Last week we visited Vince O'Connor's aviation collection just outside of Uxbridge, Ontario, northeast of Toronto. We return this week to have a look at more of O'ConAir's inventory of aviation parts and aircraft.

The RCAF also utlised the Lockheed CF-101/F-101 Voodoo and the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star though, the Canadian built Canadair CT-133/T-33 Silver Star was built with some Canadian design modifications & differences and utilised the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 engine rather than the American built Allison J-33-A-35 Turbojet engine. The Canadian built Tbird was used as a training aircraft, a stepping stone from basic flight training in aircraft such as the Harvard, before moving on to fighters such as the CF-104 Starfighter, CF-101 Voodoo and the F-86 Sabre.

Vince's plans for the future include a museum inside part of his home. He and Darrel have already begun working on organising and inventorying assorted artifacts from photos, to rare aircraft parts and pieces, books, magazines, photos, paintings and so much more. In fact, Vince probably has one of the largest inventories of Westland Lysander parts including 3 or 4 Lysander fuselages or part fuselages, wings and/or wing sections, instruments and parts galore. Vince has been working on restoring a full Lysander for years and, though it's an ongoing, long term project, he hopes to one day see it fully restored.

A recently acquired addition to the collection is an Avro CF-100 Canuck, affectionately known as the "Clunk," thanks to the sound of the landing gear being retracted back into the wings and fuselage, making a "clunk" sound when doing so. The CF-100 is the only fully designed and built Canadian all weather interceptor/fighter built in Canada that went into active service. The CF-100 was, in its time, a phenomenal aircraft with a top speed of 550mph, a surface ceiling of 50,000 feet with a crew of two. It operated with the RCAF from 1952 to 1981 and the Belgium Air Force from 1957 to 1984. The CF-100 Canuck was said to be the best all-weather interceptor in the world during its first few years in service. It was also the first straight-winged jet aircraft to achieve "controlled" supersonic flight.

The RCAF flew a wide variety of aircraft since its inception in 1925. During World War II Canada also built an assortment of aircraft, under license, from various manufacturers in the United Kingdom and the United States. Aircraft built in Canada included the Harvard (T-6 Texan), Avro Anson, Avro Lancaster, Hawker Hurricane, Bristol Bolingbroke (Bristol Blenheim), de Havilland Tiger Moth and several others. Post-war, Canada built the CT-133, CF-104, CF-100, CF-86,CF-5, CT-119, Cosmopolitan and Argus and more. The RCAF also flew the CF-101 Voodoo, CF-18, CC-130, CP-140 and various helicopters, among other aircraft.

There are aircraft and aviation memorabilia collectors all over the world. Some are large museums or archives, libraries and other such facilities. Smaller museums and collections include folks like Vince and Darrel who amass a vast assortment of parts, materials, memorabilia and ephemera. There are also smaller collectors, like the author's, who love aviation and love to share it with friends, family and other like minded people.

If you, or a friend or family member, have such a collection, ensure your estate is properly looked after, no matter the size, to ensure things don't end up in a dumpster. Even if you don't think there's any value to it, you might be surprised. Other collectors, especially museums, would be tickled pink to receive such items and, if they can't use it, they might find another museum that can and a trade may be the order of the day. There may not be a monetary value to your collection but there may be a historic value. Invest some time to find out where your collection could go, somewhere it could do some good and benefit a museum or library.

Walking around the property will take you a day, if you're not looking for anything specific. If you are looking for something specific, just ask Vince or Darrel. One of them will likely know whether they have what you're looking for, where it is in the yard or one of the buildings or where you might be able to find it IF they don't have it. There's so much to see and take in but it's like a shopping centre of aviation.

If you're looking for aircraft parts from fuselage, wings, control surfaces, instruments, seats and just about anything else, you just might find what you're looking for through O'ConAir and Vince or Darrel. It never hurts to pick up the phone or email Vince/Darrel to inquire as to whatever it is you're looking for. After all, one man's "junk" is another man's treasure!