Pokemon Go away from vintage planes at Gander aviation museum
Do not stand on top of an antique aircraft. Not even if there's a Charizard up there.
That's the message from Gander's North American Aviation Museum this week, after adventurous Pokemon Go players affixed themselves to the wings of some priceless planes on Monday night.
"It seems that we have Pokemon stops here," said executive director Sandra Seaward. "There's two of them. And a Pokemon Gym or something like that. I'm really not that up on it but it's a very popular spot."
The game, which has swept the world in recent weeks, brings players together as they explore real life maps to find virtual Pokemon characters. Areas with a higher volume of players turn into Pokemon Gyms — a place where people gather to battle their Pokemon against one another.
As a result, the museum finds its parking lot packed with Pokemon long after the 7 p.m. closing time.
"We've had a lot of people here later at night and it's not a bad thing," Seaward said. "It's absolutely fine, sitting in a parking lot. It's not so fine standing on an aircraft that happens to be a vintage, rare aircraft."
The museum showcases four aircraft outdoors, including a Lockheed Hudson Bomber and a PBY-5A Canso, both of which were climbed over on Monday night. The Lockheed is one of only six remaining models in the world, while the Canso already has a hole in one of its wings.
"I'm thinking a lot of people aren't aware that it's actually made of fabric and it's pretty delicate," Seaward said of the Canso. "So standing on a wing could put you on the ground pretty quickly."
The museum has called police. It has also considered putting a gate across it's front entrance, but three sides of the large property would remain wide open. It would also interfere with the public allure of the planes, Seaward said.
"As they say, 'the locks are for honest people,'" she laughed. "It has been a consideration ... but we don't want to cover things up. We don't want to take it away from people. We want people to enjoy it. That's what it's there for."
The game and the gatherings are not an issue, as long as people stay off the planes and keep their Pokemon pursuits on level ground, Seaward said.
"I hope people will enjoy it and have some fun here without getting out of hand."