de Havilland Canada Homecoming Fly-In Downsview – May 27-28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto Aerospace Museum Hosts de Havilland Canada Homecoming Fly-In at Original Aircraft Factory at Downsview Park – May 27-28, 2006

— 1st Annual “Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival” celebrates 60th Anniversary of First Flight of DHC-1 Chipmunk Training Aircraft

TORONTO — The Toronto Aerospace Museum and Parc Downsview Park Inc (PDP) will
host a “Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival” at Downsview Park on Saturday and
Sunday, May 27-28, 2006 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the world
DHC-1 Chipmunk training aircraft which was developed by the de Havilland of
Canada at Downsview in 1946 and used by more than two dozen nations for pilot instruction.

More than 30 Chipmunk aircraft owners in Canada and 140 Chipmunk owners in the USA have been invited to fly their aircraft to Downsview Airport in central Toronto.

The organizers expect between 30 and 50 vintage de Havilland aircraft to participate. As of March 20, (two months before the festival date) a total of 21 Chipmunk owners in Canada and the USA have confirmed plans to fly to Downsview, and many Ontario-based Tiger Moth owners have also confirmed their participation.

Toronto area automobile enthusiasts groups will display classic cars from the 40’s and 50’s during the weekend event. Invited participants include Bombardier Aerospace, the Department of National Defence, Toronto Fire Department, local aviation and aerospace interest groups, and representatives of Ontario’s high technology aerospace industry.

The first “Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival” is a fundraising event of the museum and will bring together aviation and car fans at a unique venue – de Havilland Canada’s Second World War aircraft factory which is being redeveloped by Downsview Park into an exciting cultural space serving Toronto.

The festival will include a historic homecoming fly-in of vintage Chipmunk aircraft from throughout North America as well as other vintage and contemporary aircraft associated with more than 75 years of aviation developments in the Toronto area. Downsview airport, which features a 7,000 foot runway, is privately-owned and operated by Bombardier Aerospace, a festival sponsor.

The festival is a family event, with plenty of interest planned for the entire family. Event admission will include access to the aircraft and car displays and entry to the Toronto Aerospace Museum.

The Museum contains numerous displays that will enlighten and inspire the whole family. Museum highlights include: the City of Toronto’s Avro Lancaster FM104 undergoing restoration; a full-scale replica of the Avro Arrow supersonic interceptor, a biplane Tiger Moth trainer, a CS-2F Tracker anti-submarine patrol aircraft, T-33 and Tutor military jet trainers and many other Toronto-based aircraft.

Museum volunteers will provide complementary tours of the museum and the de Havilland heritage site and slide presentations will be scheduled throughout the two days.

The Toronto Aerospace Museum and Downsview Park is centrally located and is
near the Sheppard Ave. bus route. Tourists can conveniently reach the museum
via taxi from Downsview subway station. Parking is free.

PDP is a Crown corporation federally mandated to develop about 600 acres of the
former military base (CFB Downsview) which includes de Havilland Canada’s
original aircraft factory into a National Urban Park promoting the values of
legacy, beauty, play, sustainability, and stewardship.

The Toronto Aerospace Museum is located at Downsview Park, 65 Carl Hall Road,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3K 2E1

For further information on the event, tickets and museum hours, call
416-638-6078, email [email]tam@bellnet.ca[/email] or visit the museum web site:
http://www.torontoaerospacemuseum.com . Information of Downsview Park can be found at www.
pdp.ca

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Media Contact:
Paul Cabot, Curator, Toronto Aerospace Museum, 416-638-6078
Garth Hardy, Communications Co-ordinator, PDP, 416-952-2229

DHC-1 CHIPMUNK BACKGROUND
Toronto remains one of the World’s leading aircraft manufacturing centres, and
development of the DHC-1 Chipmunk laid the foundation for the expansion of the
industry in the postwar period.

The DHC-1 Chipmunk was designed and built in 1945-1946 by The de Havilland
Aircraft of Canada Ltd. to meet postwar international demand for a two-seat all-
metal training aircraft. Development under DHC Chief Designer Wsiewolod J.
Jakimiuk started in the fall of 1945 on the main floor of what is now the
Toronto Aerospace Museum and the prototype, CF-DIO-X, was first flown at
Downsview by Englishman Patrick W.P. Fillingham on May 22, 1946.

The Chipmunk would become one of the World’s most successful primary training
aircraft, and the first Canadian designed aircraft manufactured in several
countries.

The Downsview factory built a total of 217 Chipmunk aircraft, receiving large
orders from the governments of Canada, Egypt, India, and Thailand to train
military pilots, and individual aircraft to Argentina, England, Belgium,
Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa.

A total of more than 1,375 two-seat Chipmunks, including 1,000 built in England
and 60 in Portugal. Chipmunks were used by more than two dozen governments to
train air force pilots, as well as by countless flying clubs. The Chipmunk was
the primary RCAF training aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s, and it served with
the Royal Air Force for 50 years. Today, the Chipmunk is a highly-valued
aerobatic aircraft.