Blatchford Field in Edmonton was an active airport until 2013. Today, it’s being redeveloped into low-density housing. The aviation museum is mostly home to military and search and rescue aircraft, with only a few commercial aircraft in its collection. Some of the exhibits, like the iconic Hawker Hurricane, are working scale replicas.
Come on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a chance to peek inside the restoration hanger or on Saturdays to try out the Red Bird Simulator Lab. Alberta’s airport has moved to the south in Leduc in the 1960s, but the air force base in the north maintains the longest runway in the country.
Many of Edmonton’s streets near Blatchford Field are named after famous Canadian aviators. The City also used to be the hub for training Commonwealth pilots for WWII as the aerodrome of freedom. Edmonton’s unique location as the northernmost metropolis on the continent made it the headquarters of the northwest route for sending planes to the Soviet Union from the US lend-lease program. These factors made Blatchford Field the busiest airport in the world with over 850 takeoffs and landings daily.
Unfortunately, the city council has voted to sell the hangar at this former airport so the museum will be homeless in the next two years. Staff told me that it takes about 20,000 hours to disassemble an aircraft for relocation since the runway doesn’t exist anymore. Without a plan, this could be the end of the line for the museum.
