In The News: Canada's Lancaster Bomber To Cross Atlantic For Uk Tour - Cbc.ca

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Canada's Lancaster bomber to cross Atlantic for UK tour CBC.ca The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton revealed Monday that it plans to fly its vintage Avro Lancaster to England in August. Together with the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Lancaster, it will be involved in a ... and more »

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Historic journey for Avro Lancaster

‎Yesterday, ‎March ‎21, ‎2014, ‏‎7:53:26 PM | briandunnyyz

CWH Lancaster-2-

Fonthill pilot Leon Evans is embarking on a journey that hasn’t been done for more than 50 years and likely will never happen again. There are only two airworthy Avro Lancasters in the world, and Evans will be in the cockpit to reunite the two sister planes in Coningsby, England so they can fly side-by-side in August. The Lancaster will fly at an altitude of 9,000 feet, for 3,268 nautical miles, at 180 nautical miles per hour. The flight plan has three scheduled stops along its 19-hour path. The first stop is in Goose Bay, Labrador, then on to Narsarsuaq, Greenland and Keflavik, Iceland. “We chose the route because it limits our time spent over open waters. We’re not able to fly at the 35,000 feet that is required to go straight across the ocean,” said Evans. The flight is expected to take four days.

Evans will fly alongside Don Schofield, who is a retired Air Canada pilot, and Dave Rohrer CEO of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Craig Brookhouse and Randy Straughan, of Welland, will be on board as crew chiefs. “They don’t want us there before Aug. 8, they have a big celebration planned for when we arrive,” he said. Evans has big dreams that the Queen will be there to greet them. “She loves her planes,” said Evans, noting that London was only about a three-hour drive. Flying for 19 hours seems like a long trek for a plane that is more than 70 years old, but Evans showed no concerns that the plane wouldn’t make it.

“This is what this plane was built for.” Lancasters were built in the late 1930s to be used as bombers during the Second World War. Built in 1945, the Lancaster that Evans flies missed the war. The plane has been maintained to the highest standards. The four engines are all original but have been rebuilt. The plane was purchased by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum who did restoration work on it for several years. Its first flight with the museum was on Sept. 11, 1988.

Evans began flying in 1963 with the Air Cadets and by 1973 he was flying commercial airplanes with Air Canada. In his 34-year career with Air Canada he flew 10 different jets and made 398 crossings over the Atlantic Ocean. After his retirement in 2006, he joined on as a pilot with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. He started by flying a North American Harvard, as well as other various warplanes, but seven years ago was asked by his boss if he wanted to fly the Avro Lancaster. “I still have to pinch myself to make sure it’s real, it’s such an honour to fly it.” When asked what the differences were between flying a commercial airline and a bomber he said, “a plane is a plane.” “It’s all about learning and developing skills. The Lancaster is a heavy controlling airplane so it doesn’t want to go straight, especially when there’s a crosswind. My job as a pilot is to concentrate on keeping the plane straight. If you miss your landing the first time you have to redo it. My focus is to get it right the first time,” he said. The Lancaster is named after Andrew Mynarski, who was killed in combat. He was a mid-upper gunner with the Royal Air Force.

“This trip is about honouring the veterans. Every time I get up in that plane I remember the sacrifices that were made,” said Evans.

In order to honour the veterans the Lancaster will make several public appearances as well as airshows along the way. He estimates the Lancaster will fly for about 25 hours while in England. Evans said their biggest challenge will be weather. “This is a significant flight for this aircraft, we have to make sure we’re on top of all the weather forecasts,” he said. The announcement for the flight was made Feb. 24. “This is a plane with a lot of historical value. We have enough parts to have this in the air for another 30 years. My goal is to make sure that no damage is done to the plane,” said Evans. The idea to fly the Lancaster to England began in 2001 with Schofield. “Everyone has always wanted to get the two planes together and now we’re able to do that. With his idea we were able to have Once in a Lanc Time,” Evans said.

For more information on the historic flight visit http://www.warplane.com.