Work underway to move Lancaster KB882 to Edmonton
June 11, 2015
From the Alberta Aviation Museum
via DND
Assessment complete and preservation work to be done this summer. Dismantling and shipment is scheduled for next spring.
Since announcing in late March 2015 that Avro Lancaster KB882, now located in Edmundston, New Brunswick, will be moving to the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, the museum team has been busy preparing for the re-location.
The museum has hired Lancaster specialist Tim Mols, of Ingersoll, Ontario, to lead the complex job of moving this 70-year-old aircraft. Mr. Mols is an experienced aircraft maintenance engineer and was the crew chief for the restoration of Canada's only flying Lancaster, "VeRA", at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, in Hamilton, Ontario.
Mr. Mols has completed an initial on-site assessment of the Lancaster and has found the aircraft to be better shape than expected, despite its exposure to the elements for more than 50 years. Three of the four propellers still turn, which raises hopes that the team will be able to restore KB882 for "ground running" to allow visitors to hear the roar of its four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
The leadership of the Alberta Aviation Museum has decided to do preliminary work to preserve the KB882 at its site near the Edmundston airport this summer and complete the task of moving the aircraft next spring.
"It's a complex job of logistics," says project director Jack Van Norman. "We want to take the time to do it right. It will also give us more time to raise the money we need to bring the aircraft to Edmonton." Mr. Van Norman estimates that cost at about $350,000.
The job will require moving the aircraft, which has a wingspan of 31 metres and a length of 21 metres, to Moncton, New Brunswick by road and then to Edmonton by rail. Mr. Mols and his crew are still trying to locate the wheel assemblies needed for the first part of the trip.
Mr. Van Norman notes that additional work will be done this summer to clean the interior of the aircraft with a special preservative that will make the task of dismantling next spring easier.
KB882 is one of only 17 complete airframes still surviving worldwide. One of 430 Mk. X models built in Canada by Victory Aircraft, it flew about a dozen bombing missions in Europe at the close of the Second World War. The aircraft, modified for coastal patrol and Arctic mapping, then saw service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Alberta Aviation Museum has decided to acknowledge that role by displaying it in its post-war configuration.
Fundraising is underway, and a major sponsor has come forward to help with the move, but the museum is still looking for individuals and organizations to join its team to help preserve this important part of Canada's aviation history. Anyone interested in getting involved as a donor, sponsor, or volunteer is invited to contact the Alberta Aviation Museum.
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A closeup of Lancaster KB882 on display in Edmundston, New Brunswick. Note the Air Transport Command markings and the flying goose badge of 408 Squadron. When the Lanc arrived in Edmundston on July 14, 1964, the squadron was dubbed 408 Tactical Support and Area Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron is now 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and is located in Edmonton, Alberta.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
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Lancaster KB882 flies over Edmundston, New Brunswick on its final flight on July 14, 1964. The Lanc has been on display in Edmundston since 1964, but will soon find a new home at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
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Lancaster KB882 on display in Edmundston, New Brunswick, its home since July 14, 1964.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
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Lancaster KB882 photographed in April 2015 in Edmundston, New Brunswick.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
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The Alberta Aviation Museum has hired Lancaster specialist Tim Mols, of Ingersoll, Ontario, to lead the complex job of moving the 70-year-old Lancaster KB882. Mr. Mols is an experienced aircraft maintenance engineer and was the crew chief for the restoration of Canada's only flying Lancaster, "VeRA", at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, in Hamilton, Ontario.
(PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
A closeup of Lancaster KB882 on display in Edmundston, New Brunswick. Note the Air Transport Command markings and the flying goose badge of 408 Squadron. When the Lanc arrived in Edmundston on July 14, 1964, the squadron was dubbed 408 Tactical Support and Area Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron is now 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and is located in Edmonton, Alberta. (PHOTO: Courtesy Alberta Aviation Museum)
