The museum operates daily except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.[3]
History
The Alberta Aviation Museum is housed in the historic Hangar 14, one of the last two remaining examples of a 'double-double' Second World WarBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) hangar. These hangars, built for the BCATP across Canada, were made of pre-cut wooden timbers of British Columbia fir. They could be built as single units, double units, and the 'double-double' which is four units.[4][5]
Hangars were built on the site from 1939 to 1942, including 3 double hangars for RCAF Station Edmonton, with one of the hangars originally opened 5 October 1940 as No. 2 Air Observers School (AOS) under the command of Wop May. Hangar 14 was completed in 1943 on a rectangular plan with an area of 6,689 square metres (72,000 sq ft) with a clear span of 34 metres (112 ft), and subdivided evenly by a firewall which acts as a support truss.[6] After the United States entered the Second World War the airport was used to service United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft heading to Alaska until the new USAAF base that was to become CFB Namao (now CFB Edmonton) opened outside of Edmonton and absorbed some of the traffic. Following the war in 1946, Hangar 14 was used by No. 418 (City of Edmonton) Reserve Squadron, Pacific Western Airlines and for Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) construction before becoming a car dealership in the late 1960s.[4][5]
Known in Edmonton as "The Hangar on Kingsway", it has been designated 'M' Hangar, Hangar #6 and later Building #14 by the Edmonton City Airport. Hangar 14 was designated a Provincial Historic Resource under the Historical Resources Act on July 4, 2000, and a Municipal Historic Resource by the City of Edmonton on August 31, 2004.[4][5]
A Boeing 737 owned by the museum was broken into and had parts stolen from it in August 2014.[7]
Current
The building has been designated as a municipal and provincial historic resource. Despite its historic resource status, a recent motion put forward by City administration has revealed that the hangar is in need of structural upgrades, and requires a minimum of forty-one million dollars for repairs by 2027. It was initially motioned by administration that the building be de-accessioned from the city's heritage properties, which could result in the museum having to move (despite renewing a 25-year lease in 2018). Councilor Anne Stevenson countered this with a motion to propose a two-year timeline to determine creative solutions for the building with the end goal of the museum remaining where it is. The Alberta Aviation Museum is currently working with the City to determine a plan forward.[8] In July 2022, the city began a two year effort to sell the hangar.[9] Following the destruction of Hangar 11 in a fire in April 2024, the museum again requested that ownership of Hangar 14 be transferred to them.[10]
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