Lancaster KB882 is getting a new home

[fleet16b]

Well it has been announced that the Lanc has been given to the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton
Dismantling of the aircraft will begin this summer .
She will finally be getting out of the weather

http://edmundston.ca/en/renseignements/ ... a-edmonton

[Pop n Fresh]

Phew, that's a relief. We are down to 3 or 4 here in wild rose country.

[teacher]

Got a few pics of it when on a charter there. Glad to see it getting a good safe home.

[Meatservo]

Cool! I approve of its remaining in its post-war RCAF condition, and in general I approve of the "running condition" level of mechanical restoration too. To me, restoring it to the condition necessary to run it up basically means it's fully restored, without the necessary extra rigamarole paper-work wise that would be required if they actually meant to fly it.

[midwingcrisis]

Was the spar cut on that one?

[Meatservo]

Was the spar cut on that one?

I don't think it was, it was never mounted on a pillar. I was always of the impression that the ones on pillars had their spars cut, but maybe the one thing doesn't have anything to do with the other; it was something my Dad told me thirty years ago.

Considering the degree to which people are willing to take aeroplanes apart and make new structures when restoring them, is there anything about the spar that would make it impossible to replace or restore? I've seen them tear a plane down to its constituent ribs and bulkheads before...

[Cod Father]

'The crew got out, closed the door and it’s sat there like that ever since.'- Lech Lebiedowski, Alberta Aviation Museum curator

CBC Story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.2999368

Radio Canada:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/atla ... ston.shtml

Crowd funding website is an running all ready:
http://www.gofundme.com/lancaster

Press Release Here:
http://www.albertaaviationmuseum.com/ne ... nlancaster

Edmonton Journal Story:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Rare+Lan ... story.html

[lownslow]

I was always of the impression that the ones on pillars had their spars cut

Spar cutting sounds pretty harsh, it's more like the centre section of the fuselage and wing were heavily modified for the pole dancing Lancs. I've been in the one in Windsor and while the spar is still intact (it would have to be for the wings to stay up) it was full of holes where it mated to the pole mount. The floor of the centre section (ceiling of the bomb bay) was also cut completely away. I don't know it they were all like this but I imagine the mounting was at least similar.

As for rebuilding the spar, someone can correct me on this but I believe the spar caps were special extrusions that haven't been made in probably close to half a century. I think a flier can be made with substitute materials in North America but with more restrictive rules in Europe, their four-engine Avros face a very real lifespan as they will some day time out.

[lownslow]

^It's possible I'm mixing up the special extrusions required to make a flying Halifax with the various reasons other Avro bombers are facing the end of their flying days.

[it'sme]

The last time I crawled around that aircraft was not long after it had been used for a French TV show or movie. A number of the cockpit instruments had been "liberated" over the years so there had been numerous holes in the panel that I had seen on a previous look-about. The production company had gone down to the local Canadian Tire and purchased a number of automotive gauges and filled the holes. They were still there on my last visit. It did look a sight!

[Hipster Exterminator]

Has the future of the Alberta Aviation Museum at YXD been secured or does the city still want them out?

[fleet16b]

^It's possible I'm mixing up the special extrusions required to make a flying Halifax with the various reasons other Avro bombers are facing the end of their flying days.

As far as I know the only thing that could stop the Lancs from flying would be the lack of prop blades
The wing spars are not an issue
Ten or so years ago, the B of B Lanc had spars made and installed . They are not an issue.
Merlins also not really an issue as most of the parts are now made for them

[lownslow]

As far as I know the only thing that could stop the Lancs from flying would be the lack of prop blades

Even that likely wouldn't ever be an issue given the work MT Propellor has done to make new Twin Mustang props.

[North Shore]

Id think that a more important factor would be the non-availability of Avgas. 4 Merlins must be pretty thirsty, and money doesn't grow on trees.

[fleet16b]

As far as I know the only thing that could stop the Lancs from flying would be the lack of prop blades

Even that likely wouldn't ever be an issue given the work MT Propellor has done to make new Twin Mustang props.

The Mustang props are made because there is a sizeable market. However, the props needed for the two Lancs are not the same and are not being made due to high costs and very limited demand
A few years back CWH found a cache of blades and bought them all as their existing blades were showing signs of corrosion .
If they had not gotten the funds to purchase them , their Lanc would have eventually have become un-airworthy

[Cod Father]

Has the future of the Alberta Aviation Museum at YXD been secured or does the city still want them out?

Sources tell me:

The AAM is undergoing a rather large transition right now. A new interpretive plan is underway, and now that the Lancaster can be confirmed and announced, plans are underway for how it will be housed in the existing hangar. The AAM has entered into a very positive and collaborative phase with the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Heritage Council, and the Blatchford community to be a showpiece for the new development. Everyone involved wants the history and impact of CYXD to be commemorated, and this Lancaster is a great way to tie in the Northern mapping and exploration.

[Cod Father]

In March 2015, the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada was chosen to be the recipient of historic Avro Lancaster Bomber KB882 from over 4,100 kilometres away in the City of Edmunston, New Brunswick, Canada. Fundraising efforts are now underway to transport Lancaster KB882 from Edmunston NB to Edmonton AB for restoration and permanent in door preservation.

KB882 is unique. Of only 17 remaining Lancasters in the world, and only 2 that fly, KB882 will be the only Lancaster to retain a Cold War paint scheme as well as fuselage extension for photography and radar work in order to tell the story of Operation SHORAN, the mapping of Canada's arctic before the age of satellites, on top of all of the Second Wold War stories made famous by this aircraft.

The Alberta Aviation Museum is now fundraising to make this project happen. Donations can be made in three ways:
1. by cheque, made out to the Alberta Aviation Museum with the note: Lancaster
2. via Paypal at http://www.albertaaviationmuseum.com/do ... -donations
3. GoFundMe at: http://www.gofundme.com/lancaster

Please help us save this historic aircraft.

Sincerely,
David Jackson CD
Treasurer
Alberta Aviation Museum
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
david.jackson@albertaaviationmuseum.com

[linecrew]

...KB882 will be the only Lancaster to retain a Cold War paint scheme as well as fuselage extension for photography and radar work in order to tell the story of Operation SHORAN, the mapping of Canada's arctic before the age of satellites, on top of all of the Second Wold War stories made famous by this aircraft.

Awesome! I like it.

[totalflyer]

Did a flight into Edmunston just a week ago...
Got to see her before she is moved...
They had a pretty good history of the plane displayed in the "terminal".
Too bad I didn't get any pictures of it.

[David-Jackson]

Momentum is building!
Two more anonymous $1,000 donations have come in to the museum. The Museum has raised over $42,000 so far from all campaigns.

CN has donated railway cars and will help move the aircraft.

The relocation Project Manager, Tim Mols, was on site last week conducting preliminary work to get KB882 ready for the big trip. Tim has found that the aircraft is in better shape than has been reported and little has changed since his assessment five years ago. Three of the four engines turn over.

Have you donated to save this piece of Canadian and World War 2 piece of history? Help get KB882 to her new home and get her restored! Please donate at:

http://www.gofundme.com/lancaster

http://www.albertaaviationmuseum.com/do ... -donations