Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum & RCAF WWII Memorial

Museum Tours Back with a Vengeance!

While we are reminded that the pandemic is not over, things have returned much closer to ‘normal’. This meant that tours were once again being booked at the museum. We did have one school come for a tour in fall, but this spring tours came back strong, and we could not be happier! We saw about 25 different schools come for tours, some brought multiple classes as well. Overall we saw over 500 students along with their teachers and other chaperones tour the museum! We thoroughly enjoyed having the museum filled with eager and inquisitive youngsters. We want to thank all the teachers who have shown such dedication over the trials of the pandemic, we hope you all enjoyed your tours and we wish you a well deserved summer break. We also had several teachers testing out our new BCATP learning kit, and we appreciate your feedback as well. We hope to have the kit our for wider distribution next school year. Teachers and Principals, if you want to learn more about this kit, let us know. Also consider booking a fall tour! Field trips are always exciting for students and do not have to occur in spring (I know, I was a teacher and took field trips at all times of the year!) Teachers – also check out our Education page for some links and games.

Overall we saw over 500 students along with their teachers and other chaperones tour the museum!

So – once again, thank you to all teachers, but a special thanks to those who came to the museum for a tour! Enjoy summer!

A final note – we did have a few adult groups in as well! We can do tours for any age group any time of year!

Once again, thank you to all teachers, but a special thanks to those who came to the museum for a tour!

Armed Forces Day ’22 – Thank you!

The CATPM’s first Canadian Armed Forces Day was a success. Visitors thoroughly enjoyed the day considering it was cool and windy. Our visitor numbers were similar to past events and in the 250 to 300 range. We had some private aircraft participation with the T-28 Trojan, a Harvard, and a Stearman. The Shilo base came through with a display as did the RCA Museum, 26th Field Museum, Brandon Flight Centre, and CASARA. We hoped the RCAF would be able to send some display aircraft, but there is always next year! Thanks so much to everyone who participated, volunteered and visited, we are so grateful to all of you for helping celebrate our dedicated military. Yours – Stephen Hayter, Executive Director, CATPM

Check out the video slideshow of the event below:

Video slideshow of Canadian Armed Forces Day 2022

Armed Forces Day: June 5

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum at McGill Field, Brandon Airport will be recognizing Armed Forces Day on Sunday, 5 June between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. The public is invited to participate in this family friendly event. The Royal Canadian Air Force is expected to send up to four aircraft, a C-130 Hercules, CT-142 Dash 8, Hawk Jet Trainer and Harvard 2 trainer. (note that the RCAF has contacted us and can only send a Dash 8 at this time) In addition, we are expecting participation from Canadian Forces Base Shilo with several vehicles, as well as the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum with up to four vintage WWII vehicles. Along with our own flying aircraft consisting of a Cornell, Tiger Moth, Harvard, Stinson and Fleet Finch, we will be hosting visiting civilian aircraft; a Musketeer, Stearman, Harvard, T28 Trojan and Nanchang. There will be no flying aircraft demonstrations, but you will be able to get up close and personal with all the aircraft and in many cases speak directly to the pilots flying them.

The museum will also be open for viewing to take in our many non-flying aircraft and vintage vehicles.

We will have several food vendors on-site, and parking is free.

Admission is Adults $10, age 6-17 $5, under six is free, and family passes (two adults/two kids) is $25. Military members, their immediate family, and veterans are free. Come out, make a day of it, and recognize our Armed Forces.

Museum Open House

Press Release

May 10, 2022

For Immediate Release

Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon

Brandon Municipal Airport, HWY 10

In honour of Manitoba’s 152^th birthday, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Canada’s only air museum solely dedicated to the preservation of those who trained and fought for the British Commonwealth during WWII is hosting a free open house on Thursday, May 12, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Brandon Municipal Airport. Visitors will be invited to travel back to the 1940s while touring a WWII vintage hangar serving as a display area for aircraft, vehicles and hundreds of artifacts from that era. Manitoban RCAF that lost their lives during WWII are honoured on the museum’s RCAF WWII Memorial wall.

May 1^st begins our new summer hours, 10 am to 4 pm, seven days a week until the end of September.

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is Canada’s only air museum solely dedicated to the preservation of those who trained and fought for the British Commonwealth during WWII.

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is proud to be one of the seven Manitoba Signature Museums, a Manitoba Star Attraction and a National Historic Site. Visit the CATP Museum located at Brandon Municipal Airport, on HW #10, 1.6 km north of the City of Brandon.

For more information about the CATPM’s Manitoba Day Open House, please contact:

Stephen Hayter, Executive Director

Ph: 727-2444 Fax:725-2334 Email: airmuseum@inetlink.ca

Calling all Teachers!

Are you a teacher – or know one? Did you know that the museum has been host to many school tours for all grade levels over the years? Well it is true. Recently a letter and a page of some curriculum connections was sent out to schools – you can download or view those documents below (you can download a pdf version by clicking on the image of the document below) . We offer great informative tours and we love to host school groups! If you have specific curricular needs, we can try to match the tour to those needs. While our main focus is the important role that the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) played in the successful outcome of WWII and in the development of Canada as a nation, we also have people knowledgeable about flight as well. We recommend allowing approximately 60-90 minutes for a guided tour, but accommodations can be made to fit your schedule. We also have picnic tables available for snack time or lunch (although we do not have food services on site). While enjoying the outdoors, the impressive RCAF WWII Memorial Wall is a perfect place for Remembrance and a teaching opportunity. When the tour is over, we have many great items for souvenirs in our gift shop. We also have a restored and beautiful vintage Canteen building that can be rented for professional development or other events, it is like stepping back to the 1940’s!

Our website also has information about the BCATP and the museum and its’ collection. The ‘Tour and Education‘ page has a few activities (we hope to add to this too!) such as online jigsaw puzzles, a Jeopardy game, and a link to a collection of resources for teaching about flight. You can also find a tour guide booklet that can help you plan or use for a self guided tour. The guide includes possible questions for your students to consider while on the tour. And one more thing! We are working on an exciting learning kit for use in middle years classrooms all about the BCATP that will address many outcomes in the curriculum. We hope it will be ready for schools in fall! We have other projects in the planning stage to help you get the most out of the museum. If you have any questions, or want to book a tour call or email the museum! We would love to have you and your class come visit us!