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| When complete, this full-scale replica of Arrow 203 will be a centerpiece of the TAM's exhibits. |
Toronto Aerospace Museum Home Page
Toronto Aerospace Museum
Downsview Park
65 Carl Hall Road
Toronto, ON
M3K 2B6
(416) 638-6078
Directions: From the 401 East or West, exit at Keele Street North. Turn east on
Sheppard Ave; follow Sheppard to the entrance to Downsview Park. Turn right into the park onto John Drury Lane until Carl
Hall Road. Turn left at Carl Hall and continue east over the railway tracks to the Museum.
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The Toronto Aerospace Museum, a relatively new addition to the ranks of Canadian museums, is located in the historic de
Havilland plant at Downsview airport, where Mosquitos were built during World War II, Trackers in the postwar era, and where
Alouette I, the first Canadian satellite, was assembled. The museum's intent is to preserve Toronto's rich aerospace history
through artifacts and interpretation.
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| A de Havilland-built S2F Tracker ASW plane roosts in the factory where it was once built. |
Still very much a museum in construction, the progress which has been made is nevertheless impressive. Several full airframes
are on display, including a Canadair-built CF-5, a Tracker ASW plane, and a Percival Sea Prince. The signage that supports
the exhibits is very professional. Furthermore, the Museum's staff and volunteers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and provide
an excellent resource for anybody seeking more information on the material presented by the exhibits.
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| This Canadair-built CF-5 Freedom Fighter is one of several airframes on display. |
Of course, the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow played a huge role in Toronto's aviation history, so it is only reasonable to expect
that project to have a major presence at the Toronto Aerospace Museum. The Museum is well advanced in an ambitious project
to build a full-scale model of the Arrow, with the cockpit complete and major wing and fuselage elements ready for mating.
Seeing this mock-up brings home the size of the original, a plane little smaller than the B-58 strategic bomber.
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| A poignant memorial to the crew of an RAF Nimrod MR.2, who perished in a crash at the CNE Airshow. |
The biggest long-term project that the Museum has embarked upon is the restoration of the Victory Aircraft-built Avro Lancaster
B.X, FM104, that languished on a pedestal at the Toronto exhibition grounds for so many years. As the photo below shows, their
work is very much cut out for them to restore this plane. The elements, the birds, and vandals have taken their toll on the
plane, and such a restoration must be taxing the resources of a relatively small museum.
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| TAM's most ambitious project is the restoration of Avro Lancaster B.X FM104. |
A number of smaller exhibits are scattered throughout the museum. The fin of a RAF Nimrod serves as a tragic reminder of
the lives lost at airshows across the world, while the Air Canada gallery on the upper level has some interesting artifacts,
including a desk model of the Concorde in Air Canada livery. The museum also has a very good gift shop, with a good selection
of books on Canadian aerospace history. This museum is recommended for anybody visiting the Toronto area who is
looking for an aviation fix.
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