Aviation and Heritage Roundup April 2025
Provided by Paul Squires, CAPA-ACCA Contact, Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Conference Reminder May 12-16th 2025
2025 International Conference for Aviation Museum Professionals – ICOM CIMUSET – ICOM CIMUSET
April 30 – Australian Study of Fire Fighting looking for input
Why fly – survey open on Australian aerial firefighting – Fire Aviation
April 30 – Small California air musuem that deserves a visit if you are in the area
Oakland Aviation Museum a ‘hidden jewel’ near airport, Alameda
April 30 – Algonquin College maintenance program at Canada’s Aviation and Space Musuem
Planes and passions take off in aircraft maintenance technician program – Algonquin Times
April 28 – Icelandic Aviation Museum hopes to expand
Icelandic Aviation Museum in Akureyri Hopes For Expansion
April 28 – Flying Leatherneck Museum re-opens at El Toro, with ex-RCAF Mitchell (Sadly without the ex-RCAF Ventura that they left to be scrapped at the old location).
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum Re-Establishes Itself in Irvine, California – Vintage Aviation News
April 28 – Searching for Pacific aircraft wrecks
Pacific Wrecks: Uncovering the Lost History of World War II, Interview With Justin Taylan – Vintage Aviation News
April 26 – 50 Years ago, landing and servicing a Jaguar on a highway
Lancashire’s newly built M55 used as makeshift jet runway in 1975
April 25 – 110th Anniversary of ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand. Some stories from the south.
Former bomber pilot reflects on D-Day and return to Australia after World War II – ABC News
and Intelligence gathering in Geraldton 80 years on from WWII – ABC News
April 25 – Postcard campaign to remember Canadian War Dead
WW II postcard campaign reminds Canadian homeowners that fallen ‘lived where you live’ | CBC News
April 25 – Amelia Earhart disappears, again. (Metal thieves have been stealing historic plaques and statues)
Amelia Earhart missing again, this time her statue in Harbour Grace | CBC News
April 25 – Hercules fly-over to remember Operation MANNA, dropping food to starving citizens in Occupied Holland.
Hercules aircraft to conduct flyby in Windsor as part of a commemorative event, marking the 80th Anniversary of Operation MANNA | Quinte News
April 24 – More than you want to know about the Westland Wyvern (some funny). (Note that Hush Kit is now using a subscription model that cuts off most of story.
We’ve just written far more than you need to know about the Westland Wyvern, you can’t resist | Hush-Kit
April 23 – Corsair to leave UK for USA
FG-1D Corsair KD345 Departs the UK For a New Chapter in The United States – Vintage Aviation News
April 23 – Museum Open Evening in France. Never heard of Safran? That’s the company that emerged from various French aircraft engine groups.
Night of Museums 2025: The Safran Aerospace Museum Opens Its Doors for an Exceptional Evening
April 22 – Growing lab food in space.
Trial to boldly grow food in space labs blasts off
April 21 – China returns new airliner to US because of tariffs.
China sends back new Boeing jet made more expensive by tariffs | Trump tariffs | The Guardian
April 21 – Robo-Dogs, Robo-Taxis, Robo-Cops and Drones delivering meals, the AI explosion in China.
Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China | China | The Guardian
April 21 – Drone development in UK, ambulance response, oil rig deliveries and off-shore wind turbine inspections.
Drones could deliver NHS supplies under UK regulation changes | Drones (non-military) | The Guardian
April 21 – Believed to be the first person to travel to every country in the world WITHOUT flying. (Shows the impact of Aviation on our lives at least).
I visited every country in the world without flying. Here are eight things I learned | Life and style | The Guardian
April 20 – Finding lost people with SAR drones
AI and thermal drones are helping find the lost in B.C.’s mountains | CBC News
April 20 – Aviation events in Vernon, BC
Aviation historian set to regale Vernon attendees – Vernon Morning Star
April 19 – Easter Egg hunt in Winnipeg.
Children egg-static over Easter-themed event – Winnipeg Free Press
April 18 – Canadian Airlines re-scheduling flights as passengers to US drop (CBC site, caution interrupting ads.)
