The Hangar Flight Museum
4629 McCall Way N.E. T2E 8A5 Calgary, AB, Canada

Elephant foot, or Vampire heart? The answer might surprise you! (It's the heart. Yes, I know, I was surprised too). This unique POV is that of the Rolls-Royce 'Nene' Aero engine, used to power such aircraft as the De Havilland Vampire during the 1940's. This engine design doubled the thrust capacity of earlier engines, making it possible to fly faster, further, and for longer. The Museum's edition sits alongside the Vampire in question, so that you can see how large it is compared to the aircraft itself.

Have you ever wondered how to make an otter fly? Try launching it in Toronto! On this day in 1951, test pilot George Neal took the first De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter for its first flight. Our Otter (a DHC-6 Twin) was a later evolution of the model, with two turboprops that offered 50% more power with 35% less weight of the previous Otter's engine. No wonder this type of aircraft is thought to have completed more flights over the North Pole than any other in history!

Following our previous post mentioning Jack Hilton, we received a request to share some detailed photos of the exhibit- take a look

On this day in aviation history: 1954 In a ceremony at The White House, the 34th President of the United States Eisenhower, presented the Harmon aviation trophies to Ms Jacqueline Cochran and Major Charles E Yeager, USAF. They both flew at incredible speeds in Sabres. Cochran in the Canadair Sabre and Yeager in the North American Sabre.

We have some new items in the gift shop including these nice Norseman black tshirts. Our store will still be open on Friday and Saturday and we’ll also announce as soon as our online store is open so that you can place orders for curbside pickup. Thank you for your support of small businesses and non-profits during this difficult year.

As our hearts remain full of thankfulness and remembrance, we take this moment to remember Jack Henry Hilton. As a Typhoon fighter pilot, Hilton completed more than 100 operations across Europe during the Second World War, including at Dunkirk and D-Day.

Beginning on Sunday December 13, 2020, and lasting for a period of at least four weeks, The Hangar Flight Museum will be closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We are currently working to get our gift shop up online so that we can offer curbside pickup of online orders. Updates will be made on our social media channels as we have more information available. Thank you for your continued support during this difficult year.

We’re sorry, but our collection is quite plane! On a more serious note, yesterday marked the 80TH anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain (October 31, 1940). We’ll post a photo of the Hurricane Squadrons of the Battle of Britain on our Stories.

If you missed our Remembrance Day service live on CTV Calgary yesterday, you can still watch their extended coverage video online: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video We are very grateful for their partnership so that we could make this accessible to as many Albertans as possible.

For more information on the replica Curtiss Jenny’s return to The Hangar you can read more from CTV News or watch video coverage from Global News! https://beta.ctvnews.ca/loc/calgary/2020//7/1_5221147.html https://globalnews.ca//calgary-aviation-museum-receives-e/

Sgt. Jesse Jones (Tegh Singh) pictured here in service. @TeghDaya is biking from The Military Museums to The Hangar tomorrow in support of Veterans Transition Network and the Field of Crosses. This Ride to Remembrance was organized by Bike Calgary and supported by Two Wheel View, Monogram Coffee and Elite Brewing. Tomorrow is the perfect day to be focused on veterans services. We look forward to showing you photos later this week once the ride is completed.

Our collections assistants thought the new dust covers in our Collection looked like old sheet ghosts so they decided to give them a little makeover to get in the spooky spirit!

"General Yeager represents the best of us. For me, Chuck Yeager will always be the sound of freedom," his friend Nicoletti told CNN. We were saddened to hear of Chuck Yeager's passing. He inspired generations of pilots to reach further and go faster and have courage. https://www.cnn.com//12/07/us/chuck-yeager-death/index.html

Happy Halloween! Here’s some spooky bat aerodynamics knowledge for you. We’re open 10am-4pm today if you’d like to spend Halloween hanging out at The Hangar.

The newest arrival taxiing into our gift shop! These are the cutest biplanes with lights and sound. Only $10.99 each.

#ThrowbackThursday to Hawker Hurricane 5389’s arrival to The Hangar last fall! Have you had a chance to come see it yet?

Hey everyone, Jessica one of the Collections Assistants here. As my contract comes to an end I wanted to take this week to show everyone out there another gem from our collection at The Hangar Flight Museum. Here is a self-portrait titled A Malta Fighter Pilot (3 Months) drawn by Flight Lieutenant John Sherlock during his time as a Spitfire fighter pilot during the Second World War. Most recognizable is his well-groomed mustache and dotted scarf, which was kindly donated to... the museum on behalf of his daughter. His log book from the time is a true treasure, dotted with many little quips and quotes as well as handsome drawings that give insight into both his personality and what it was like to be a RCAF pilot during the war. John survived the war, returned home to Calgary where he married his wife Marjorie, started a family, eventually joining the family business as an insurance adjuster. Located at the museum is a small exhibit on John Sherlock and his amazing adventures abroad. I would definitely recommend it as a must see on your next visit.

In one of our display cases we have a toilet kit from the First World War. Some of the items, such as the shaving brush, are easily recognizable while some are less obvious. Can anyone guess what the two glass tubes would have been used for?

Can you guess where we were standing to get this shot?

Ignoring the temperature, we had a lovely day at The Hangar today! It’s always so encouraging to see people come to visit on the weekends. See you again tomorrow!

How it started... how it’s going. The Silver Dart was the first powered aircraft in Canada, but did you know that today (Oct 22) in the year 1900 was the first glider flight - made by the Wright Brothers? This photo features the oldest (Silver Dart reproduction) and newest (Boeing 737) aircraft in our collection.

A behind the scenes look at our collection: Safety First! The First Aid Kit is a Fleck's No. 756 C. 1960's-1970's, out of Vancouver BC. The bandages show an evolution of Band-Aids from 1940's (came from a military issued sewing kit), a Johnson and Johnson Band-Aid from the 1960's, and another from the 1990's/2000's which belonged in Female Balloonist Joan Martin's self-made emergency kit.

Today is a world national holiday that we bet you haven’t heard about - National Suspenders Day! We knew immediately this would be an interesting subject based on the suspenders in our collections. Did you know that suspenders were initially considered an undergarment and visible suspenders were considered risqué as recently as 1938? The first suspenders from 18th century France were basically strips of ribbon. The first known manufacture of modern day suspenders were designed in the early 1820s and were made of tightly woven wool.