Gimli Glider

Giml Glide

EDUCATE, ENLIGHTEN. ENTERTAIN GIMLI GLIDER EXHIBIT

HOURS OF OPERATION EXHIBIT LOCATION

119B - 1st Avenue, Lakeview Resort & Conference Centre Gimli, MB (just beyond the NE corner of 1st & Centre St.)

Gimli is approximately 1 hour North of Winnipeg, Manitoba on Highway 9 on the west side of Lake Winnipeg.

Visit our website: gimliglider.org

We will be open to accommodate school groups, conferences and private functions.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Exhibit Phone: 204-642-5577

Website: gimliglider.org

Email: gimligliderinfo@gmail.com

Gimli Glider Exhibit

Box 1828

Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

R0C 1B0

TREATY 1 TERRITORY & LAND ACKNOWLEGEMENT

The Gimli Glider Exhibit acknowledges that we on Treaty 1 territory and that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, including the Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene Peoples,

and the homeland of the Metis Nation.

COVER PHOTO BY WAYNE GLOWACKI, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

MESSAGE FROM TRAVEL MANITOBA

On behalf of Travel Manitoba, I’d like to extend my sincere congratulations to the Gimli Glider Museum on the 40th Anniversary of the most unique aviation story in Manitoba history.

The Gimli Glider Exhibit tells the dramatic story of the Air Canada Boeing 767 flight that ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet enroute from Montreal to Edmonton and managed to safely land at the former Royal Canadian Air Base, now Gimli Motorsports Park, on July 23, 1983. The Gimli Glider Museum showcases memorabilia, aircraft parts and artifacts from the now-famous Boeing 767. The intent of the Gimli Glider Exhibit is to “Educate, Enlighten & Entertain”, and it certainly does all three, offering an interactive, experiential discovery of the famous skilled landing that impacted training and operations throughout the industry. Put your own flying skills to the test and try your hand at landing the Gimli Glider in the flight simulator, or take a rest in real Boeing aircraft passenger seats to watch a variety of stories and films about the event.

At Travel Manitoba we refer to the Gimli Glider Exhibit as a Must-See-Um, a Manitoba museum that is certainly a “must see”.

Colin Ferguson President and CEO Travel Manitoba

A MESSAGE FROM THE GIMLI GLIDER MUSEUM PRESIDENT

The immediate financial support from private donors and local Council to secure the initial four components and fuselage section made possible the resulting two year journey to our Grand Opening. The initial committee is composed of local residents dedicated to seeing this history located within Gimli for the public to enjoy.

The past five years has been an amazing experience through the accumulation of additional items connected to the event, among them the stories of local residents and other individuals whose lives have a connection to the skilled landing on the local runway. I must acknowledge Anthony Walsh of British Columbia who alerted me to the final sale of the items at the core of our display. Without his phone call and assistance this history would likely be lost to our future generations.

Our gratitude goes to Captain Bob Pearson and crew for the donation of extensive memorabilia and willingness to be there for our limitless questions and inquiries during our research and writing.

We are very proud of the Exhibit offered for your education, enlightenment and entertainment, and we are thrilled to meet people from around the world as they come through our doors to see this amazing aviation story. I want to recognize and congratulate our Founding Committee Members: Stephen Bannister, Gwen Harp, Dave McNabb, Peter Holfeuer, Ron Hall, Norm Black and Anthony Walsh.

Barbara Gluck, Gimli Glider Museum President

VISITOR COMMENTS

I recently retired at the airlines having been a captain, check pilot and instructor on the 767, 727, 757, 777 & 787. While traveling in retirement, we stop and visit many aviation museums .... YOUR’S IS

ONE OF

THE BEST!!!

We look forward to school tours and students eager to learn all about this historical event.

AUDIO WAND TOUR

M.S. Austin, Texas...... Fabulous

T.L. Winnipeg, MB ..... Awesome

C.W. Fargo, N.D ..... Great Exhibit

R.F. Winnipeg, MB .... Well done

A.H. Sandy Hook, MB .... You are to be congratulated

R.S. Gimli, MB .... Fantastic

G.M. Warren, MB .... Great, lots of interesting things

S.B. Halifax, NS .... Well done

M.C. Winnipeg, MB .... Excellent presentation

S. & L. S. Portage La Prairie, MB .... Great to see this open.

SUPPORT THE GIMLI GLIDER MUSEUM

DONATIONS are essential to the long term sustainability of the Gimli Glider Museum and its exhibits. With your support we can continue to preserve and showcase Gimli’s Aviation heritage and this famous Canadian event.

