I’ve recently returned from a trip to “The Big Country” (Canada) It’s been over thirty years since I fell in love with the Canadian Rockies so my return was something I eagerly awaited.
It turned out that in the intervening years a museum of aviation has been erected just south of Calgary airport. Fortunately my “other ’alf” also has an interest in ‘matters aeronautical’ so we ventured forth.
Now some men might think it’s an advantage having a wife who’s interested in old aeroplanes, but it does have it’s disadvantages. Whenever I went to take a picture of these beasts, ‘she’ was in the shot.
A Sopwith Triplane…….a rickety old bird with not much ‘Go‘.. (The Triplane I mean, not Mandy :oops: )
The Triplane looked positively civilized compared to the next machine. (It’s difficult to actually see it as it blends into the wooded roof structure.) I wasn’t able to establish what name it had or who made it, or even if it ever flew!
Just look at that box stabilizer at the front. It used a ’Pusher prop’ and was just held together with string and good luck, If it did ever fly I don’t think I’d have liked to be in it at the time!
But here’s something more like what I call an aeroplane. A Havard. Powered by a big Pratt & Whitney radial WASP engine with a variable pitch propeller this had a two man crew and was often used as a combat trainer. (I just love big radials.)
But in the main hanger was something else that caught me eye…….No, not the radial engines, but the glider hanging from the roof.
Here’s another shot of it.
Anyone have any idea what it is? I'm no expert but I'd never seen anything like it before. Come on guys, someone must know?
Outside of the main building was an annex of the museum. It’s called the tent hanger because the exhibits were positioned first then a metal girder structure was assembled around them and covered in material covering.
This held two big surprises for me,…….I’ll tell you about them later
