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Where do you store several airplanes? Royal Aviation Museum must be out after October

The B-17 Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey" at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, Monday, June 29th, 2015.

A museum that has been fundraising for a new home will soon find themselves homeless for a few years.

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada has been told they must move out of their location on Ferry Road by Oct. 31.

While they knew moving day would come, it was earlier than expected, said Helen Halliday, museum CEO.

“Our landlord, EIC, has been a fantastic landlord and made us welcome as long as they possibly can, but business continues for them and they have great plans for our location and as a result we need to move along,” said Halliday.

The museum has been raising money and securing grants for a new space, but shovels have yet to hit the ground at their new spot on Wellington Avenue across from the current Greyhound Station, said Halliday. They will do so once they wrap up funding talks with federal government.

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Prince Edward and Sophie land at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in 2016. Talia Ricci/Global News

It’s hoped the $45-million, 105,000-square-foot museum will start construction in 2020.

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Halliday wouldn’t say exactly where the museum’s planes, library and artifacts will be stored in the meantime, but said the museum does have a plan.

“[We’ve been planning] the whole concept of how we can have presence when the museum is not operating as a physical museum, so it’s not like we’re going away, you’re going to see us in a different form.”

The museum boasts a large collection of airplanes over several decades – but don’t think about stealing one.

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“No, we have not kept our collection flyable,” Halliday laughed.

WATCH: The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Sophie tour the museum:

Click to play video: 'Royal couple tours the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada'
Royal couple tours the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

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