Hamilton's Lancaster bomber is on its way home. The plane took off from Keflavik, Iceland, Friday morning and is about halfway through its journey to Goose Bay, Labrador, according to an update on the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Facebook page. The local museum's president and CEO, David Rohrer, is at the controls for the eight-hour flight.
The plane is homeward bound after a successful tour in the U.K. But it will also be carrying a hefty $180,000 bill for shipping back the engine it's been borrowing from a British company since one of its four engines shut down a few weeks ago.
An aviation group in England, the Lincolnshire Lancaster Association, donated $10,695 to the engine repair effort, the museum also announced. That number represents the Royal Canadian Air Force servicemen who died fighting with Bomber Command during WWII.
The Lancaster's crew likely won't get home until the weekend. They're facing headwinds this time the whole way back, and there's less urgency to get there for a specific show date.
Though after two months, everyone is anxious to get home, Al Mickeloff said earlier this week. Mickeloff is a marketing manager from the warplane museum travelling with the plane.
"We don't want the tour to end – but it's time to get back to our family and friends."
The Lancaster was grounded in the U.K. after an engine was shut down mid-flight. Plumes of smoke billowed along the fuselage as it landed at Durham Tees Airport in northern England.
Repairs were done at the airport before the plane flew to Coningsby, 250 kilometres away. Hamilton's Lancaster rejoin the other airworthy Lancaster Bomber.
The last time Lancasters flew together was 50 years ago over Toronto, at RCAF Station Downsview. The RCAF flew a special formation of three of the bombers in April 1964 to mark their retirement from service.
Hamilton's Mynarski Memorial Avro Lancaster Mk X bomber was built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ont., in 1945. Used to train air crews and later for coastal patrols and search-and-rescue work, it was retired in 1963.
The museum bought it in 1977 for about $10,000. A team of volunteers led by Norm Etheridge spent 11 years restoring the bomber, and it returned to the air on Sept. 24, 1988.
"On the day of that first flight, we thought we'd get a couple of hundred people at the airfield to watch," says Mickeloff, spokesman for the museum. "About 20,000 showed up."
"Some people thought the Lancaster would never fly again, and when we made it happen, it changed our whole organization," Mickeloff adds. "The Lancaster is the heart of the museum, and our volunteers do what it takes to keep it going."
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