The Hangar Flight Museum’s executive director Brian Desjardins called the relocation a ‘homecoming’ for the famous plane
It’s been an eye-catching fixture in the atrium of the Suncor Energy Centre for more than 40 years.
But next week, the downtown office tower’s historic Noorduyn C-64 Norseman aircraft will land in its new home at the Hangar Flight Museum.
Suncor employees gathered in the lobby on Monday to bid farewell to the iconic yellow airplane that has been suspended from the ceiling of the tower’s atrium since 1984.
Brookfield Properties and ARCI Ltd. are donating the 78-year-old single-engine bush plane to the Hangar Flight Museum. A two-day process to lower the aircraft, disassemble it and transport it to the aviation museum in northeast Calgary will happen this weekend.
The aircraft’s relocation is necessary to accommodate an impending redevelopment of the Suncor Energy Centre’s atrium, according to the tower’s property manager, Brodie Johnson, with Brookfield Properties.
“It’s getting going in the fall, and unfortunately with that redevelopment, relocation of the aircraft is necessary,” he told reporters at the farewell ceremony.
While the plane was originally bought and restored by the Aero Space Museum Association of Calgary (the Hangar Flight Museum’s precursor) in 1982, it was acquired two years later by Petro-Canada, who wanted a unique element and talking point for the lobby of the then-called Petro-Canada Centre.
Forty years later, the aircraft has come to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of the tower’s employees and tenants, Johnson said — particularly those who have worked there for many years.
“It’s synonymous with this building,” he said. “I grew up seeing it in the building when walking downtown. Certainly, I’m not the only one with an affinity to the plane. Many of our tenants feel the same way and that’s why we decided to host this farewell event, because we know the plane means a lot to our tenants and Calgarians.”
‘Rare aviation marvel’: Aircraft just one of 49 remaining
He said Brookfield Properties felt the Hangar Flight Museum would be an ideal next landing spot for the Norseman, noting it was where the plane’s story in Calgary started.
“They have extensive onsite crew that can do restorations to the aircraft as well,” he said. “We also feel they’ll be great stewards for the aircraft and their mission of continuing the aviation legacy in Calgary is warranted.”
The Hangar Flight Museum’s executive director Brian Desjardins agreed the aviation museum will be a fitting destination, and called the relocation a “homecoming” for the famous plane.
A news release from the Hangar Flight Museum called Calgary’s Noorduyn C-64 Norseman a “rare aviation marvel,” noting that Suncor’s office aircraft is one of just 49 remaining worldwide.
But the public will have to wait a while before they can see the plane at the Hangar Flight Museum.
Hangar Flight Museum working to expand
Due to space constraints, Desjardins said the aircraft will initially be kept in offsite storage before it is rotated into the hangar’s public displays in the main hangar.
Desjardins noted the museum has an ongoing capital expansion plan to replace its tent hangar with a permanent structure that would triple the size of the facility’s footprint.
The tent hangar, which Desjardins noted is comprised of a soft shell fabric, has been damaged twice by heavy snowfalls in the last four years.
Expansion plans include increasing the museum from 20,000 to 60,000 square feet, providing the site more space to show off its collections.
“Having the acquisition and the gift of the Norseman, I certainly believe raises the bar for the need for a new building,” Desjardins said.
The expansion’s expected price tag is about $60 million.
In 2022, Calgary city council committed $14.5 million toward the site’s expansion plans. Desjardins said the museum has been lobbying the province to approve a matching grant for the last year, and will be applying for funding in the Alberta government’s 2025 budget.
Remaining funds would come through corporate, private and philanthropic donations, Desjardins said.
The museum has already finished a detailed feasibility study and the next step is to fundraise $2 million to complete the design/architectural phase, which Desjardins said would bring the project to a shovel-ready status and provide a more detailed cost estimate.
“That’s being worked on right now and confidently we’ll have that phase completed before the end of the year,” he said.
