Forwarded message - From: SIRIUS
Restoration project takes flight
By Michael Lea
Kingston Whig-Standard
Sunday, March 16, 2014
It was just after midnight on Sept. 28, 1943 and a young flier training for
war at the Collins Bay airfield was taking off for a night flight he would
never complete.
Something went terribly wrong and within a few minutes the pilot, Acting
Leading Airman Geoffrey Fitton, from Lancashire, England, crashed into Lake
Ontario. His plane sank to the bottom of the lake, but his body was found
the next day floating off Lemoine's Point.
He was one of at least 43 students and instructors who died while training
at the airfield, later to become Norman Rogers Airport, under the British
Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Now, 31 years after it was raised from the dark waters of Lake Ontario,
where it had lain undisturbed for the previous four decades, the Harvard
trainer that has been the most visible symbol of the local air force
association is once again part of a major restoration project.
The Harvard has been sitting on a pedestal in front of 416 Wing, Royal
Canadian Air Force Association at Norman Rogers Airport since it was
restored after being lifted out of the lake.
Members of the association have launched a new fundraising campaign to erase
the effects of wind and weather and bring the plane back to its original
glory. Organizers are hoping to raise $5,000 toward the $30,000 cost of
refurbishing the Harvard.
Its pilot, Geoffrey Fitton, was buried in Cataraqui Cemetery beside the
other fliers who died here. His plane sat on the bottom of the lake, sinking
into the sediment, after the original search for it was discontinued.
It was one of seven planes that crashed into the lake during the wartime
training.
In 1981, members of 416 RCAFA, the AVM Earl Godfrey Wing, decided to look
for one of those planes, retrieve it from its watery grave, and restore it
to its original state as a memorial to those who served and died at the
airfield.
Ted Demorest took on the job of amassing the information that would be
needed to find one of the planes and, by the following year, had narrowed
down the search area.
Steven and Terry Alford, from Kingsdive Ltd., headed up the underwater part
of the project, but it was three divers looking for sunken logs who stumbled
across the wreckage of Fitton's plane, upside down in 11.5 metres of water.
Divers investigating the wreck had an unexpected scare when they discovered
bones inside the cockpit, but they turned out to be canine. They assumed
Fitton had taken a pet dog along for a ride.
The plane was raised from the bottom of the lake on Aug. 1, 1983. After
extensive restoration, it was placed on the pedestal in front of the wing
building. A second rejuvenation was carried out in 2001.
416 Wing itself was founded in 1949 by air force veterans who had been
meeting for dinners and social times at the canoe club. They moved to the
armouries and later the annex of the S&R building and the Richardson
building before moving out to their current home at the airport in 1965.
In 1985, it changed its name to honour Air Vice Marshal Earl Godfrey, one of
Canada's first aviators.
An indoor yard sale will be held on April 12 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the
wing's building and organizers are looking for donations of slightly used,
good-quality items to sell. Advance pickup of items is available by calling
613-546-3726.
Also on sale will be aircraft memorabilia and household items.
-------------------------------------------------
Photo Caption:
The Harvard that is the subject of a restoration campaign occupies its usual
position on a pedestal in front of the 416 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force
Association building at Norman Rogers Airport. (Michael Lea The
Whig-Standard)
Aircraft of Australia Aviation Photography:
http://www.aircraftofaustralia.com
Vintage and Warbird Aircraft of the World: http://www.vintageandwarbirds.com
We hope that you enjoy these photographs, but please respect the photographers copywrite and don't re-publish or post these photographs without first asking the photographers permission
By Michael Lea
Kingston Whig-Standard
Sunday, March 16, 2014
It was just after midnight on Sept. 28, 1943 and a young flier training for
war at the Collins Bay airfield was taking off for a night flight he would
never complete.
Something went terribly wrong and within a few minutes the pilot, Acting
Leading Airman Geoffrey Fitton, from Lancashire, England, crashed into Lake
Ontario. His plane sank to the bottom of the lake, but his body was found
the next day floating off Lemoine's Point.
He was one of at least 43 students and instructors who died while training
at the airfield, later to become Norman Rogers Airport, under the British
Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Now, 31 years after it was raised from the dark waters of Lake Ontario,
where it had lain undisturbed for the previous four decades, the Harvard
trainer that has been the most visible symbol of the local air force
association is once again part of a major restoration project.
The Harvard has been sitting on a pedestal in front of 416 Wing, Royal
Canadian Air Force Association at Norman Rogers Airport since it was
restored after being lifted out of the lake.
Members of the association have launched a new fundraising campaign to erase
the effects of wind and weather and bring the plane back to its original
glory. Organizers are hoping to raise $5,000 toward the $30,000 cost of
refurbishing the Harvard.
Its pilot, Geoffrey Fitton, was buried in Cataraqui Cemetery beside the
other fliers who died here. His plane sat on the bottom of the lake, sinking
into the sediment, after the original search for it was discontinued.
It was one of seven planes that crashed into the lake during the wartime
training.
In 1981, members of 416 RCAFA, the AVM Earl Godfrey Wing, decided to look
for one of those planes, retrieve it from its watery grave, and restore it
to its original state as a memorial to those who served and died at the
airfield.
Ted Demorest took on the job of amassing the information that would be
needed to find one of the planes and, by the following year, had narrowed
down the search area.
Steven and Terry Alford, from Kingsdive Ltd., headed up the underwater part
of the project, but it was three divers looking for sunken logs who stumbled
across the wreckage of Fitton's plane, upside down in 11.5 metres of water.
Divers investigating the wreck had an unexpected scare when they discovered
bones inside the cockpit, but they turned out to be canine. They assumed
Fitton had taken a pet dog along for a ride.
The plane was raised from the bottom of the lake on Aug. 1, 1983. After
extensive restoration, it was placed on the pedestal in front of the wing
building. A second rejuvenation was carried out in 2001.
416 Wing itself was founded in 1949 by air force veterans who had been
meeting for dinners and social times at the canoe club. They moved to the
armouries and later the annex of the S&R building and the Richardson
building before moving out to their current home at the airport in 1965.
In 1985, it changed its name to honour Air Vice Marshal Earl Godfrey, one of
Canada's first aviators.
An indoor yard sale will be held on April 12 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the
wing's building and organizers are looking for donations of slightly used,
good-quality items to sell. Advance pickup of items is available by calling
613-546-3726.
Also on sale will be aircraft memorabilia and household items.
-------------------------------------------------
Photo Caption:
The Harvard that is the subject of a restoration campaign occupies its usual
position on a pedestal in front of the 416 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force
Association building at Norman Rogers Airport. (Michael Lea The
Whig-Standard)
Aircraft of Australia Aviation Photography:
http://www.aircraftofaustralia.com
Vintage and Warbird Aircraft of the World: http://www.vintageandwarbirds.com
We hope that you enjoy these photographs, but please respect the photographers copywrite and don't re-publish or post these photographs without first asking the photographers permission
