The Fun and Massive Canada Aviation and Space Museum

I hadn’t been to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in a long time—I think my last visit there was with Gail, an aviation buff.

With about 130 military and civilian aircraft from around the world covering the entire history of aviation, the Museum apparently offers the finest collection in the country and one of the most comprehensive in the world. We took advantage of the “free after 4 p.m.” policy to show Mark what flying is all about.

Don’t think of this place as a Museum: it’s basically a huge hangar filled to the brim with planes. There are aircraft everywhere, some hanging from the ceiling, some on the ground, and some parked outside (you can even buy a ticket to fly a vintage biplane over the city!). Oh, and by the way—these are full-size aircraft, not models. Needless to say, the hangar is huge.

If you’re not into flying machines, this Museum may disappoint. It’s not as interactive as, let’s say, the Museum of History, and the explanations can be rather technical and overwhelming. However, there are artifacts—clothing, uniforms, cars, motorcycles, etc.—to put everything in context and I found the displays interesting from a historical perspective (I did skip the engine section…).

The one-hour walk-through was perfect for us. As a bonus, we watched the helicopter landing outside!