Hurricane comes home

[Guest]

HURRICANE COMES HOME

Calgary aviation museum’s storied wartime fighter restored to former glory

• Calgary Sun
• 3 Nov 2019
• SHAWN LOGAN slogan@postmedia.com @ShawnLogan403

DARRENMAKOWICHUK/POSTMEDIA Brian Desjardins, executive director of the Hangar Flight Museum, above, stands proudly by Hawker Hurricane 5389, which was shipped back to Calgary in the last few days, above right, after being in Wetaskiwin for restoration since 2012.

It left Calgary some seven years ago, its majestic 12-metre wingspan packed into dust-covered boxes like discarded puzzle pieces, which gave little hint of its former airborne glory.

On Wednesday, the Second World War-era Hawker Hurricane finally returned home after an odyssey that began more than a decade ago, arriving in Calgary just before midnight, looking just as it did when it rolled off the assembly line in 1942 at Canadian Car & Foundry in Thunder Bay.

Richard de Boer, president of the Calgary Mosquito Aircraft Preservation Society, has been at the forefront of efforts to restore the vintage fighter plane, as well as a 1946-built de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber, after battling against a city council plan in 2008 to sell the Mosquito to fund the Hurricane’s restoration.

After a turbulent three years, council finally agreed to pony up $800,000 to match funds raised by private donors to restore both historic aircraft.

But that was only the beginning.

“It was all in boxes. It went up to Wetaskiwin in nothing but loose pieces,” de Boer said Wednesday, after a head-turning journey down the QEII Highway that saw the intact relic transported on a flatbed truck.

“Every nut, bolt and washer was just loose, not numbered. Essentially we got a jigsaw puzzle without a picture on it.”

Hurricane 5389 was meticulously reassembled with original or procured parts over the course of seven years, with some 23,000 hours of work to restore the warplane, the bulk of which was performed by Historic Aviation Services in the city about 250 kilometres north of Calgary.

So authentic was the aircraft’s restoration, that those working on it were able to secure a dozen original Browning .303 calibre machine guns (all of which are disabled) that are embedded in its green and tan coloured wings, emblazoned with the Royal Air Force’s famed red, white and blue roundels.

This coming Wednesday, the long wait will be over for aviation enthusiasts hoping to get a glimpse of the historic aircraft, which once flew patrol missions over Western Canada during the Second World War, when it’s officially unveiled in a ceremony at Calgary’s Hangar Flight Museum. There, it wi l l become one of its centrepiece attractions.

Brian Desjardins, the museum’s executive director, said bringing the Hurricane home to Calgary feels like a homecoming, and one they’re very excited to see after an excruciating wait.

“It’s like a gift just before Christmas,” he said.

“It’s truly authentic and original. The aviation community is quite excited.”

But few, if any, will be as excited to see the restored fighter plane as much as 96-year-old Gordon Hill, who will be on hand for its unveiling and a gala event toasting the plane’s homecoming on Thursday night at the museum.

The Calgarian flew Hurricane 5389 on Canada’s west coast in 1943 with Squadron 133, protecting his homeland from possible incursions by the Japanese following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor two years earlier.

Desjardins said Hill, who will be accompanied by an armada of friends and family, will see his old companion just as it was when he flew it 76 years ago.

“To have somebody who actually flew this aircraft is quite amazing,” Desjardins said. “He will be here for all of the events.”

After so many years, and many ups and downs (including an ongoing struggle to get the engine working well enough to allow the Hurricane to taxi on its own), de Boer said bringing the aircraft home is somewhat bittersweet.

“I kind of feel like the father of the bride having to give away my baby,” he said.

Meanwhile, rebuilding efforts continue on the Mosquito at the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton, south of Calgary, though that process will take at least a couple more years, de Boer said, noting progress is “coming along very nicely. Slow but steady.”

As well, as the Hurricane moves in, the Hangar Flight Museum’s distressed Avro CF-100 Canuck, will be going back up the highway to Wetaskiwin, where it will undergo a $400,000 restoration of its own.

Desjardins said the museum was able to raise the needed funds in just a year thanks to $250,000 from the city and a robust community of aviation enthusiasts, and its hoped that it will return to its home in three to four years, as good as new.

Hurricane 5389 is one of only 63 of the storied fighters left in the world.  

[conehead]

I think it’s fantastic having Gordon Hill present, who actually flew the aircraft 76 years ago!

[Super 80]

I remember seeing the Hurricane in pieces when I was a kid, this was a long time coming.

[Kip Powick]

12 hours ago, conehead said:

I think it’s fantastic having Gordon Hill present, who actually flew the aircraft 76 years ago!

TC probably wouldn't let "Gordie" fly the aircraft again unless he had a refresher course, including a SIM ride. 

[st27]

And 10 hours of dual...