Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum

09/01/2026

Before taking to the skies across Canada as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, thousands of young recruits sat in classrooms like the students of today, mastering subjects such as math, meteorology, and the famed "Link Trainer". Initial Training School was where Canadians from all backgrounds began to be transformed into WWII aircrew, and it's fitting that other students and I are getting ready to go back to school!

08/26/2026

Volunteers at the CATPM are restoring history one day at a time!

In the museum workshop, volunteers are busy full-time sawing, measuring, drilling, and calculating to build a Fairey Battle aircraft. A light bomber that was pulled from WWII combat due to its ineffectiveness, it was a vital part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan across Canada.

Have you seen our Fairey Battle in the works or had a chat with our dedicated volunteers? Let us know in the chat below and share any photos of your aircraft restoration projects!

08/25/2026

Why not take some time and come up and visit the museum before the kids head back to school? There’s lots to learn and do at the museum. We are open every day from 10 o’clock until 4 o’clock so don’t delay, come up today!

08/24/2026

One of our summer workers, Whitney, writes about her experience presenting at a history conference in Ottawa - and more!

Whitney M. Hodgins is a Master of Arts Student from Athabasca University focusing on Heritage and Social History. In my previous blog post where I discussed “Trading the Hangar for History Panels:…

08/22/2026

Have you enjoyed a visit to the this year?
Support from the Brandon Area Community Foundation helps make experiences like these possible.
Thanks to a $6,600 BACF Community Grant, we were able to replace the furnace in our Community Crew Quarters, an important investment in keeping our spaces functional, welcoming and ready to serve our community.
Alongside this project, the Museum also invested in a new accessible ramp, helping us continue to improve access to our site.
These improvements might happen behind the scenes, but they make a real difference to what we're able to do every day.
Thank you, BACF, for investing in our Museum and our community!

08/21/2026

Do you love aviation history? Curious about what’s next for the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum?

Join our Director General & CEO, Zoe McQuinn, for Building to Preserve: The Next 40 Years at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, a look at how we’re planning for the future while protecting everything that makes this Museum so special. Discover the vision behind our redevelopment, the choices we’re making, and how we’re working to ensure Canada’s aviation heritage continues to inspire future generations.

Thursday, August 27
7:00 p.m. CDT
Online via Zoom

Hosted by the Canadian Aviation Historical Society – Manitoba Chapter. Everyone with an interest in Canadian aviation history is welcome!

08/20/2026

Join Us!

At the CATPM we are undergoing a period of redevelopment, and would like your input. In the hangar, there are three poster boards, and we want your Ideas on what we need to preserve, what the museum can build, and what you imagine our space can be! Submit your ideas at the museum until September 5th.

08/20/2026

This week’s poems come from RCAF Station Dartmouth in Nova Scotia. Station Dartmouth (now Shearwater) is the second oldest military airfield in Canada with it opening in August 1918. During World War Two the station wasn’t used as a training base but rather it was used as the base of operations for the RCAF’s maritime air squadrons. These squadrons would include aircraft, such as the Hawker Hurricane, that were used for coastal surveillance as well as for convoy protection for naval operations.

Most of the issues of “Thumbs Up” don't include any poems, however this very oil-stained September 1942 issue contained many of them! Most of the poems were quite long, which the format for these posts excludes. After removing the option of the longer poems, I was left with these two and I really struggled to choose which one to use. Obviously I never made up my mind. I also think showing these two poems together is quite powerful. Together, they showcase a part of the BCATP that isn’t discussed very often. Over 800 students died while in training during the Second World War, a tragedy in itself, but even more so when you remember that most of them were under the age of 25. The harsh reality of the war is that aircraft were in limited supply and even planes that were a part of fatal crashes were rebuilt and reused if possible. As I’ve unfortunately seen in many stations’ Daily Diaries (official daily reports), aircraft recovery was sometimes completed before a funeral could be held. I’m sure it was a huge weight for the ground crew to carry as they worked on the aircraft, however it was a necessity to keep the planes in the sky.

I did my best to track down the authors of these poems, unfortunately nothing came up. While I do know the databases and all the right places to check, luck is always involved while looking up names — especially when only part of the name is available. That being said, I did run into a bit of a mystery while I was researching. At the end of Cpl. Caves’ sign off in “Ode to an Erk”, it mentions No. 1 AED. -

Caption continued in comments.

08/19/2026

Stearman Flight Update

Due to the unprecedented amount of rain this season and the resulting condition of the grass landing area at the Dauphin Airport, the Stearman will unfortunately not be joining us on August 23.

As the Stearman requires the grass for takeoff and landing, the decision was made by CATPM’s Head Pilot and Flying Committee in the interest of aircraft safety.

The Harvard and Tiger Moth are still scheduled to fly in Dauphin and can operate from the paved runway.

08/18/2026

Have you ever heard of the Goldfish club? I certainly hadn't! A few weeks ago I was sent an article about this fraternity and a member Frank Sewell by the CATPM archivist. Check out this video to hear the amazing stories of a trainee of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan!