Plane that flew around the world to promote Expo 86 is now a showpiece in Kelowna

This story has it all.

A Kelowna tie-in, a Vancouver element, international overtones, three anniversaries and the tale of the most influential airplane ever built.

This week, the KF Centre for Excellence near Kelowna airport, held the premier of the documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of Odyssey 86 -- the around-the-world flight of a Douglas DC-3 turbo-prop plane as an ambassador for Expo 86 in Vancouver.

While this legend on the surface is about a Vancouver event and stops across the globe, it has a big Kelowna connection.

Barry Lapointe, founder of KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft), owned the DC-3 used for the circumnavigation of the planet.

Lapointe was one of the pilots on the crew that flew the plane around the world along with Captain Ken Olson, his wife, Doreen, who was flight coordinator, navigator Bob Blanchard and pilot Bill Gillies.

Odyssey 86 flew to 50 cities in 28 countries across six continents with the plane and crew promoting Expo 86, the Vancouver world's fair themed: 'Transportation and Communications: World in Motion, World in Touch.'

Kelowna was one of the stops back in 1986.

Shortly after the Odyssey 86 flight, Lapointe sold the DC-3 and largely forgot about it.

However, as the 40th anniversary of Expo 86 and the 90th anniversary of the DC-3 as a plane model approached, Lapointe tracked down the plane in North Carolina and bought it back.

That was in 2021.

The plane has been restored to its former glory and is now on display at the KF Centre for Excellence as part of the permanent collection at the aviation museum.

Soon, the documentary will be screened regularly at the centre as part of the DC-3 exhibit.

"Watching this documentary brought back memories of one of the greatest adventures of my life," said Lapointe.

"Forty years later, it's moving to see that story preserved and shared. None of us imagined we'd be standing together again, sharing those memories with a room full of people. Seeing the crew, watching the documentary and reliving that journey was very special to me."

Four of the original crew were at the documenatry screening -- Lapointe and the previously mentioned Bob Blanchard, Bill Gillies and Doreen Olson.

"The Odyssey journey was the adventure of a lifetime," said Doreen Olson.

"It was especially meaningful to see footage of my late husband, Captain Ken Olson, and to celebrate the journey with som many people who continue to appreciate its story."

Captain Olson's grandson -- Ken Olson -- was at the documentary screening and shared that he had never heard his grandfather's voice until the video was shown.

The documentary was produced in conjunction with Ryan Tebbutt of Edge Digital Media in Kelowna.

The DC-3 is considered the most influential airplane ever built.

It debuted in 1935 and revolutionized commercial aviation by making passenger air travel practical, reliable and profitable.

The plane is widely credited with laying the foundation for modern airline networks.

In the Second World War, the DC-3 shaped military operations around the world.

"We're proud of what this project accomplished," said KF Centre for Excellence executive director Chris Lapointe.

"We were able to share an important chapter of Canadian aviation hisotry and judging by the response, it's a story that still resonates 40 years later (from Expo 86 and the Odyssey 86 flight and 91 years after the DC-3 launched)."