Around the world many who love airplanes, aviation and history enjoy them through airshows but many forget about the museums. Museums are borne through inspiration from a piece of aviation history, whether a historic event, aircraft, designer or pilot and are created by aviation enthusiasts who come together to preserve, restore or showcase that history. Museums offer unique experiences and opportunities that you don't usually get at airshows. However, many museums are suffering at the hands of the economic downturn over the past several years.

Many established museums that have been around for years have been able to make it through recent tough times. The PIMA Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona is an example of a very well established aviation museum. It doesn't mean that they don't have financial issues through recessions but museums such as PIMA, that are well established, are usually less prone to suffer during financially difficult times. PIMA is also a non-flying museum and that can also make a difference when it comes to keeping a museum alive and thriving when money is tight.

Large, well established and well funded museums within the United States and Canada have an advantage over smaller and/or newer museums, especially ones that don't have the advantage of government funding. Many of these museums rely on public, private and corporate donations and those are often hard to come by when times are tough.

In Toronto, Ontario there is a small museum that has been struggling to keep its head above water, as it were. The Canadian Air & Space Museum, which is currently located at Downsview Park (formerly known as CFB Downsview) in the old de Havilland of Canada factory buildings, built in 1929, may soon be a museum of the past thanks to a combination of lack of funding, the latest economic downturn and lack of support from the Canadian Government. In fact, the Canadian Government is the landlord for the museums location and the museum has been given its eviction notice.

The de Havilland Company of Canada factory was located in Toronto at, what was once, RCAF Downsview. The iconic, historic buildings are still standing and have been home to the Canadian Air & Space Museum, located at 65 Carl Hall Rd, since 1997. Among the many aircraft that were built there are the Tiger Moth, Chipmunk, Otter, Twin Otter and the venerable Beaver. Another superb aircraft built at de Havilland plant was the famous World War II twin engine fighter/bomber, the Mosquito.

RCAF Downsview then became CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Downsview and operated as an active base for 50 years until the base was disbanded in the late 1980s. Now simply called Downsview Park and, as mentioned previously, owned by the Canadian Government, the "park" houses several different venues including a sports park and Bombardier Aircraft which still produces aircraft such as the Q400 and the family of Bombardier Global business jet aircraft. The company operates from the single runway at Downsview Airport which holds the distinction of being the oldest, active airport in Southern Ontario. It is also the birthplace of the Canadian space industry with the oldest commercial aircraft hangars in Canada.

In mid-September 2011, the Canadian Air & Space Museum was handed a letter advising them that the museum was being evicted that day and that they were to vacate the former de Havilland of Canada buildings, the museums home. Museum volunteers that could be gathered spent the day removing boxes, artifacts, paperwork and aircraft from the buildings, including a full size replica of the historic CF-105 Avro Arrow before the locks were changed and doors were locked that same evening by Downsview Park staff. They were given less than 12 hours in which to do this.

Though the museum was given a bit of a reprieve, they have less than 6 months to vacate the buildings they're in. However, with no other venues available, it looks like the museum will have to be disbanded and aircraft and memorabilia donated and/or sold to other museums across the country. Canadian history tossed out at the hands of the government of the people of Canada. Rare, historic, unique and irreplaceable items gone, including the historic building they're currently located in which will be destroyed to make room for 4 new hockey arenas.

There are also American twists to this story as well. In the 1950s, the American Government was the largest customer of both the DHC-2 Beaver and the DHC-3 Otter purchasing 1000 Beavers and most of the 466 Otters that were built. There were also more than 1500 Tiger Moth aircraft built there in which many American Airmen were trained during the early years of World War II. Today, both the Beaver and Otter still fly in places such as Alaska and the Canadian north, still operating as bush planes in remote regions, 60+ years after the airplanes were built. In fact, many have been and are being rebuilt and restored in Canada and the US. One of those such aircraft is a gorgeous DHC-2 Beaver owned and flown by actor Harrison Ford.

Aviation enthusiasts across Canada and even from around the world, are trying to stop the eviction and the destruction of the historic de Havilland of Canada buildings. Museums are a way of keeping the memories of events and people from our past alive in the minds of young and old alike. Museums are living history that kids can see and often touch. Museums are places of learning. Museums should be supported by governments not evicted.

Many Canadian aviation enthusiasts already are aware of the museums predicament. However, if you're not and you want to help, please consider writing your local MP and MPP asking that YOUR government owned "park" keep and maintain the old de Havilland buildings WITH the Canadian Air & Space Museum within them. For those of you who live outside of Canada and who simply love aviation and aviation history, please feel free to write offering your support for the museum. You can also join the Facebook groups "Save the Canadian Air & Space Museum" and the "Canadian Air & Space Museum" to further offer your support. Alternately, you can sign the online petition to by clicking on the link at the end of this article

The Canadian Air & Space Museum must not be allowed to simply disappear. The history within its walls and the history those walls could tell is important to the aviation community, not only within Canada, but across the globe. Save the buildings. Save the museum!

For more information about the Canadian Air & Space Museum: casmuseum.org

Click here to sign the online petition and Save the Museum.

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