Aviation and Heritage Roundup September 2025
Provided by Paul Squires, CAPA-ACCA Contact, Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Some frustration,
I copy stories I see to the Heritage Round-Up list over the month, then do an additional intensive search using the same terms at the end of every month to grab some of the lesser-seen news.
I’ve really had it with AI implementation and Google Search this month. Search on News there, and I now get related years-old news, in no order, and it’s now so bad that I only found one current story to cover. And no way to ask for news in chronological order (although the net says that’s easy. Yeah, right).
The point is, the new level of poor service keeps me occupied on their site and receiving their advertisements, of course. There is a good rude word for that!
Microsoft Bing searches current news, but it cuts off after 30 or so sites and no way to expand the search.
I’m now using DuckDuckGo for a lot of the items. Still relatively sane and AI-free, but it’s more of a shotgun than a rifle.
Any suggestions on that matter would be welcome. – SP
Sept. 29 – New museum development in Londonderry will include an Aviation section
DNA Museum: Work begins on Londonderry’s new Ebrington Square gallery
Sept. 29 – Problems with scheduling at Air Creebec highlight problems in smaller airlines of short staff and aging out aircraft
Northern turbulence – Air Creebec and passengers struggle with aviation industry challenges | Spare News | pentictonherald.ca
Sept. 27 – Research and DNA used to identify two soldiers of the First World War killed at Loos
How the war detectives solved the mystery of two missing Scottish soldiers
Sept. 27 – A US look at the threat to end Customs Pre-Clearance in Canada (and the comments are interesting)
US Considers Ending Pre-Clearance Service In Canadian Airports Due To Travel Slump
Sept. 26 – Last US Tuskegee pilot who flew combat missions dies
George Hardy, last of the Tuskegee Airmen’s World War II combat pilots, dies at 100
Sept. 25 – Satellite burns up over Saskatchewan. Some concerns about this growing phenomena
Space debris from Starlink re-entry spotted in sky above Saskatoon | CBC News
Sept. 25 – Debate over ownership of art museum puts interesting light on Museum use
Brampton wants control of local museum as Mississauga attendance numbers drop | INsauga
Sept. 24 – India retires the MiG-21 after 60 years
MiG-21: Sun sets on India’s iconic and controversial Soviet fighter jet
Sept. 24 – A look at the training for going to the Moon
What’s it like training for a moon mission? Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen gives us the scoop | CBC News
Sept. 24 – the ongoing saga of the Russian An-124 at Pearson
Russian plane at Pearson: Canada applies for forfeiture
Seized Russian An-124 Seen Moving At Toronto Pearson Airport
Sept. 24 – And a profile and story of courage of another Russian aircraft
Randy’s Warbird Profiles: Polikarpov Po-2 s/n 641543 – Vintage Aviation News
Sept. 24 – And a tail of a new tail for a CRJ involved in a ground collision
New Tail: Delta Air Lines Finally Repairs Bombardier CRJ900 After Airbus A350 Collision In Atlanta
Sept. 23 – Rocket launch saga in Newfoundland
Fire erupts near NordSpace rocket, delaying possible launch until afternoon | CBC News
Another fire further delays NordSpace’s rocket launch | CBC News
or not.
NordSpace scrubs latest attempt to launch rocket in N.L., will try again later | CBC News
Reminds me of this 1968 book on early rocket and missile development in the US, a good and funny read if you can find it.
Some Birds Don’t Fly by Gary Paulsen | Goodreads
Sept. 23 – Artemis mission planned for early next year
Artemis II: Nasa plans crewed Moon mission for February
Sept. 23 – Boy attempts to fly to Iran in undercarriage well, lands in new Delhi
Afghan boy flies from Kabul to Delhi hiding in plane’s landing gear
Sept. 23 – Are quiet US cutbacks to NATO encouraging Russian airspace violations?
