Saskatchewan Aviation Museum breathing new life into vintage airplane

Volunteers with the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum are hard at work restoring a vintage J-3 Cub back to its former glory. Hallee Mandryk reports.

When Dorrin Wallace first caught wind that a Saskatchewan farmer had a J-3 Cub sitting in a barn for nearly 35 years, his interest was immediately piqued.

“We went down and had a look at the airplane, and it was exactly what we wanted. I mean, it was an older airplane that has had very little work done on it, but we figured that bones of the airplane [were] in good condition. We knew it needed new fabric and a lot of work. But the skeleton of the airplane was in good shape. We thought it was a prime candidate to rebuild,” Wallace said.

Originally built in 1946, the Cub has spent the past three decades in Gordon Gwillim’s care.

After a chat with the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum team, Gwillim decided to donate his plane to be restored by a team of volunteers at the museum.

“Unfortunately, he passed around Christmas time and we were hoping we could get this airplane up and built and maybe give him one last ride in airplane because he owned the airplane for many, many years,” Wallace noted.

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He added that while Gwillim won’t have the chance to take the plane for a ride, the restoration team is still hoping to pay tribute to the owner, who kept the plane in such good condition for over three decades.

“The airplane ... is yellow. That was originally what Cubs were all painted. But this one, we’re going to paint white with red speed lines. And we’re going to put the name of the owner on the side of the airplane in memory of him,” Wallace said.

Now, after more than 600 hours of work, the plane is getting ever closer to its eventual return to the skies.

“We’ve already inspected the engine, taking it apart, checked the corrosion, and you’re painting it up. The engine is actually over there, and the engine will be ready to go back in the aircraft once we finish on the fuselage. We’re concentrating on the wings right now,” Jim Maloney, director of the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, told CTV News as he showed off the restoration site.

Maloney added that the restoration process also provides an opportunity to learn more about the history of the aircraft, and share it with the public.

“This is a Cub before they were a Piper Cub. This is built in Hamilton, it’s a one of 134 ever made in Canada and we have one of the few of them there’s still around. There’s one just like it being built in the Canadian Warbird Museum in Hamilton, and they’re doing exactly the same thing we are right now,” Maloney said.

The Saskatchewan Aviation Museum takes on a number of projects like this one. The goal is to not only restore planes, but to help preserve the history of aviation in the province. Wallace recently published a book titled, ‘Flying a Gooney Bird in Canada’s North’ which details the various aircrafts that he’s flown. Wallace shared that projects like his work in the museum, and his book, are intended to keep the passion for aviation alive in the province.

“What we’re trying to do as much as possible, is get older airplanes that have flown in Saskatchewan. I think that’s what museums are all about. And J-3 Cubs, they go back a long ways,” Wallace said.

While much progress has been made with the Cub, there’s still much to do. The restoration team shared that they’re about halfway towards their fundraising goal of $40,000 for the project.

All of the labour that comes along with restoring the planes is thanks to the volunteer team who have dedicated many hours to the project.

“If we don’t do it, who’s going to do it? And we enjoy doing the work and it’s challenging at times ... We thought we’d be way ahead at 500 [hours]. We’re at 640, and it’ll be 2,000 at least. Everybody’s a volunteer, nobody’s getting paid,” said Les Gullason, the museum’s restoration director.

Those hours of hard work are expected to come to fruition around June, where the J-3 will hopefully take flight for the first time in decades.