The Alberta Aviation Museum is flying high after the organization recently embarked on an interesting industry collaboration.
“We’re stepping a little farther out of the box from a typical museum model, which we do pretty constantly,” said executive director Thomas Hinderks.
Last week, Hinderks announced that the museum was striking up a partnership with Buffalo Airways to create a unique educational tool that will be put to great practical use. Together, they will install a 21st century Lockheed Electra Procedural Flight Training Simulator, a computerized version of the airline’s cargo and water suppression planes, which are used to help control and extinguish forest fires.
“We operate out of the box pretty tremendously because it allows us to bring more history to life,” Hinderks said.
He added that this project would accomplish a few goals at once by storing and restoring a 1959 Electra cockpit, a major artifact. The end result will not only be a recreation of a piece of history, but also a tool that will go a long way toward keeping Alberta and its residents safe in the future.
The simulator is intended to be the first step towards targeting niche industry markets that are currently not serviced by conventional flight simulators. It will allow Buffalo Airways to complete required flight training more economically and within a safe, secure system.
“It’s really unique in the museum world that we’re both pushing forward modern technology and, at the same time as that, we’re keeping our history alive and creating a practical piece of history that’s going to go to work,” he said enthusiastically.
The museum already engages in extensive aviation education programs from kindergarten to Grade 12 with 30 different modules. It’s also one of the first museums to install and operate interactive flight simulators for public use.
To learn more about the museum or the simulator, call 780-451-1175 or visit www.albertaaviationmuseum.com.
The museum is located at 11410 Kingsway Ave., on the south border of the Edmonton City Centre Airport.
