There is a buzz of excitement at Brandon’s Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum about the arrival of three vintage aircraft — and the planes haven’t even landed yet.

“We’ve been looking for a Norseman for a long time, so we’re pretty excited,” said Jeff Bell, the museum’s chief pilot.

“And it was a huge surprise to us, so we’re pretty happy about getting three of them.”

The Noorduyn Norseman was built in Canada, developed in 1935 by a man named Robert C. Noorduyn, who designed it as a bush plane for the rugged north. More than 900 were produced.

With the onset of the Second World War, nearly 700 were purchased by the United States military, and close to 100 acquired by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Of those, 38 were ordered for BCATP to train Canadian pilots, said Bell.

“Norseman is

See Full Page