About the Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre

The Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre was conceived as a means of collecting and preserving much of the aviation history of the area extending from the Manitoba border, north to Hudson Bay, east to Fort Albany and south to Wawa and west to the Manitoba border. An area of 526,372 square kilometers (203,089 square miles) or almost 50 percent of the area of Ontario. Although the centre will be based in Thunder Bay it will be a regional centre.

Much of Northern Ontario was opened up and developed through extensive use of bush planes. People who now take a flight to such places as Fort Severn, Big Trout Lake or Sioux Lookout have forgotten that only a few years ago, it was seat of the pants navigation. Aids to navigation and reliable weather reports were almost non-existent. The pilot had to fly the aircraft, do minor maintenance and also be load master.

The stories of those who flew aircraft, their adventures and misfortunes, have been slowly vanishing because, very few people have recorded their stories. The intent of the centre is to interview the people involved in Northwestern Ontario aviation and preserve their memories and stories through video, pictures and other means.

Along with stories of persons and planes involved in flying, there will be included other items associated with aviation. It will also pay tribute to the over 5,000 workers from Can Car, Fort William, both women and men who contributed to manufacturing and delivery of several thousand aircraft to Commonwealth and Allied Nations during World War II.

Plans are to establish a building in Thunder Bay which, will be used for the Centre. Within it will be interactive displays allowing visitors to both view and participate in the aviation experience. Artifacts from aviation will be collected and be displayed.

As part of the overall plan to preserve the aviation history, input from all parts of Northwest Ontario will be required.