Harvard association celebrates 40th this weekend

The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association will hold its 40th anniversary celebrations this weekend at the Tillsonburg airport. The event will run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

The 40th anniversary of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA) this weekend is a testament that the volunteers who promote and care for the aircraft are as enduring as the Second World War trainers.

Planned for Saturday, CHAA spokesperson Terry Scott said, “We’ll have all sorts of displays for the public to see. It’s a great opportunity for the public to go out, learn about our association, and if they are keen, to go for a flight in one of our warbirds they can do that.”

The association has eight Harvards – the iconic yellow trainer – and one Yale, which is another trainer from that era. Six of the aircraft are airworthy, and five are currently flying. Work is underway on restoring the others.

“Rather they will fly again remains to be seen,” Scott said. “They may just be used for display purposes.”

Manufacturing of the Harvards started in the late 1930s, and they were the main trainer used by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

“We have aircraft that are 84 years old, and that speaks to the resilience and the construction of these aircraft,” Scott said. “They were solid, they were workhorses. As long as they are maintained well, they will keep going.”

The Royal Canadian Air Force used Harvards until 1965. Other countries used the Harvard even later, including South Africa that used it up until the early 1990s. Even today, the Beechcraft the RCAF use are nicknamed the Harvard 2.

“The Harvard played an instrumental role in the Second in it helped to train 130,000 air crew to become pilots, radio operators, and ground crews,” Scott said. “If it wasn’t for the BCATP, and Canada stepping up to do this, the outcome may have been different. As we know air superiority helped to defeated the Luftwaffe and played a pivot role in the success of the Second World War.”

Scott said the 40th anniversary is an “amazing story” for a group that receives little government funding. The majority of the funding is raised through donations, activities and membership fees. The association owns nine aircraft, two hangars, two portable buildings attached to the hangar and a number of artifacts and parts.

Membership currently sits between 500 and 600. Core activities are maintenance and restoration of the aircraft. More pilots are also needed. Every year the association has a ground school modeled after the original RCAF program. Pilots must have many hours under their belts, and ideally a commercial rating so they can take up passengers.

That the association is located in Tillsonburg is appropriate given that the airport was established as a secondary (back-up) airport for the BCATP base in Aylmer.

The 40th anniversary celebration runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.