ENDOWMENT FUND

In August, 2021 an endowment fund was set up at the Westshore Community Foundation Inc.(WCFI) entitled HERITAGE – GIMLI GLIDER MUSEUM INC. FUND (Heritage Fund) under guidelines established by the Manitoba Heritage Trust Program. This Program maintains an attractive matching program for all private donations into the Heritage Fund. Your donation will be augmented by matching dollars, invested and managed by WCFI with the investment earnings from those dollars paid out annually in perpetuity to the Gimli Glider Museum. This income is then used at the sole discretion of the Museum in pursuit of its goals “ To Educate, Enlighten & Entertain” and in a manner consistent with its mandate to tell the heroic story of Air Canada Flight 143 on July 23,1983.

To Donate

TO DONATE

Visit our website gimliglider.org and click on the red Donate button that will provide further instructions on how to complete your donation. Charitable donation tax receipts are available for amounts over $10.

We have provided both English and French languages on our audio wand tour that can be a help mate as you visit each area of our Exhibit. The content of the “tour” provides highlights about different subjects of the history.

Annual Membership: $25 Life Membership: $150

Visit our website gimliglider.org for complete information

.

Chief Glider Flight Instructor

NCSA Glider Flight Academy

Giml Glide A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GIMLI GLIDER EVENT

On a typical summer’s eve for the residents of Gimli, they were suddenly thrust into the world limelight with the highly skilled and unusual glider-like landing of a huge new airliner.

At 41,000 feet (12,700 metres) over Red Lake, Ontario some 275 kilometers from Winnipeg, an audible warning had alerted pilot Captain Robert Pearson and Co-Pilot Maurice Quintal, that something was wrong with their fuel supply. Shortly thereafter both engines failed. When it became clear they could not glide to Winnipeg adiversion was recommended to the Gimli Airport. It was known to have a runway long enough to accommodate the size of their new Boeing 767. The unknown was that this runway had been decommissioned and was now being used as a racetrack, complete with a long metal railing down the centre of the airstrip. No control tower or emergency equipment was available. To further complicate the evening it was the end of a race day and families in trailers were parked alongside the airstrip for a weekend of racing. Three young boys were on the airstrip riding their bikes oblivious to the plane bearing down on the runway after 17 minutes in a freefall. Near the runway was a reunion of almost 1,000 former students of the local high school. A disaster was in the making...

The Exhibit tells about the remarkable skilled landing by the plane’s experienced pilot, the stories of the local residents, along with higlighting results from a subsequent inquiry about the fuel shortage, impacts on the industry and resulting changes. Our goal was to tell the story of this amazing Canadian aviation event, to educate, enlighten and entertain all those who come to visit the Gimli Glider Exhibit.

EXHIBIT INCEPTION

In the Spring of 2015 it became known from a pilot and Gimli Glider enthusiast that significant operational components from the Gimli Glider were offered for sale on a website and two had sold quickly.

C-GAUN, Fin 604 had been flown to retirement in 2008 and after a failed attempt to auction her it was now being sold for salvage and taken apart frame by frame.

Action was quickly taken to raise funds to keep the essence of the famous aircraft where it belonged, in Canada and Gimli. This was the start of the Gimli Glider Museum Inc., long desired and asked about when tourists visit the town of Gimli where this incredible aviation event took place.

EXHIBIT CONCEPT

Over the years what came to the forefront was the amount of interesting recollections and stories about what the local residents experienced through that evening and beyond. As a result, memorabilia became a large part of what was brought to our attention, both from aviation enthusiasts and others.

We have focused our Exhibit on the skilled landing of the pilots, the brand new airliner with the first digital technology and the local stories. Throughout the displays are rare donated items and very interesting stories. Captain Pearson has gifted the Exhibit some of his extensive personal collection and memorabilia. The Exhibit uses both storytelling and video on monitors to enlighten and entertain all visitors.

FIVE ORIGINAL COMPONENTS

The core of the Exhibit concept was the first acquired significant components. They had to be authentic to the aircraft as it was while here at Gimli. They had to play some role in the operation through those 17 minutes in the air while freefalling. The story about how the three-window fuselage panel came to be is interesting in itself and will be told in the display.

COCKPIT MOCK - UP AND FLIGHT SIMULATOR EXPERIENCE

THEATRE AREA

Built to scale of the Gimli Glider cockpit and outfitted with the photo realism diagram of the exact equipment in the exact place within the operating area, visitors can try and test their skills to land a plane on the Gimli Airport runway.

Experience sitting in real Boeing aircraft passenger seats, complete with seat belts and lap trays for the experience of watching films and stories about the Gimli Glider.

