Where will Windsor's Lancaster 'land'? The city wants to hear your ideas

Windsor's Lancaster Bomber is looking for a new home, and the city is inviting residents to share their ideas. 

Council received a report Monday kicking off public consultation on the future location of the Lancaster Bomber — but the organization currently caring for the plane also has an idea for where it should be located.  

Last year, volunteers from the Canadian Aviation Museum (CAM) say they put nearly 5,000 volunteer hours into the restoration of the Second World War-era bomber, one of only 17 left in the world. Two of the remaining Lancasters are flight-worthy and another five are in wreckage condition at the sites where they crashed. 

"The Lancaster Bomber is an asset of historical and cultural importance to the community," a staff report notes.

"Proper stewardship is vital to protect this asset and provide access to the community. Community consultation is an important part of this process prior to moving forward."

A petition from the Canadian Aviation Museum, which currently has a stewardship agreement through October 2026 to restore the plane, calls on the city to locate the Lancaster indoors. It also asks for the city to assist in funding the construction of a hangar on municipally-owned land adjacent to the museum's current hangar.

A second option would see the Lancaster remain in the museum's current hangar. 

"We think it should stay at the airport. First of all, it's an airplane. It belongs at the airport," said Don Christopher, president of the aviation museum and project director of the Lancaster restoration for the last eight years. 

The petition had nearly 900 signatures as of Monday afternoon. 

"We would like to continue to be stewards of the aircraft, to display it, give tours and we can do this with no cost to the city because who knows the airplane better than we do?". 

The museum's petition launched just ahead of planned public constitution by city council about the future of the Lancaster.

The city currently provides $50,000 per year to the restoration of the plane. 

Christopher says the aircraft has required more than 85,000 hours of work over about 16 years to get the Lancaster back to nearly-new condition, with crews soon ready to reassemble the plane.

A decision about where the plane will go should be made soon, he says, before a crucial part of the plane is reassembled. 

"I think everyone understands that leaving it outside for 40 years was a terrible idea."

"Let's face it, it's an 80-year-old airplane. It needs to be indoors … Before we put the wings on, we have to decide where it's going to go."

That's because the plane will have a wingspan of 102 feet once reassembled. The doors on the CAM's current hangar only open to 75 feet.

Christopher says if the Lancaster's permanent home is in the aviation museum's hangar, new doors would have to be put on the hangar to get the plane outdoors.  

A purpose-built hangar would give the option for the plane to be moved outside, Christopher says, and potentially offer taxi-ing rides in the plane to generate money.

Lancaster a war memorial, 'national treasure'

The Lancaster is more than a plane, Christopher says — its importance to Windsor is also that of a war memorial. 

"It's not only just a local treasure, it's a national treasure," he said.

"Our museum sees over 2,000 students every year come into the building. We we tell them the history of the aircraft, the history of a lot of those men who flew in them. 

"With all the veterans mostly gone, now it's up to us to continue telling their stories that they've passed on to us. The Lancaster is a huge part of that."

A survey on the future home of the Lancaster will run from June 7 to 28, with in-person consultation set for June 14.

A report will then come back to council.