Aviation Photography - Vintage Wings of Canada

Vintage Wings of Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
October 2026

Vintage Wings of Canada is a private collection of historic aircraft based at Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport in Quebec. Founded by Michael Potter, the organisation is dedicated to preserving and flying significant Canadian and military aircraft, with a collection spanning World War Two fighters and bombers to post-war types. Many are maintained in airworthy condition and regularly appear at air shows and commemorative events, helping preserve Canada's aviation heritage.
I was very fortunate to meet a pilot who had a few minutes to spare and show me around this wonderful collection of aircraft.

de Havilland DH.60M Gipsy Moth (CF-AAJ). Delivered to Canada in 1929, this aircraft was taken on strength by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as G-CYXE at High River Air Station. It subsequently passed through various owners and commercial operators before undergoing a lengthy rebuild by Watt Martin, who acquired it in 1980. The aircraft returned to the air in 1989 as CF-AAJ. Sold to Michael Maniatis in 2015, it later moved to Vintage Wings of Canada.

Left to right: de Havilland DH-83 Fox Moth (C-FYPM). Built at Stag Lane, England, in 1932 for HRH Edward, Prince of Wales, as part of the Royal Flight registered as G-ACDD and later ZK-AEK in New Zealand. The DH.83 Fox Moth was derived from the DH.82 Tiger Moth. It shared its wings and structural components with the Tiger Moth but featured an enclosed passenger cabin and raised open cockpit for the pilot. This aircraft later served in the Belgian Congo and New Zealand, where it pioneered new routes before suffering a crash and being rebuilt. After further service in Fiji, it was restored in New Zealand in 1993 and eventually moved to Canada. Registered C-FYPM on February 7, 2007, it is painted in Royal Guards colours.

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (51-16818, C-GUPM c/n 336). Delivered to the US Army in August 1952, this L-20A, later redesignated U-6A, subsequently served with the Louisiana National Guard. After being placed in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, it passed through several commercial and private owners, including Irving Oil and Galloway Aviation. The aircraft later joined the Michael Potter Historic Aircraft Collection and Vintage Wings of Canada.

Cessna L-19A Bird Dog (16709 '709' registered C-FTGF). Built in 1954, this aircraft was one of 29 Cessna L-19A Bird Dogs acquired by the Canadian Army. Primarily based at CJATC Rivers and CFB Winnipeg, it served as an artillery spotter and general liaison aircraft. After military service, it was transferred to the Air Cadet League of Canada. For decades, it operated with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets' BC Branch from CFB Comox as a glider tow aircraft.

Left to right: North American Harvard IV (20451 '43' marked 2866 registered C-FROA) ex RCAF.

Noorduyn AT-16 Harvard IIB (3039 '039' registered C-FNDB) Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Built by Noorduyn Aviation in Montreal on May 3, 1941, under contract from North American Aviation, this aircraft carries construction number 07-06. It served with the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1941 to 1953, surviving a major training crash in 1944 before being completely rebuilt to "zero-time" specifications.
From 1953 to 1959, it was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy, serving with squadrons at Shearwater, Quebec City and Downsview. Sold through Crown Assets in 1960 to Stan Fitzner, it was later acquired by Robert Hewitt in 1978.

Left to right: Fleet 16B (4462 '62' registered C-FPFF) ex RCAF.

Left to right: de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (18028 '028' registered CF-EGO) ex RCAF.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (42-92489, FZ692). Built for the United States Army Air Forces, it was transferred to the Royal Air Force as a Dakota Mk.III. During Operation Overlord on D-Day, it served with 233 Squadron RAF and successfully dropped paratroopers at Touffreville, France. In September 1944, it was transferred to No. 437 "Husky" Squadron RCAF and went on to fly more than 200 operational missions, transporting supplies, evacuating casualties and repatriating prisoners of war.
This visiting aircraft is preserved by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario, restored in its wartime RCAF livery.

Left to right: Hawker Hurricane XII (5447 marked 'P2961 / LE-A' registered CF-TPM). Built by Canadian Car and Foundry in September 1942. Acquired by Vintage Wings of Canada in 2006, it underwent a painstaking restoration lasting more than 15 years. The restored aircraft is painted to honour World War Two ace Flying Officer William Lidstone "Willie" McKnight and features his distinctive "Grim Reaper" cartoon artwork on the fuselage. It completed its first test flight on April 23, 2022, at Ottawa-Gatineau Executive Airport.

Hawker Fury II (K8304, 1706M). Powered by a 525 hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine overhauled by Aero Vintage Ltd. in the UK. The aircraft was restored at Gatineau by Vintech Aero for the Michael U. Potter for the Vintage Wings of Canada collection. The restoration aimed to return the Fury to flight, making it the first Hawker Fury to fly in Canadian skies since 1 Squadron RAF toured Canada with the type in 1934.

Left to right: Supermarine Spitfire HFIX (TE294 marked 'MK304 / Y2-K' registered C-GYQQ, ex SAAF 5519). Built at Castle Bromwich in 1945, TE294 was delivered to the Royal Air Force in June that year but too late to see combat during World War Two. Rescued from a scrapyard in South Africa, it underwent a major multi-year restoration led by the Comox Air Force Museum, Vintech Aero and Mike Potter of Vintage Wings of Canada, at a cost of more than $1.6 million. It returned to the air on June 7, 2017, flying from Gatineau. It is painted as Y2-K in tribute to Canadian Flight Lieutenant Arnold "Rosey" Roseland of RCAF 442 Squadron, who flew more than 65 combat missions before being shot down and killed over Normandy in 1944.

North American P-51D Mustang (44-73463, 9575 marked 'KH661 / Y2-C' registered CF-VPM). Built by North American Aviation in Inglewood, California, in 1944 as a P-51D-25NA, this Mustang entered Royal Canadian Air Force service in 1947. It served until being placed in storage in 1954, after which it was sold into civilian ownership. After passing through several US owners, the aircraft underwent restoration between 1997 and 2000. In 2005, the aircraft was acquired by Vintage Wings of Canada founder Michael Potter and returned to Canada.