The KF Centre for Excellence

10/15/2026

The YLW Fall Travel Show is coming up! ✈️🌎

Stop by the KF Centre, meet airlines and travel partners, get inspired for your next trip and explore the Centre while you’re here.

Best of all? Admission is FREE!

📅 October 17 | 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
📍 KF Centre for Excellence

10/14/2026

The KF Centre for Excellence is seeking a General Manager to join our team!

This senior leadership opportunity brings together strategic planning, operations, education, aviation and community engagement at one of the Okanagan's most unique organizations.

We're looking for a collaborative, hands-on leader who values strong relationships, organizational excellence and the important role the KF Centre plays in connecting people through aviation.

Interested, or know someone who might be a great fit? We'd love for you to share this opportunity!

🔗 Learn more and apply: https://www.kfaero.ca/careers

10/14/2026

What a journey, and what a story!

40 years after the Odyssey DC-3 travelled around the world, Skies Plus revisits the remarkable adventure, sharing firsthand memories from the original crew and the story of how this historic aircraft found its way home to the KF Centre for Excellence.

A wonderful feature by Lisa Gordon, with insights from Barry Lapointe, Doreen Olson, Bob Blanchard, Bill Gillies, and our own D'Acry Barker.

Thank you to Skies Plus for helping keep this important piece of Canadian aviation history alive.

Read the full story:

In 1986, a 50-year-old DC-3 and 11 adventurous crew members embarked on an epic journey, carrying Canadian hospitality to the four corners of the globe.

10/13/2026

Aviation has an important role to play in how we respond to wildfire.

This month, the Canadian Wildfire Conference brings wildfire professionals, industry leaders and organizations from across Canada together at the KF Centre to share knowledge, explore new technologies and talk about the future of wildfire response.

From aerial firefighting to the work happening on the ground, it’s an important conversation, and one we’re proud to host here in Kelowna.

🔥 October 27-29, 2026
📍 KF Centre for Excellence

Interested in attending? Learn more and register through the Canadian Wildfire Conference or by visiting: https://kfcentre.ca/event/events-canadian-wildfire-conference-2026/

Please note: the KF Centre will be closed to public visitation October 27-29 to accommodate the conference. We will resume regular operations on Friday, October 30th.

10/12/2026

The Hawker Tempest Mk II was built in 1944 and later served with the Royal Indian Air Force. Decades later, Barry Lapointe found the aircraft in pieces in New Zealand - a remarkable connection to the small dinky toys he had owned as an eight-year-old.

Barry brought MW376 to Canada, and in 2014, an extensive restoration began in Kelowna. It's a project that captures a big part of what the KF Centre is about - preserving aviation history, but keeping the knowledge, craftmanship and aircraft behind that history alive.

10/10/2026

Thinking about where you want to go next? ✈️🌎

The YLW Fall Travel Show is coming to the KF Centre for Excellence!

Meet airlines, destinations and travel partners, discover new places you can get to from YLW and start dreaming about your next getaway.

📅 Saturday, October 17
⏰ 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
📍 KF Centre for Excellence
🎟️ FREE admission

Come explore the show ... and the KF Centre while you’re here.

10/08/2026

That’s a wrap on the 2026 Vertical MRO Conference! We were thrilled to welcome more than 600 attendees and over 60 vendors for a fantastic few days of industry connections, conversations and collaboration.

One of our highlights was joining The Hangar Z Podcast to talk about the history of helicopters in the Okanagan and what’s in the hangars at the KF Centre for Excellence. Stay tuned - we look forward to sharing the episode when it airs!

A big thank you to the VMRO team, who hosted the event. It was a pleasure to host you!

10/08/2026

There are a lot of stories parked inside these hangars!

Some of our aircraft are connected to military service. Others to commercial aviation, flight training, aerial firefighting or the Okanagan’s own aviation history.

And some have stories that travelled a very long way before ending up at the KF Centre for Excellence.

Next time you visit, slow down and take a closer look ... there’s a lot more to discover than you might expect.

✈️ Which aircraft in the collection is your favourite?

10/06/2026

There's a lot happening inside the hangars this week. 🚁

The KF Centre is currently closed to the public as we welcome the rotorcraft maintenance community to Kelowna for Vertical MRO.

Hosting industry conferences is another part of what happens here - bringing aviation professionals to connect, learn and share what's happening across the industry.

We'll be back to regular visitor hours again on October 8. In the meantime, take a glimpse of what's happening inside.

09/28/2026

The KF Centre for Excellence will be closed on Wednesday, September 30, in recognition of the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation.

As a place dedicated to learning, storytelling and sharing history, we recognize the importance of making space to listen, learn and reflect.

We honour survivors of residential schools, and their families and reflect on the ongoing work of reconciliation.

The KF Centre will reopen on Thursday, October 1.