Ontario group marks 40 years of keeping the history of Canada's WW II 'pilot maker' alive

For prospective young pilots intending to join the Allied effort during the Second World War, the Harvard was the ultimate training plane — but it also posed a key test. 

The single-engine aircraft, with its distinctive yellow paint, was equipped with dual controls to train pilots and assess their flying skills.

"If there were any issues, the trainer could take over the controls and bring the aircraft down to safety," said John Britton, vice president of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA).

The CHAA is marking 40 years of keeping the history of the Harvard aircraft alive this year, with an open house at its Tillsonburg headquarters Saturday. Staffed by volunteers and funded mainly by members and donors, the group acquires, stores and flies Harvards. Their roster currently includes eight planes, including four in flying condition.

The plane was a critical tool as the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ramped up to get pilots trained in bases across Canada, eventually training more than 130,000 aircrew members in the Canadian and Allied Forces.

It's a solid machine, but also notoriously heavy and not easy to fly. A true test of a pilot's skill, the Harvard was often referred to as the "yellow peril" or the "pilot maker."  

At a time when new pilots needed to be trained and assessed quickly, that was part of the plane's appeal, he said. If a pilot was able fly the Harvard, it meant they were a good prospect to fly a fighter or bomber in combat. 

It's been decades since the planes served their original purpose, but CHAA is working to keep their history alive. 

One of their restoration projects was a plane found under wraps in a barn almost 20 years ago. In the years since its discovery, the plane has been painstakingly restored piece by piece and is expected to return to flying later this year. It last saw airtime in 1962.

The CHAA can, for a fee, take people up in a Harvard to experience a bit of Second World War history. Last November, the group took former Second World War Spitfire pilot Ken Raven for a ride in a Harvard. The pilot, 101 years old at the time, trained on the Harvard as an 18-year-old. 

"We call this a flying museum, and it is," said Britton of the organization, which incorporated in 1985. "It's quite an extensive operation."

Each plane requires 15 hours of service time for each hour of flying time, he said. 

On Saturday CHAA will host a special celebration at their hangar at Tillsonburg Regional Airport from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  It's a family-friendly event with free admission. There will be food trucks, music and plane rides for a fee. 

"People need to understand that if you don't remember history, it's doomed to repeat itself," said Britton. "For us the Harvards are one way of bringing history back to the forefront of people's thinking, and understanding the sacrifices that people made during that terrible time."