The Convair 580 touched down gracefully on the tarmac at Victoria International Airport on Friday and taxied through a cascading welcome spray from two airport fire trucks.
Doug Rollins, the museum’s librarian and historian, called the noon arrival a “unique first” as the B.C. Aviation Museum lands a valuable aircraft for public viewing and an experienced pilot to volunteer as a tour guide. Wilson considers the time he flew and trained others on the classic Convair 580 as the most enjoyable and fulfilling of his career. As for retirement, he looks forward to continuing his 48-year association with aviation though the museum.
Rollins said the latest addition will help tell B.C.’s aviation story and how it shaped the province by fighting forest fires over the past 20 years. Exported to Canada in 2000, it was converted to an air tanker and entered operations with Conair of Abbotsford, where it fought fires for 22 years in B.C. and Alberta.