It’s impossible to tell how many sets of eyes were trained to the skies as the Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber made its historic last flight Sunday.
From Sproat Lake, where thousands gathered in boats and on the shore, to the towns and cities along the east coast of the Island and its final circling and landing in Patricia Bay, “tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands” likely watched the massive plane with Snowbirds escort,” said Steve Nichol, president of the B.C. Aviation Museum.
About 120,000 watched live streaming of the flight on YouTube, and Nichol said at one point the museum’s website crashed due to the huge number of clicks.
Photos have piled up in the museum’s inboxes — as well as at the Times Colonist — and social media accounts were filled with images of the massive red-and-white water bomber being escorted by all nine Snowbird jets and a Grumman Goose. Kudos have been pouring in from around the world — Switzerland, South Africa, Australia to name a few.
So now that the final flight is over, what’s next for Hawaii Martin Mars?
Before being moved to the B.C. Aviation Museum, where it will be displayed as its “crown jewel,” there’s still plenty to do.
The four-engine, 10,000-horsepower Martin Mars, with its 200-foot wingspan and 120 feet in length, is sitting in Patricia Bay.
It’s 38 feet high — the cockpit is about four storeys above ground. The flying boat has an empty weight 75,573 pounds, and gross weight of 140,000 pounds, according to the Glen L. Martin Company which made seven of the aircraft as troop and equipment transports during the Second World War.
Coldwater Divers and Coulson Aviation technicians started to attach “beaching gear” to its undercarriage and tail on Monday, wheeled mechanisms that will allow the heavy plane to be pulled out of the water and up the ramp at Patricia Bay.
Nichol said the moving crews are awaiting high tides on Wednesday to pull the plane out. It will likely be the last time its massive engines will rumble.
Its future at the museum will be as a static display.
The “de-watering” process is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, when Hawaii Martin Mars will be manoeuvred through the Patricia Bay breakwaters and slowly winched up a Canadian Coast Guard ramp onto a concrete apron.
Crews will spray down the plane to remove salt water.
Nickel Brothers Moving, contracted to move the plane and well known for moving houses and other large unwieldy objects such as shiploaders, had previously measured every area of the coast guard facility with lasers, down to the millimetre, to plan the move.
Bringing Hawaii Martin Mars out of the water will be a “full-circle moment” for the aircraft. This was the original ramp and location used in 1960 to bring the aircraft on land to convert it into the era’s cutting-edge water bomber, Nichol said.
Using a large crane, Nickel Brothers will fit the Martin Mars into a swivelling carriage and onto a heavy-haul trailer that will allow operators to manoeuvre the plane as the truck moves toward the B.C. Aviation Museum.
Next week, in co-ordination with federal, provincial and civic authorities, as well as RCMP, movers will start taking down power poles, light standards and fencing for the crossing of West Saanich Road onto the airport lands.
The move will take place in the early morning when all air traffic has halted. The plane will inch across various runways to reach the museum at the eastern edge of YYJ.
Hawaii Martin Mars will be placed on a new concrete slab at its outdoor display location next to the B.C. Aviation Museum building at 1910 Norseman Rd..
The day after the move, visitors will be able to walk around the outside of the aircraft while crews complete display preparations over several weeks, said Nichol.
A grand opening of the exhibit is set for Sept. 28. The museum is planning an “open experience format” so everyone can explore inside the aircraft and have an opportunity to sit in the pilots’ seats.
The cost to the museum so far has been about $750,000, said Nichol. That includes the $250,000 the museum paid Coulson Aviation to acquire Hawaii Martin Mars and $250,000 for the move. The province has provided $250,000.
Nichol said Coulson Aviation picked up the cost to get Hawaii Martin Mars airworthy again. Its last firefighting mission was in 2015.
The long-term plan is to build a massive hangar to house Hawaii Martin Mars and other vintage firefighting aircraft, including the museum’s Corvair 580 and Douglas A26 Invader.
Nichol said the museum will start a fundraising campaign soon to raise money to build the hangar.
“It will have to be about 220 feet wide and long to get the Hawaii Mars in, and the other planes will just sit under its wings,” said Nichol.
The B.C. Aviation Museum relies entirely on grants, gate proceeds, memberships and fundraising initiatives, and is operated by hundreds of volunteers who put in hours as guides, archivists and restoration experts.
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