30 Mar 1917 – Royal Flying Corps (RFC) begins Training at Camp Borden in OntarioThe RFC begins flight training at Camp Borden. In 1917. the American, British, and Canadian Governments agreed to join forces for training. Between April 1917 and…
On the 27th March 1975 the 1st flight of De Havilland DHC-7 takes place. The DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, first flew at Downsview, Ontario, Canada. It is a 4 engine turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and…
March 25, 1958 marks the anniversary of the first flight of Avro Arrow. Aircraft RL-201 was piloted by Avro’s Chief Developmental Test Pilot – Jan Zurakowsi. The Canadian designed CF-105 Arrow test program would eventually see the aircraft fly at…
On February 23rd each year, Canada celebrates National Aviation Day, we commemorate the past, celebrate the present and advance the future of aviation in Canada. It’s recognized every year on February 23, the day in 1909 when J.A.D. McCurdy piloted…
On February 18/1959, the Avro Arrow program concluded with the final flight of Arrow 201. The program’s cancellation was announced the very next day, Thursday, February 19, 1959, resulting in the immediate unemployment of 14,528 Avro employees and approximately 15,000…
By Don Christopher Francis “Frank” Doolittle was born in Dec 1923 and joined the RCAF on his 18th birthday in 1941. He took his basic training at Lachine, PQ and instruction at Eglington Hunt Club in Toronto. He then posted to…
Many of us at the Canadian Aviation Museum were recently touched by the story of Erica DeFrane, a talented author and artist whose life was deeply inspired by the iconic Windsor Lancaster, FM212. Erica, who sadly passed away in 2023,…
The First flight of the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 occurred on 31-January-1998. The Q400 is a stretched and improved 70–78 passenger (twin-engine, medium range, turboprop airliner) version of the Canadian Bombardier Dash 8, previously known as the de Havilland Canada…
The first Canadian supersonic flight was achieved by the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. On December 18, 1952, Janusz Żurakowski, Avro’s experimental test pilot, took the CF-100 Mk 4 prototype to Mach 1.10 in a dive from 14,000 meters (45,000 feet),…
The Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 1 “Canuck” prototype, 18101, conducted its maiden flight on January 19, 1950, powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Avon RA 3 turbojet engines. It holds the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter…
