Aviation history is the focus as the Mount Hope Village Gateway Project moves closer to completion.
A historic Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer has been installed as the main feature of the gateway, located at Homestead Dr. and Highway 6.
Glanbrook Coun. Brenda Johnson is confident the village has “really made a statement” with the gateway, celebrating Mount Hope’s home to both the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) and Hamilton’s airport.
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“It’s not quite done yet, we’re still going to put LED lights inside the plane so it’ll be lit up at night,” says Johnson, “we just wanted to make sure we got the plane up and ready to go before the wintertime came.”
During their 21 years of service, Musketeers trained approximately 5,000 Canadian Forces military pilots.
The city says the aircraft that will now welcome visitors to Mount Hope was retired in 1992, dismantled and put into storage.
The CWHM acquired the aircraft in April 2012.
It has been restored to static condition in the exact markings it would have worn when serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Johnson stresses that the project “would not have been possible without the generosity of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.”
“The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is pleased to have contributed to this salute to the Mount Hope Village and their support of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (1940-45), RCAF Station Hamilton (1940-63) and the Hamilton International Airport,” says museum CEO David G. Rohrer.
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