Canadian airlines revamp offerings as travellers ditch U.S. vacations | CBC News
April 17 – Strongest indication of life on other planets
Scientists hail ‘strongest evidence’ so far for life beyond our solar system | James Webb space telescope | The Guardian
April 16 – Vancouver flights affected by shortage of Air Traffic Controllers
Dozens of Vancouver flights delayed or cancelled as Nav Canada warns of ‘resource constraints’ | CBC News
April 15 – It took a while. Their president may not like it, but women fly fighter jets too!
Air Force pilots have a new way to pee at 30,000 feet
April 13 – Looking at how records get made available to the public, and a reference to their resources.
An Aviation Chronicle – New York Aviation History
April 12 – EV Airport Fire Fighting Truck (And an Emirates A.380 in the background)
New Zealand’s first electric fire truck in action!
April 12 – Differing views on new SST plans
‘As an environmental scientist, I’m horrified’: Should supersonic passenger travel be making a comeback? | Science | The Guardian
April 11 – Tariffs might or might not leave new aircraft stranded in Canada
Trump’s tariff confusion could leave planes, engines in limbo | CBC News
April 11 – Trump defunding climate studies also includes defunding NASA, giving more contracts to SpaceX
Documents reveal Trump’s plan to gut funding for Nasa and climate science | Nasa | The Guardian
and Nasa cuts raise fears of handing more influence to SpaceX owner Musk | Nasa | The Guardian
and Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders could jeopardize safety of Nasa crews | Trump administration | The Guardian
and Billionaire Isaacman takes big step toward leading Nasa
April 11 – Proposed paperless airline check-in and passports
Boarding passes and check-in could be scrapped in air travel shake-up | Air transport | The Guardian
April 11 – Commander of US Greenland base dismissed for e-mail sent after VPs visit, including to Canadians on the base.
Head of US military base in Greenland fired after JD Vance visit | US military | The Guardian
April 11 – Delivering hot coffee by drone in Dublin
‘Amazon slayer’: the Dublin minnow taking on the giants in drone deliveries | Drones (non-military) | The Guardian
April 11 – A list of aircraft that should not have carried nuclear weapons. (Note that Hush Kit is now using a subscription model that cuts off most of story.
10 warplanes that definitely shouldn’t have carried nuclear weapons, but did | Hush-Kit
April 9 – Data Storage on the Moon?
The plans to put data centres into orbit and on the moon
April 8 – Latest on the Canadian Harvard Aviation Museum plans in Springbrook
Red Deer County committee to explore Springbrook community hall and aviation museum proposals – Red Deer Advocate
and Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association to Celebrate 40th Anniversary in 2025 – Vintage Aviation News
April 7 – Latest from the Mosquito project in Nanton
The Calgary Mosquito Society
April 8 – First Hydrogen powered helicopter flight
Aviation consortium celebrates first piloted hydrogen-powered flight | Business News | thecanadianpressnews.ca
April 4 – A look at the Heart X-1 Electric passenger aircraft, and other developments (No mention of Harbour Air plans, though).
Will electric flight take off?
April 4 – RAF Veteran who was one of the first Allied soldiers to arrive in Hiroshima dies at 102
Essex RAF veteran who saw flattened Hiroshima dies aged 102
April 1 – One of the last Bletchley Park code breakers dies
Bletchley Park code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101
April 1 – Questions of safety on chartered flights when the passengers are all handcuffed
Inside ICE Air: What It’s Like to Be a Deportation Flight Attendant — ProPublica
March 31 – Your personal electric drone transport?
An electric drone you can sit in – could it take off?
March 31 – What is ‘Anti American’, interviews with Smithsonian visitors
Watch: Reaction to Trump’s ‘anti-American’ Smithsonian order
and Balloon Juice – Excellent Read: What Exactly Does Trump Think Is *In* the Smithsonian?
March 30 – First attempt at orbital launch from Mainland base in Europe fails.
Rocket crashes back to Earth just moments after launch in Norway
March 26 – Market for fire-fighting aircraft growing. When will the planned Viking/DHC 515 come on line?
Global firefighting aircraft market continues to grow – Fire Aviation
March 24 – Looking at the Movie and the real ‘Great Escape’
‘It didn’t express the real horror’: The true story of The Great Escape
March 23 – Mining in Space
Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth?
Editor: One I missed last year
Nov. 8 – Cadets remember RCAF Airmen at Lough Erne
The forgotten soldiers of the Second World War