Bomber prepares for final flight

Mar 29, 2024 | 10:17 AM

The BC Government will be helping prepare the Hawaii Mars for its final flight this fall.

The world’s largest flying boat will be a centrepiece of the BC Aviation Museum in Victoria.

Tourism Minister Lana Popham was at the bomber base to announce $250,000 in provincial funding to assist with the move.

“We’re contributing $250,000 to help this along so that it can have its final flight and find its way to the aviation museum in Victoria,” she said. “As a tourism minister, it’s a really important piece of our history and it’s going to attract a lot of visitors.”

Richard Mosdell from the BC Aviation Museum, said tentative plans will see the Hawaii Mars make its last flight in the fall from Sproat Lake down the east coast of the Island.

A flight plan would be issued in advance so thousands of people who have come to know the plane can witness the flight along the route and its landing on the waters of Patricia Bay on the Saanich Peninsula.

(Photo: BC Tourism Minister Lana Popham sits in the pilot’s seat of Hawaii Mars)