A Visit To Warplane Museum in Hamilton (near Toronto)

Saturday morning and two kids - my son and my nephew who are of the similar age - demanded some outing. With their nose running like a Humber river,  the option of doing something in outdoors was out of the question. So, I did what anyone with a sane mind would do. I googled some of the indoor attractions that can be enjoyed with kids. And Google, as usual, threw a plethora of options in front of me. But one thing held my gaze and that was Warplane Museum in Hamilton. It had word 'planes' which sounded fun to kids. And they had a history which I can enjoy.

Falling flurries made the road slick so we nudged our Toyota ahead carefully and slowly towards our destination. It was a drive of 40-odd minutes. As we entered the museum, it instantly captivated us. The friendly people check us in and we did not have a dull moment for next 2 hours. At $15 per adult, it’s not something that can be considered pocket-friendly but kids under five are free.

When inside, you start your museum tour with pictures and write-up about glory Canadian Royal Air Force has achieved in World War 1 and 2. The pictures also show a complete evolution of Air Force and airplanes.

The stories over there are of courage, inspiration and spirited. Many young men joined the Royal Air Force during the war and those youngsters changed the shape of the war and perhaps of the world. These young, free-spirited boys started this as an adventure and ended up as legends which continue to inspire future generations.

The planes which pilots used to fly in world wars were not comparable to today’s planes. Most of the planes developed before or during World War Two were small. The gunner’s cabin in many of these planes had a height restriction of six feet. If a person sitting in that cabin is little more than six feet than he had little space left for any body movement. And ground crew used to attach extra batteries to bring engines to the life. Body armor used by these pilots had nothing to brag about. These days most of the runners doing their runs on a cold morning had a better gear to keep themselves warm. The helmets used were made of leather. The noise of engine was muted to some extent because the helmet was able to cover the ears. All these technological constraints can dampen spirits anyone in this century. But those boys were different. None of these constraints were big enough to stop them from doing their job and changing the course of the war. 

The stories of some great pilots from both the world wars make you feel prouder. For example, William George “Billy” Baker was the most decorated pilot in Canadian history. He flew in World War One and his plane was modest Sopwith Camel B5313 which was a single seater fighter plane powered by a single engine and had two machine guns.

Everything about the museum is not about planes and pilots. There was a section donated on how local folks especially women helped during the war. The ladies also called ‘The Bomb Girls’ flew newly built planes to bases from the factories. They were involved in the manufacturing of everything that was required by Canadian Armed Forces. Although, they were not on the front lines their support was crucial in the outcome of the war.

Seeing two small kids with us, one volunteer walked to us and prodded us towards planes where kids can actually sit and get their photos clicked inside the cockpit. Hearing this, all of us felt a spring in our feet and we rushed to see those actual planes from wars. They are parked in a place which looks like a massive-sized hangar. And in that hangar, there are many of these big machines which probably were considered menacing at their peak. All these big machines standing silently had many stories to share with the world. They probably talking among themselves about daring adventures which they took during their heydays.

However, oblivion to all the history attached to these big beasts, kids were most excited to Dusty, a plane used in the filming of Disney’s Planes. They jumped and shouted ecstatically. It felt to them that they finally found a true hero of their childhood. They didn’t care that other planes have done sorties in dark nights lit by stars and came back with a stardust. Kids are kids, after all.

We finished our museum round with a poutine in museums' cafe. And on our way back, we stopped at Tim Hortons and recharged ourselves to take on snowy roads.