Vickers Vedette Nears Completion
There is a small group of men at the Western Development Museum that plays a very big role in a significant display. Jim Gushuliak, Bill Golding, Roy Hiles and Jim Morrison have a combined total of 60 years of volunteering in the aviation area of the museum. They have restored numerous aircraft and have built three from scratch. The first was a Piper Cub for the museum, which took two years, the second an Airspeed Oxford for Frank Thompson from Reidland, Saskatchewan. He provides the group with numerous aircraft parts and asked them to build him the plane to add to his museum. Eight years ago, the restoration team was asked to build a Vickers Vedette from scratch. The aircraft has an important history in the province. It began as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, then after the war, was purchased by the province’s Department of Natural Resources to use for mapping northern Saskatchewan. It was an ideal model, as there were three seats: one for the pilot, one for the photographer and one for the mapper. Once the province was mapped, the planes were repurposed as fire patrol. Again, the model was ideal, with three seats used for a pilot, a spotter and a photographer. Then, tragedy struck. There was an accident and the three members of an airplane were forced to jump. Two members opened their parachutes; the third did not. With the death of the third member, the Department of Natural Resources pulled all of the Vickers Vedettes from the fleet. They have not been used since. The restoration team is very familiar with the history. Jim Gushuliak was with the RCAF in electronics, and Bill Golding served his time with RCAF as a technician. With Roy Hiles, a retired farmer and Jim Morrison, retired mechanic, they eagerly agreed to build the airplane. They bought plans from a museum in Winnipeg and armed with them, some photographs and a partial Vedette body, they began their labor of love. They work three hours per week, four days a week. They garner skills from each other, along with advice. They work 10 months out of the year and take the summer off. They continue to meet, however, but use their time together in July and August to socialize in a healthful environment and play cards. There is a sense of comradery. Beginning with the ribs, each part of the airplane has been hand crafted, covered with Ceconite, treated and painted. The undersides of the wings take extra work, as the Ceconite must be stitched after it is glued on, before it can be doped (a special treatment), shrunk and painted. The stitching prevents the cloth from shrinking in a concave manner. After working for eight years, the team is down to the final details. The wings must be covered and attached, the tail has to be painted, and the motor put in the aircraft. They estimate that the entire project will be completed in only two more years. And what comes next? The group doesn’t know for sure. They will wait and see if they get another request, and begin the next project with good cheer.