Under the radar: The possible link between U.S. Baltic security cuts and airspace incursions | CBC News
Sept. 23 – Drones shut down Copenhagen and Oslo airports
Drones over Copenhagen shut Denmark’s largest airport to air traffic for hours | CBC News
Drone attacks leave Denmark exposed – and searching for response
Sept. 23 – Rainbows are circles in the air (I guess pilots already knew this, but still neat to see)
Skydivers spot ‘unique’ circular rainbow in Nottinghamshire
Sept. 23 – Huge private collection of aircraft memorabilia that is at Juno Beach (NOT in France, but in Florida)
Aviation Museum lands in Juno Beach | WLRN
Sept. 22 – Ice patrols in Arctic only when called this summer
Transport Canada reduced to on-call Arctic surveillance this summer, documents show | CBC News
Sept. 22 – Coverage of the final move of Hawaii Mars nominated for a journalism award
CHEK News nominated for Webster award for coverage of the Martin Mars’ final flight
Sept. 22 – Business leader and museum founder killed at Boeing plant in accident with moving an engine
Prominent San Antonio Businessman Killed After Jet Engine Fell On Him At Boeing Center At Tech Port
Sept. 21 – Second World War Veterans are vanishing rapidly
‘Precious few veterans left’: Vancouver Island base remembers Canada’s vets who fought Nazis in Battle of Britain
Sept. 20 – Restoring an old model by a famous aircraft restorer
Restoring Cole Palen’s 26.5″ Mitsubishi A5M “Claude” [Video]
Sept. 20 – and scratch building a Sopwith Camel model
Scratch Build Log: Sopwith 2F.1 “Ship’s Camel” [Video]
Sept. 19 – Flying the B-29, a modern perspective
The airliner pilot who gets to fly World War Two’s biggest bomber
Sept. 19 – National Airship Program?
Nation-Building Projects? How about Airships? | The Tyee
Sept. 19 – Australian Lancaster back on display
Avro Lancaster “G for George” Returns to the Australian War Memorial – Vintage Aviation News
Sept. 18 – Electric aircraft development, a new form of battery is needed
Electric aviation awaits a battery breakthrough
Sept. 17 – recalling the Doolittle raiders in China
Remnants of Doolittle Raid rescue highlight enduring China-U.S. friendship
Sept. 17 – Little known Legion Museum in Kitsilano
Discover Kits Point’s Hidden Military Museum at Legion Open House – Kitsilano.ca
Sept. 17 – “Feel the Need for Speed”, or “Bird on a Wire”, a look at developments in control line speed competitions
CIAM Flyer 1-2025: In-depth guide to Control Line Speed | World Air Sports Federation
Sept. 17 – Labour Union in Museum fight in Chicago
Chicago History Museum cuts hinder research, exploration – Chicago Sun-Times
Sept. 16 – Some runways with extra ‘features’
From beaches to golf courses: The world’s most unusual airport runways | CNN
Sept. 15 – Open Cockpit day at Alberta Aviation Museum, looks like fun
In photos: Open Cockpit Day at Alberta Aviation Museum | Globalnews.ca
Sept. 15 – Looking at European airliners of the 1920s and 30s
European Airliners of a Century Ago – New York Aviation History
Sept. 15 – 10 Soviet shoot-downs during the Cold War
10 Times the Soviets Shot Down US Warplanes in the Cold War | Hush-Kit
Sept. 14 – Papua-New Guinea begins campaign to have the B-17 “Swamp Ghost” returned to them, one of many war-time wrecks ‘liberated’ from PNG by unethical collectors
Oro Governor pens letter to have “Swamp Ghost” returned to PNG – ABC Pacific
And not just in faraway places. There was a P-39 in the NWT that had an American group working to salvage it legally through the proper channels, only to have another unscrupulous US organization literally steal it without warning and without permission of any kind. Worse, they got away with it because, although intercepted at the USA/BC border, the fact that it had gotten there via the Yukon and BC made it a Federal matter, and they declined to prosecute. Of note, this would not have happened in the Yukon, where they have very strict rules about ‘liberating’ historical objects, due to the Gold Rush, and take them seriously.
