Sunday marked the end of an era in British Columbia and thousands of people gathered in the Greater Victoria area to mark the occasion.
They were there to see the historic Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber make its final flight, from its longtime base at Sproat Lake in Port Alberni to the Saanich Inlet.
Nine Canadian Forces Snowbirds accompanied the massive plane on its final journey south, passing over several communities where residents gathered outdoors to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.
The Hawaii Martin Mars’ arrival in Saanich was live streamed by the BC Aviation Museum, where the plane that fought wildfires in British Columbia for over 50 years will now call home.
Coulson Aviation, the company that bought the Hawaii Martin Mars in 2007, announced in March that the water bomber with a capacity to carry more than 27,000 litres of water, would be donated to the museum.
It will become the centrepiece of a new wildfire exhibition at the BC Aviation Museum in North Saanich, which is expected to open to the public in late September.
“We are grateful to Coulson Aviation and thrilled to offer a home for the largest aircraft on display on Vancouver Island,” said Richard Mosdell, project lead on the museum’s Save the Mars Team.
“Once the aircraft is settled in the museum’s BC Wildfire Aviation Exhibit, the BC Aviation Museum plans to offer a unique open format that allows visitors to experience the Hawaii Mars up close and personal, including the opportunity to sit in the four-storey cockpit.”
It was no easy task to get the plane ready for its final flight on Sunday, as Coulson enlisted five former certified maintenance engineers and four flight crew to complete around 10,000 hours of preparation and flight training.
A social media post by Coulson on Sunday called the final flight “bittersweet for all of us.”
The BC Aviation Museum noted that the final flight was almost 65 years to the day from when the Hawaii Martin Mars was originally converted to water bomber status in the same location.
