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Bagotville Wing Commander, Colonel Sylvain Ménard, has announced the acquisition by the Air Defence Museum of a large collection of Avro Arrow artifacts.
This new collection composed of 15 Aircraft parts, 21 archive documents and eight photographs will place Bagotville Air Defence Museum as a major destination for fans of this legendary aircraft.
Estimated at several thousand dollars, Marc-André Valiquette could have sold his Avro Arrow collections piece by piece to countless enthusiasts. Instead, he preferred to give it to the museum for safe keeping for future generations.
According to Colonel Ménard, “This is an incredible opportunity to our museum that Mr. Valiquette has decided to donate his collection to the museum, which will remain intact and protected rather than sold to numerous enthusiasts. We sincerely thank him for this.”
As with anything linked with this aircraft creates immense interest in the media and the general public, this announcement will not only surprise more than one in Canada, but many all around the world. This substantial donation could not have been made possible without the relentless efforts of Claude Chamberland, museum curator, and his dynamic staff. Great support and enthusiasm from 3 Wing Bagotville Commander, Colonel Sylvain Ménard, has also been invaluable.
Valiquette continues to share his Arrow passion by giving presentations to Air Cadet Squadrons, aerospace associations and businesses. He hopes that this important historical collection, now residing at the Air Defence Museum, will inspire our youth to dream of an aerospace career and to learn that this story is also about the defence of our rights and our borders.
Some of these rare pieces will be presented to the public this summer within the exhibition Masters of the Sky at the Bagotville Air Defence Museum.