Sept. 14 – France studying aerial drop patterns to improve attacks on wildfires
Studying aerial drops for a better system – France – Wildfire Today
Sept. 14 – Nanaimo Flying Club celebrates 80th year
In the air since 1945: Nanaimo Flying Club celebrates 80 years of aviation – Comox Valley Record
Sept. 13 – Admiral Cloudberg looks in depth at an accident last year that you probably never heard about, and the one in a billion chance that caused it. Tough read, by the way.
Crucible of the Cascade: The crash of Gazpromavia flight 9608 | by Admiral Cloudberg | Sep, 2025 | Medium
Sept. 13 – What we are learning from the third interstellar comet detected, and the new (and older) systems to detect them.
Here’s what astronomers know so far about the 3rd interstellar visitor ever found | CBC News
Sept. 12 – Old technology sometimes becomes desirable.
‘You just can’t recreate that glow’: The people who hunt old TVs
Sept. 11 – The real searchers for alien life
Where we might find aliens in the next decade
Sept. 9 – Missile launched on UFO
Watch: Missile strikes suspected UFO in newly released video
Sept. 9 – WWII RAF Veteran visits her fiances grave, discovers her name inscribed on his tombstone.
WWII vet visits fiancé’s grave 81 years after his death, making teary admission
Sept. 8 – Canadian studies into wildfire suppression (and a note on misinformation)
Aerial suppression effectiveness research – Canada – Wildfire Today
Canada pledges $46M to wildfire research across nation – Wildfire Today
‘Fire weather’ indicators aren’t one size fits all, research shows – Wildfire Today
Sept. 6 – US pilot released from Antarctic base
US pilot and influencer released from Chilean air base in Antarctica
Sept. 6 – How NASA engineers approached getting women into space.
Mascara and strings of tampons: How Nasa’s baffled engineers tried to prepare for the first female astronauts in space
Sept. 5 – Couple killed in funicular crash in Portugal were leaders in conservation and restoration
Quebec couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash remembered for archaeological legacy | CBC News
Sept. 2 – Returning undelivered letters to Japanese soldiers’ families
A Batch of Undelivered WWII Letters Intended for Japanese Soldiers Ended Up in an Oregon Museum Decades Later. Now, Experts Are Returning the Lost Correspondence to Their Families
Sept. 1 – Restoring Amelia
Sculptor says Amelia Earhart statue will be restored to its former glory, stronger than ever | CBC News
Sept. 1 – Drone delivery in Europe
Will drones deliver your next hot food order?
Aug. 31 – A look at the B-29.
The World War Two bomber that cost more than the atomic bomb
Some points the author missed. The B-29 was indeed a cutting edge aircraft, designed for accurate high altitude daylight bombing as per USAAF policy, but in this was it not a success. It wasn’t until they were stripped of guns, re-painted with black undersides, and used for area bombing at night with maximum bomb-loads from medium altitudes that they became effective. It is also interesting that the USAAF had developed weapons specifically designed to destroy Japanese cities in this manner and had them available to use when needed.
Also little known is that part of the production was in Canada, where Boeing Canada built fuselage centre sections and inner wings in single units that were then transported by road to the Boeing Renton plant, and installed in about 25% of total wartime B-29 production. However, on the day Japan surrendered Boeing closed it’s Canadian factory without any warning after 16 years of production, putting over 7,000 employees out of work. (https://seaislandhome.org/boeing.html)
A final footnote is that, as part of USAF policy to develop the B-36 and atomic bombs, their historical narratives of the use of the B-29 in the Korean War published in that period always refer to the aircraft as a “medium bomber”, which takes some getting used to. And that was also the last time the USAF attempted daylight bombing operations with heavy bombers.
Ain’t History fun!
Aug. 28 – Historic anti-aircraft guns on display for 80 years fenced off because of an insurance claim in Australia
Lithgow WWII anti-aircraft guns fenced off after injury and insurance claim – ABC News
Aug. 1 – Canada’s Lunar Rover looking for water and radiation
Canada’s first lunar rover looks to future space exploration