The Canadian Warplane Heritage is an unusual aviation museum in Canada in that it is primarily a flying collection.  Located at Hamilton airport, approximately an hour southwest of Toronto and an hour north of Buffalo, the CWH is a monument to the glory of flight.  Founded 30 years ago, in 1972, the museum has grown into one of the most important museums of its type in Canada.

The museum's collection includes an wide variety of aircraft, ranging from vintage trainers like Tiger Moths, Harvards, Yales, and Ansons to large multiengined types like a B-25J Mitchell, C-47 Dakota, PBY Catalina, and, of course, one of what is only two flying Avro Lancasters in the world.  There are also a number of early jets, including a CF-104 (in Tiger Meet markings), a Swiss Hunter, a genuine Golden Hawks Sabre Mk. 6, a de Havilland Vampire and a CF-100.  A very rare artifact in the collection is an Orenda Iroquois engine, one of the few large artifacts to survive the cancellation of the CF-105 programme in 1959.

The museum suffered a devastating fire in 1993, which destroyed one of the museum's hangars and a number of aircraft, including a Spitfire, TBM Avenger, and an extremely rare Hurricane XII.  The museum recovered from this tragedy, however, and rose phoenix-like from the ashes of the fire to build a magnificent 108,000 square foot state of the art facility that can accomodate active aircraft, static aircraft, and restoration projects (currently including a Bolingbroke, Lysander, and Tracker).  The clean, brightly lit facility is excellent for photography.

Pride of place in the Canadian Warplane Heritage's flying collection goes to Victory Aircraft-built Avro Lancaster B.X, FM213, one of only two flying Lancasters in the world.  Painted in the markings of Lancaster KB 726, VR*A from 419 Squadron RCAF, in which Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski posthumously won the only Victoria Cross awarded to a member of 6 Group RCAF, this aircraft serves as a flying memorial and can be seen at airshows across North America and, during the summer of 2005, in Europe as well.

What separates this museum from so many others is the fact that many of the aircraft (sorry, no jets) in the collection fly regularly.  If you time your visit right, you may be treated to the stunning sight and sound of a Lancaster roaring into the sky, or B-25 buzz the runway.  An observation deck on the roof of the museum allows visitors to watch the day to day operations of the airport.  The airport itself has some interesting visitors as well; on one visit, I saw an Il-76 jet transport on the tarmac.  Even better, the CWH's Legends Flights allows visitors to actually go for a ride in a vintage aircraft (typically a Harvard or Stearman).  Contact the museum for more information on this amazing programme.

The museum has a very good gift shop as well, with a wide selection of books, magazines, kits, clothing, and aviation art prints.  Furthermore, there is also an archives and library available for reserachers and enthusiasts to use.  Best of all, there are modelers around the facility!  There is nothing like having kindred spirits around a museum to facilitate access to aircraft. 

If you are interested in seeing vintage aircraft in action, then the Canadian Warplane Heritage is a great place to visit.