Achi news desk-
A relic of Canadian airline history will soon take a trip away from Saskatoon, but it won’t be in a plane.
Rik Barry, chairman of the Time Air Historical Society in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alta., said they will be in Saskatoon over the next three days disassembling an airplane that they will transport back to Lethbridge.
An old Canadian Regional plane leaves Saskatoon and makes its way to a museum in Alberta.
Global News / Slavo Kutas
The C-FTAV, a Fokker F-28-1000 built in 1976, will be used by the association to celebrate the early history of aviation in Canada.
The plane has been stored at the Saskatoon Airport since 2002. Barry explained that about 25 planes were retired at that time.
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“Air Canada retired them in 2002 and, because of Norcan Air’s history and their experience with the F-28, they decided to retire this entire fleet where they have remained for the last 22 years,” he said. Barry.
Norcan Air was an airline from Saskatoon back in the day, with Barry saying that Time Air bought the company back in 1987.
“Later, Time Air was renamed Canada Regional to better align with its parent company, Canadian Airlines.”
He said this move marks the beginning of an airline museum dedicated to Canadian airline history.
Canadian Regional Aircraft stored in Saskatoon.
Global news / Slavo Kutas
Barry said there were nearly 40 airlines throughout Canadian history that eventually formed Canadian Airlines before Air Canada took over.
He said any similar aircraft remaining in Saskatoon will be phased out over the next several years.
Jesse Millington, operations coordinator with Time Air Historical Society, explained the process – including removing the wings – involved in moving an airplane in a truck and trailer.
“The wings are actually bolted on. There are about 300-plus bolts that are really annoying,” Millington said.
The fuselage sits on one trailer, while the wings are towed on another.
He said it was not an easy process to get this plane, adding that this moment was four years in the making.
“It means a lot just to everyone here, everyone involved, and hopefully it will mean something to future generations who see the plane.”
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