From the Burgess-Dunne to the Globemaster III

The museum’s newest exhibit celebrates advances in aviation technology over the past 100 years and highlights the renowned history and heritage of Canada’s Air Force. In addition to the 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight in Canada, the aviation community is also celebrating the 85th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the 60th Anniversary of Trenton’s Memorial Gates and the 25th Anniversary of the National Air Force Museum of Canada.

“We are very proud to acknowledge this important milestone in Canadian aviation history,” said Chris Colton, Executive Director of the National Air Force Museum of Canada. “This exhibit is a tribute to the new technologies and advancements in Canada’s aviation industry over the past century.”

Prepared by the museum, the exhibit’s primary aim is to unveil artefacts that have been mostly unseen by the public, such as the first Canadian military aircraft, the Burgess-Dunne floatplane. Abandoned in England in 1915, this aeroplane survived only in the memory of aviation enthusiasts until Mr. Barry Mackacherer of Ottawa built a full scale replica. Although it entered the museum’s collection in 2001, this replica is now assembled for the first time and displayed as the centrepiece of our exhibit. The engines collection of the museum, including Orenda 11 of AVRO Canada, was also little known to the public until the opening of the exhibit.

When developing the exhibit, the museum’s team had a second goal: to highlight the contrast between the past and present of aviation technology. The centennial anniversary of flight in Canada is dominated by technological evolution, from bi-planes to today’s gigantic transport aircraft or supersonic fighters. The most striking contrast we thus found is between the flying equipment worn by the First World War aircrew, who flew in open-cockpits at considerably high altitudes, and the current g-suit, which is in itself the by-product of advanced technology.

‘From the Burgess-Dunne to the Globemaster III’ is now open to the public.