Comments on Canadian news stories.
The New Brunswick man who claimed his $64M lotto win nineteen days before it expired must be thanking his lucky stars. Imagine being 19 days too late.
Folks selling fake sun eclipse glasses must be among the scum of the earth.
Who has seen the Martin Mars water bomber in action? Real life or film? Either way I bet you haven’t forgotten it. I’m an admirer and I’m glad it’s going to the BC Aviation Museum.
Our bomber, the Hawaii Mars, fought wildfires in B.C. for over 50 years. It’s the sole working survivor of the seven huge planes built for the U.S. Navy during the Second World War. After the war they transported naval cargo, but by 1956 only four remained. They were sold to a consortium of B.C. firefighters who converted them to water bombers.
There were two planes left in 2007 when the Coulson Group of Companies acquired them. The Hawaii Mars fought fires until 2015 when Christy Clark’s government stopped hiring it because of high operating costs. That triggered public outcry but since then this important part of B.C. history has sat idle at Coulson’s Sproat Lake airbase in Port Alberni.
Richard Mosdel, a Mars admirer, thought the bomber should be in the museum. He got others involved and after several years work, the Coulson group, the museum and the province have the project ready to go.
The move this fall will be a gigantic undertaking. The huge seaplane must be made airworthy to fly down the east coast of Vancouver Island to Patricia Bay. From there, it will be transported by land to the museum at the International Airport.
The flight plan will be announced so people can watch the move. I hope it’s televised so we all can see it.
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