What was once the best kept secret on the West Island is getting a lot more attention these days. The Montreal Aviation Museum, located in an old cow barn on McGill University’s McDonald campus, is a rebranding of the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre. “It’s an all-volunteer organization, totally self-funded through membership, through activities we put on (like) fundraisers and we also have some help from a foundation,” said museum president John Lawson. The museum relies on paying visitors and donations to maintain its two floors of displays, as well as the three or four aircraft repair and restoration projects it has at any given time. Fortunately, a recent uptick in attendance is paying dividends. The increase in paying customers is partially due to the Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue tourist shuttle bus making stops on Saturdays and partially due to some better advertising. “Last year, they put up some signs for the Montreal Aviation Museum on their utility poles, which have helped increase our volume and help people find us because we’re a very difficult place to find,” said Lawson. “We’re doing everything we can to bring people in, to educate both you and adults about the role that aviation has played in the development of Canada, with a particular focus on Quebec.” Among the displays is a recreation of a Bleriot, the first plane to fly over Montreal. There’s also a Bolingbrooke bomber, a World War II-era plane of which 625 were built in Longueuil. The one on display was part of a successful mission that sank a German U-Boat submarine. There’s also a Fairchild Razorback, a nod to Quebec’s history of bush planes. “Some of the first airlines in Canada were formed here, bush flying started here in Quebec,” said Lawson. “There was a huge industry here during the war, post-war as well.” The Montreal Aviation Museum is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays.
