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| The Toronto Wings and Wheels
Heritage Festival marked the first aviation event in Ontario for 2008.
Taking place at Downsview Park, a former Canadian Forces base and the home
of de Havilland Canada (Bombardier).
The event was sponsored by the Toronto Aerospace Museum, which is located in the original de Havilland factory. But the main aircraft from the collection had been moved several hundred feet south to one of the former military hangars. The weekend celebrated many anniversaries from the 100th of the first Canadian, Casey Baldwin, to fly an aircraft, to the 80th of the founding of de Havilland Canada, 50th of the first flight of the Avro Arrow and 50th of the DHC-4 Caribou and 25th of the Dash 8.
Walking into the hangar, people were greeted by a beautiful restored Reliant Stinson surrounded by many of the aircraft built by DHC. Some of the DHC collection included a Tiger Moth, Fox Moth and the Gypsy Moth. Further in was their restoration project of a Lancaster that had stood as guardian of Toronto along the shores of Lake Ontario. The museum’s centre piece, a full scale replica the Avro Arrow was on display with a CF-18 from Bagotville. There were a multitude of vendors throughout the hangar, including displaying how Canadians recycle beer cans into the Arrow. Along with the Hornet the CF sent a CP-140 Aurora (P-3 Orion) from Greenwood, NS and a Griffon helicopter from 427 Squadron at Petawawa. Along with the Aurora and Griffon being parked outside the on the ramp were many civilian aircraft, including a DHC-1 Chipmunk. The Bombardier factory provided a fresh out of the paint shop a Q400 Dash-8.
To go along with the wings and wheels theme, many car and motorcycle collectors displayed their wheels along the two buildings.
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