Pieces of the past Restoring a Canadair Sabre fighter jet

Volunteers with the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada are restoring a Canadair Sabre fighter jet, which was the backbone of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Cold War decades of the 1950s and ’60s.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/03/2024 (922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Volunteers with the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada are restoring a Canadair Sabre fighter jet, which was the backbone of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Cold War decades of the 1950s and ’60s.

The aircraft was the last off the assembly line in Montreal in 1958, the 1,815th Sabre built. It hasn’t flown in decades, and much of its aluminum skin has corroded after being left outside for several years before it was donated to the museum.

Volunteers expect to spend 4,000 hours cleaning old parts, fabricating new ones, returning it to its original green and grey colours.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Volunteers expect to put in 4,000 hours to restore the Korean War-era jet — the last Canadair Sabre Mk.6 ever produced — at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada’s warehouse in Winnipeg.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Volunteers expect to put in 4,000 hours to restore the Korean War-era jet — the last Canadair Sabre Mk.6 ever produced — at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada’s warehouse in Winnipeg.

An unveiling is scheduled for later this year, which is the RCAF’s 100th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the museum. A fundraising campaign, dubbed Sabre Squadron, has been launched to support the restoration.

— Alan Small

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Patched, repaired, and hand-fabricated new body panel pieces on a Canadair Sabre at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Patched, repaired, and hand-fabricated new body panel pieces on a Canadair Sabre at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Instrument panel components up close.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Instrument panel components up close.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Instrument panel components.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Instrument panel components.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Volunteer Ken Peddie works at removing paint from speed brake internal components (specifically a gauge cover).

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Volunteer Ken Peddie works at removing paint from speed brake internal components (specifically a gauge cover).

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Volunteers Gerry Dupasquier (left) and Gene Manchur sand the jet’s horizontal stabilizer.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Volunteers Gerry Dupasquier (left) and Gene Manchur sand the jet’s horizontal stabilizer.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Volunteer Henry Enns and repaired body panels of a Canadair Sabre.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Volunteer Henry Enns and repaired body panels of a Canadair Sabre.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Volunteer Greg Reiser works at removing paint from speed brake internal components.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Volunteer Greg Reiser works at removing paint from speed brake internal components.

Canadian Department of National Defence 
                                The Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Sabre F-86 fighter jet first took flight in 1950.

Canadian Department of National Defence

The Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Sabre F-86 fighter jet first took flight in 1950.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                After restoration, the Korean War-era fighter jet is slated to become part of the museum’s collection in May.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

After restoration, the Korean War-era fighter jet is slated to become part of the museum’s collection in May.

Mikaela MacKenzie

Mikaela MacKenzie
Photojournalist

Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist — photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world.

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