RAM AIR TURBINE

The Ram Air Turbine was truly tested in the Gimli Glider landing. It was also instrumental in the maneuver completed by Capt. Pearson to place the huge airliner in the forward slip position to slow the aircraft down in its final descent to the runway. A unique opportunity to see up close, the commonly referred to “RAT”, as it is usually hidden away in the lower fuselage until required to perform.

Read the Statistics in the role it has played to save over a thousand lives in aviation incidents. Donated by the manufacturer and developer, UTC Aerospace Systems, Head Office in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A.

GIMLI GLIDER FIN 604 MODELS

We are so very grateful for the variety of donated and interesting

models of the 767-2OO Air Canada C-GAUN, Fin 604.

A dedicated Gimli Glider enthusiast has donated a rare large 6’ model. Prepare to be wowed with this one!

During both our development stage and early months of opening, conversations were frequent about the public and aviation fans always flying on 604 or sitting in airports capturing photos of her in a Gate area. Clearly, she was a popular aircraft identified by her tail number. We began the early stage of planning to see if we could possibly acquire the top section of the large tail with her famous number. Mark Miller of multiple television series fame offered to assist the Museum if we would like to acquire a significant part of the aircraft. Mark also assisted Capt. Pearson with the unveiling and this is one of our most photographed items with visitors.

FIRST OBSERVER’S CHAIR

TAKE A GIMLI GLIDER EXHIBIT TOUR FOR YOUR SPECIAL EVENT, CLASSROOM, CONFERENCE OR PRIVATE FUNCTION

Rick Dion, Maintenance Control Supervisor was on this flight with his wife Pearl and 3 year old son Chris. He was invited into the cockpit to visit with pilots and talk about the brand new concept airliner. This was the seat he occupied. When system alerts began, discussion followed about identifying the problem. After the 2nd warning and the Mayday was made Rick returned to the passenger section to sit with his family. The Dion family support made it possible for the Museum to acquire the chair.

ABOUT THE PILOTS

First Officer Maurice Quintal

Maurice obtained his private flying license at the young age of sixteen. In 1967 he joined the Canadian Airforce as an Officer Cadet and trained on the Tutor and Chipmunk air craft. For a period he trained and was stationed at the RCAF Base in Gimli, Manitoba. He left the air force in 1968 due to a force reduction

Maurice was with Air Canada from 1973 – ten years at the time of the landing in Gimli. Eight of those years were as a First Officer. Along with French and English he was also fluent in Spanish.

He retired as a Captain on the B767. Maurice flew aircraft 604, The Gimli Glider, numerous times during the 25 years the famous aircraft remained on the line at Air Canada. In his retirement years he and his wife Claudette traveled extensively. Sadly Maurice passed away in the fall of 2015

Captain Bob Pearson

My first flight happened at 16 while firefighting in northern Quebec. I sat on the floor of a small plane, no seats, no seat-belts, and while we were severely jostled around with the rising heat from the fire and risked our imminent departure through a loosely secured door, I found myself hugely excited about the experience, no fear just an enjoyment about the experience. Here began my interest in flying.

I worked at 17 for the British Newfoundland Corporation and lived in a tent for six months. I saved enough money to pay for my Private Pilots License and started on my Commercial License.

By May 18th, 1957 I had met the minimum entrance requirements for Trans Canada Airlines (TCA). By July 1st, I progressed to Link Trainer lessons followed by 30 hours of ‘right seat’ training on DC 3’s.

For the next ten years I flew Douglas DC3, Vickers Viscount, Douglas DC8 and DC9 as the First Officer.

1967 I was promoted to Captain on the Viscount and subsequently I flew DC9, B727, B767, B747-100/200 and finally the B747-400 over my final 28 years of commercial flying. I retired from Air Canada at 58 1⁄2 years of age and finished my career with Asiana Airlines on the 400 on the Seoul-Kennedy-Anchorage-Seoul run. I feel I got into airline flying at the right time and left at the right time, and I still believe that airline pilots should retire at 60.

Interspersed with flying commercially I did quite a bit of glider and ultralight flying along with some float, ski and glider towing. I have always felt that a variety of experiences helps to round out a pilot’s skills. I was active for many years in the Canadian Airline Pilots Association. Since retirement I have done several expert witness assignments in aircraft accident law suits

Special Message From Captain Bob Pearson

We are overwhelmed at the continuing interest in our 1983 Gimli landing. Maurice and I knew that we had pulled off a unique maneuver to salvage the terrible situation we found ourselves in, but never for a moment ever thought that the story would have so much significance and would continue to be interesting to so many people for so long.

We are honoured to be able to contribute what we can to the story and wish the Gimli Glider Exhibit in the wonderful Gimli community much success.

Captain Bob Pearson