Sky-high dream: Plans for new aviation museum gaining altitude

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2016 (3631 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new $40-million Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is closer to taking flight.

The museum may be getting a royal visit from its patron, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, today, but its president, Bruce Emberley, might want to tell them to come back in a few years to see the new facility.

The museum has unveiled a conceptual drawing of the new building, which will feature a roof shaped like the wing of a plane. It will be located next to the Richardson International Airport terminal, on the land of the former airport terminal.

Emberley said the museum has been quietly knocking on doors of private corporations and talking to different levels of government.“It is being very well-received,” he said Tuesday.“We think a new facility in a much more prominent location specially built for our purposes will help us.

“Emberley said it will not only be a world-class aviation and aerospace museum showcasing planes from past eras, it will also be an incubator for future aerospace workers.“We see it as an economic driver. Kids will have an idea what aerospace is all about. 

We want to get the youth in there to be excited about aviation.

“Plans call for more interactive areas and better areas for displaying aircraft. 

There will even be a water bomber, one-fourth of its size, that will ‘bomb’ museum visitors every half-hour with a splash of mist to give them an idea of how one works. 

Emberley said they are hoping to move into the new facility in either 2018 or 2019.Shirley Render, the museum’s executive director, said the facility will also grow from the current 91,000 square feet to more than 104,000 sq. ft.The museum is currently located at the north end of Ferry Road in the former Trans Canada Airlines terminal.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca