Kelowna aviation museum flying high
What started as a hand-written concept on the back of a napkin has since come to dominate a hillside above the Kelowna International Airport and its runways.
In less than 18 months, what was just a big mound of dirt at the east end of the airport, was transformed into what may be one of the Okanagan’s best-kept secrets – an aviation museum.
But the KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence is anything but a secret; it’s a massive nod to the ingenuity of B.C. engineering, design and craftsmanship and love of all machines that fly.
The museum is a family-friendly, fully accessible and intriguing state-of-the-art space that sprawls across 60,000 square feet, says Paula Quinn, executive director, who sometimes guides visitors through the gargantuan facility that lies just off Highway 97.
A flyover would reveal a building that looks like an a giant airplane with a distinct fuselage, wings and tail.
Purposely designed to mimic a classic Spitfire, the museum was masterminded by long-time aviator and local entrepreneur Barry LaPointe.
Inside, visitors have the chance to view and touch intriguing, seldom seen and rare aircraft that dot the hangar space, while allowing visitors to cruise through numerous interactive exhibits.
Aircraft aficionados can get up close and personal with a DC10 and Hawker Tempest, the “only one left in the world” Quinn said, and an aircraft that hasn’t been in the skies since the 50s.
Another aircraft, a DC3, holds an especially nostalgic spot in the museum, as it was the actual aircraft that an ambitious young aviator – Barry LaPointe – spent 62 days at the controls flying around the world.
Ditched at the end of the ride “somewhere south” the airplane found its way home because of an unrelenting push from Quinn,
insisting the then-owner relinquish his hold on the plane and let it “come home.”
The museum has offered that kind of nostalgic hit since it opened in 2021, Quinn said, recounting times when the aircraft have touched emotions that have nothing to do with metal and engines.
The de Havilland Mosquito WWII bomber is one on site that once found an elderly gentleman in full uniform looking at the plane, in tears.
The aviation museum is a huge space with many hands-on displays with “real gears and dials” that show the inner and outer workings of an aircraft.
It allows viators to step into the mind-boggling array of an actual cockpit, zoom over the Okanagan Valley in a simulated flyover, scuttle under a fuselage or see the inside of a propeller and make it turn.
“It’s meant to be hands-on and interactive throughout,” Quinn added.
Kids big and small can push and pull gears and levers, look under fuselage, work landing
gear and even see a real black-box, the name for a flight data recorder, which is actually not black but an highly visible orange.
Visitors can view the work being done on current restoration projects, which aim to have all aircraft on site fully restored to flight ready condition.
The unique design of the hangar “wings” allows the full 115-foot expanse of glass wall to open and allows restored aircraft to be wheeled out onto the tarmac.
Another interesting wall display is in “real time” Quinn explained, and shows a current and ongoing visual of the “highway in the sky” above Kelowna International Airport.
Snatches of Okanagan flight history are also depicted at the museum. It includes the first flight that winged its way out of Kelowna, back in 1947 out of Ellison Field, and includes the starter pistol that marked that moment in Okanagan aviation history.
The aviation museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m to 5 p.m and is fully wheelchair accessible with a nominal entrance fee.