An historic aircraft that is showing considerable deterioration following decades of exposure to the elements as it welcomed visitors to The Hangar Flight Museum.

The CF-100 Canuck, a black, twin-engine fighter, is owned by the City of Calgary but is cared for by the staff of the museum located near the intersection of McKnight Boulevard and McCall Way Northeast.

“The last report done was done late in 2017,” explained Herb Grieder, events and operations manager at the Hangar Flight Museum. “In that report it outlines that there was severe corrosion - either surface, integral, (or) evasive corrosion - which is from water seeping through the rivets and seems into the spars, support struts of the wings causing the metal to delaminate, come away from the structure.”

“Wear and tear from being exposed to the elements for over 60-some years.”

The total estimated cost of restoring the aircraft to museum display quality is $325,000 and the museum needs to raise $82,000 to fund the project. The restoration of the fighter aircraft would be conducted off-site, likely at the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin, by a team of experts.

 “There’s a lot of work once the restoration of the CF-100 is to take place. The most important and the most delicate part of the job is going to be carefully disassembling the airplane, at the same time making sure the safety of volunteers and/or workers because of the plane being in such poor shape. The museum does not want to do any more damage.”

According to Grieder, Calgary’s CF-100 Canuck is believed to be the oldest surviving Mk 3 in the world and is a part of the city’s history. The aircraft has been on display in Calgary since 1975 when it was installed at the previous home of The Hangar Flight Museum at the Calgary Planetarium in downtown Calgary.

If the funding is secured, the restoration of the aircraft would likely take several years to complete and the restored CF-100 would be exhibited indoors and away from the weather.

To donate to the fundraising effort visit The Hangar Flight Museum – Inspire Dreams of Flight

With files from CTV’s Kevin Fleming