 19 December 2014 to become The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. The Museum closed its Ferry Rd. site on October 24, 2018 to make way for a brand new building to open in 2020.
Exhibits
A fully enclosed flight deck to watch the landings and takeoffs at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is one of the other attractions. The collection is housed in an original Trans-Canada Air Lines aircraft hangar and includes a recreated terminal departure centre and several one-of-a-kind aircraft such as Canada's first helicopter, the CL-84 "Tilt-wing", Avrocar "flying saucer", historic military jets, bush planes, and commercial aircraft.
Display aircraft
Canada's first helicopter which was built by the Froebe brothers in Homewood, Manitoba.
Junkers Ju 52/1M modified as CF-ARM flown by Canadian Airways Ltd. Known as the "Flying Boxcar," this was the largest single-engine aircraft operated in North America.
The Museum also houses an exhibit on Canadian Women in Aviation, flight simulators, a Black Brant Rocket, and other aviation memorabilia, such as a collection of first airmail covers. In 2012, an exhibit displaying Canada's role in coastal patrol was opened.
Archives and Library
The comprehensive aviation reference library housed at the Museum is one of the largest in the country, with holdings of books, magazines, technical manuals, and drawings, as well as some 40,000 photographs, films, and audiotapes, many of which cannot be found anywhere else. One item in the archives is a rare, five-minute film of Amelia Earhart embarking on her solo, trans-Atlantic flight from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on 21 May 1932. The library is open to the public on an appointment basis and photos, films, and audiotapes are loaned or copied on request.
Recovery and restoration
The Museum has an active Restoration Department and has returned many damaged aircraft to full display condition. A team of volunteers completed a full-scale replica of a Canadian Vickers Vedette Mark V aircraft in May 2002. The Museum has facilitated the recovery of several aircraft, including the "Ghost of Charron Lake" - a Fokker Standard Universal that has taken more than 30 years to locate. It is currently in a recovery and retrieval phase, after which it will begin its restoration.
