We Remember - Harvard flypast in Toronto
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The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association is proud to once again participate in the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony in downtown Toronto.
Weather permitting, five Harvards will fly over Old City Hall at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11. The event carries special significance this year given that 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the Harvard in Canada – an aircraft that played a pivotal role in securing our freedom in the Second World War.
The North American Aviation Harvard was the primary advanced, single-engine aircraft used to help train more than 130,000 aircrew under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada during the Second World War. From the Harvard, pilots went on to fly fighter planes such as the Spitfire, Hurricane, Kittyhawk and Mustang.
With its distinctive roar, the Harvard was a familiar sight and sound at air bases across the country during the war years.
Among the pilots flying this Remembrance Day will be former Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason, Chief Operations Officer of the all-volunteer Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association. Tryggvason served as a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle Mission STS-85 in 1997, a 12-day mission to study changes in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Harvards will leave their home base at Tillsonburg Tuesday morning at approximately 8:45 a.m. They will land at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to refuel before departing for the flypast at approximately 10:45 a.m.
After the Old City Hall flypast, the Harvards will fly over East York Civic Centre on Coxwell Avenue, Sunnybrook Hospital on Bayview Avenue and IBEW Local 353 on Lawrence Avenue East before returning to Tillsonburg.
ABOUT CHAA
The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association is a registered, non-profit, charitable organization with a Class B Museum designation. It is a dedicated group of volunteers established in 1985 to acquire, restore, preserve, maintain and display the North American Harvard and other training aircraft associated with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and the RCAF. The association is dedicated to keep the legend of the Harvard alive while honouring those that served and are serving our country in its time of need.
For more information, visit www.harvards.com.