Pieces of the past Restoring a Canadair Sabre fighter jet
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/03/2024 (921 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.
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
Instrument panel components up close.
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
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 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.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
After restoration, the Korean War-era fighter jet is slated to become part of the museum’s collection in May.
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