GGE to expand and promote Gimli’s rich aviation history and untold stories
The board of the Gimli Glider Exhibit aren’t resting on their laurels after acquiring the flight deck, or cockpit, of the famous Air Canada Boeing 767 passenger jet earlier this year.
The board launched a fundraiser that will give people an opportunity to support the upcoming restoration and installation of the cockpit at a commemorative park close to the plane’s landing site at the Gimli Airport and receive formal recognition for their donation, not to mention a potential tax break for investing in a piece of Gimli’s storied aviation history.
With a generous donation from Winnipegger James Kotowich (he paid for half the cost of the cockpit), the board was able to bring the cockpit home to Gimli this summer from the Mojave Desert in California where the aircraft had sat for years after its retirement, slowly being dismantled for pieces.
Capt. Bob Pearson, who is now 90 years old, and first officer Maurice Quintal pulled off a stunning feat of airmanship on July 23, 1983, when their newly minted jet ran out of gas over Red Lake, Ont., en route from Montreal to Edmonton. Quintal’s pilot training at the former RCAF base in Gimli gave him and Pearson their best airport option (they wouldn’t have made it to Winnipeg), and Pearson’s former gliding experience gave them control of the powerless jet. They touched down on a Gimli Airport runway that had been converted into a racing strip and saved all 61 passengers and eight crew on board. They also saved the plane, which was put back into service until it was retired and sent to the aircraft boneyard in the Mojave.
GGE president Bark Gluck said the Gimli Glider is a chart-topper when it comes to famous aviation emergency landings, and the exhibit in downtown Gimli has pulled in tourists from around the world.
“The exhibit has become a draw for people outside of Manitoba. Our [latest] guest book pages show people coming from around the world, including Sri Lanka, Korea, Pakistan and the United States. Before the Grey Cup [this year], we had five men from New Brunswick at our door,” said Gluck, who has worked tirelessly since the exhibit’s launch eight years ago to collect glider memorabilia and provide a thrilling experience for aviation fans. “We are also a large draw for Manitoba tourism.”
The land on which the commemorative park sits — close to the retired runway at Gimli Airport — was provided to the GGE by the provincial government which owns it, with in-kind assistance (creation of a gravel pad) from the RM of Gimli.
Gluck said the exhibit has to pay for the refurbishment of the cockpit — it will be restored to its Air Canada colours — as well as the pedestal on which it will be mounted at the commemorative park, plus storyboards and signage, including donors’ names.
“I have never wanted to do anything but professional quality work for the exhibit. And I don’t want to cut corners on the restoration of the flight deck — I want it be as true to what it was on the plane. For example, I don’t want plastic windows installed in the cockpit — I want real windows from a similar model. And they’re expensive,” said Gluck. “We have been fundraising and we’re getting some funds coming in.”
Gluck said she’s already receiving inquiries about the date on which the cockpit will be installed at the park.
“People outside Manitoba and Canada are asking us to let them know so they can be present. They want to be here to see that cockpit installed at the park,” she said. “Amelia Earhart took off from a grassy knoll in Newfoundland [her transatlantic solo flight in 1932], and people are still visiting that grassy knoll. Aviation has always been a huge interest.”
GGE vice-president Peter Holfeuer was a delegation at Gimli council’s Nov. 12 meeting where he gave council an overview of Gimli’s 82-year aviation history, the main focus of which is the glider but also includes the Royal Canadian Air Force flight training base and Canadian plane manufacturer Saunders Aircraft.
“As a museum, we’re looking to broaden the scope of and embrace Gimli’s iconic aviation history,” Holfeuer told the Express a few weeks after his presentation to council.
“The Gimli Glider is one important piece of our history but there’s so much more, such as the Saunders Aircraft company that built aircraft in Gimli — a lot of people don’t know that. That history has not been preserved or showcased in a proper way,” he said. “The museum focuses on the glider event, the captain and crew, and everything that happened around it, but we can see the potential for a wider aviation scope.”
Gimli’s aviation history started with the establishment of the RCAF training base in 1943 during the Second World War. The base trained 622 pilots. Flight training continued during the Cold War (c. 1950-1971). When Saunders set up aircraft manufacturing in Gimli in the 1970s, it employed 500 people at its peak, said Holfeuer. The Gimli Airport is also used for provincial firefighting efforts with a fleet of Babcock water bombers stationed there, military training, gliding training, search and rescue training, skydiving, helicopter training and a flight academy.
The board wants to enhance the aviation tourism experience by incorporating into the commemorative park the untold stories of Gimli’s aviation past.
“The Gimli Glider cockpit will be the main attraction at the park, but the footprint we have now at the park could be expanded,” said Holfeuer. “This could take several years.”
During his presentation to council, he said he asked council if it would be willing to make an annual funding commitment of $15,000. Council was “very favourable” and said it will take funding into consideration during next year’s budget process.
“I want to get council on board. This [Gimli’s aviation history] goes beyond the scope of the Gimli Glider Museum,” said Holfeuer. “The museum has been in existence for eight years now and it’s stable. It’s 100 per cent run by volunteers. Whatever funding it gets, it puts back into the museum to acquire more parts from the plane and improve visitor engagement.”
The GGE has also created a sub-committee — consisting of Holfeuer, Steve Bannister and Christine Payne — which will look at how to develop the park and what’s going to be in the park.
Donations to the GGE for the cockpit restoration and installation of $1,000 or more will be permanently acknowledged at eye level at the commemorative park. Additionally, there are four levels of sponsorship: Bronze $1,000, Silver $5,000, Gold $7,500 and Platinum $10,000.
A Canada Revenue Agency charitable tax receipt will be issued for donations upon request.
Visit the Gimli Glider Exhibit’s website for more information about the exhibit and making a donation.
