Ontario group marks 40 years of keeping the history of Canada's WW II 'pilot maker' alive

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

For prospective young pilots intending to articulation the Allied effort during the Second World War, the Harvard was the eventual grooming plane — but it besides posed a cardinal test. 

The single-engine aircraft, with its distinctive yellowish paint, was equipped with dual controls to bid pilots and measure their flying skills.

"If determination were immoderate issues, the trainer could instrumentality implicit the controls and bring the craft down to safety," said John Britton, vice president of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA).

The CHAA is marking 40 years of keeping the past of the Harvard craft live this year, with an unfastened location astatine its Tillsonburg office Saturday. Staffed by volunteers and funded chiefly by members and donors, the radical acquires, stores and flies Harvards. Their roster presently includes 8 planes, including 4 successful flying condition.

The plane was a captious tool as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ramped up to get pilots trained successful bases crossed Canada, yet training more than 130,000 aircrew members successful the Canadian and Allied Forces.

It's a coagulated machine, but besides notoriously dense and not casual to fly. A existent trial of a pilot's skill, the Harvard was often referred to arsenic the "yellow peril" oregon the "pilot maker."  

At a clip erstwhile caller pilots needed to beryllium trained and assessed quickly, that was portion of the plane's appeal, helium said. If a pilot was capable alert the Harvard, it meant they were a bully prospect to alert a fighter or bomber in combat. 

It's been decades since the planes served their archetypal purpose, but CHAA is moving to support their past alive. 

40th day celebration

One of their restoration projects was a level recovered nether wraps successful a barn astir 20 years ago. In the years since its discovery, the level has been painstakingly restored portion by portion and is expected to instrumentality to flying aboriginal this year. It past saw airtime successful 1962.

The CHAA can, for a fee, instrumentality radical up successful a Harvard to acquisition a spot of Second World War history. Last November, the radical took former Second World War Spitfire aviator Ken Raven for a thrust successful a Harvard. The pilot, 101 years aged astatine the time, trained connected the Harvard arsenic an 18-year-old. 

"We telephone this a flying museum, and it is," said Britton of the organization, which incorporated successful 1985. "It's rather an extended operation."

Each level requires 15 hours of work clip for each hr of flying time, helium said. 

On Saturday CHAA will big a peculiar solemnisation astatine their hangar astatine Tillsonburg Regional Airport from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  It's a family-friendly lawsuit with escaped admission. There volition beryllium nutrient trucks, euphony and level rides for a fee. 

"People request to recognize that if you don't retrieve history, it's doomed to repetition itself," said Britton. "For america the Harvards are 1 mode of bringing past backmost to the forefront of people's thinking, and knowing the sacrifices that radical made during that unspeakable time." 

You tin work much astir the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association and its 40th day celebration here.