An iconic Martin Mars water bomber will be moving to the BC Aviation Museum in Sidney just in time for its mid-August open house.
The Times-Colonist reported yesterday the final flight for the Hawaii Martin Mars plane in Port Alberni will be sometime between August 5 and 10.
The museum is holding an open house on August 17-18.
The plane will fly from Sproat Lake to the Coast Guard base at Patricia Bay. From there, it will be loaded on a truck and taken to the museum. A new display for the plane is currently under construction, it will be the centrepiece of the new BC wildfire aviation exhibit.
The water bomber was used to fight fires from 1960 to 2015. The other surviving Mars bomber, the Phillippine Mars, is being donated to an aviation museum in Tucson, Arizona.
For more information about the bombers, including a unique opportunity to sit in the cockpit before the move, visit Coulson Aviation’s Martin Mars’ website.
