Help celebrate the Year of the Veteran
by spending the afternoon with a few real vets.
at our Open House on May 22nd!

Our visitor count has increased over the past few months as spring descends on Vancouver Island. Having the Canadian Snowbirds training overhead also helps with the number of Vancouver Island residents that attend the Comox Air Base to visit the museum or attend the Y2K Spitfire restoration hangar.

Work continues on the tail cone and considerable progress has been made. Several parts from the our original supply of Spitfire parts have been used, but for the most part new parts are being fabricated by our talented engineer.

The volunteers have been busy conducting tours on Saturdays as well as preparing and planning for our big Annual Open House, scheduled for Sunday, May 22nd. This year's event should be bigger then ever! We have had confirmation from four Spitfire veterans to attend our event and help with our publicity as well as the ever important fund raising. The hangar will be open from noon till 4 p.m.

The Open House will also feature a large collection of Spitfire models honoring the RCAF pilots as well as some aviation art. We will be offering plenty of Spitfire souvenirs used for fundraising such as t-shirts, ball caps, prints, greeting cards. We will also have a few items that will be raffled off. Tickets for these items will only be made available at the Open House.

Spend the afternoon with some real veterans. Stocky Edwards and Duke Warren, former Wing Commanders, enjoy a laugh as they look over the Y2K Spitfire restoration project. Stocky and Duke are just a few of the Spitfire veterans that will be in attendance at our May 22nd Open House.

The Comox Valley based “Old English Car Club” will be participating by displaying a wonderful collection of British sport and classic cars including two Triumph Spitfires. The Comox Air Force Museum will be displaying our collection of heritage military vehicles. We are also planning a few surprises with respect to some of our heritage aircraft that are not on public display. Weather permitting you might see some of these rare gems moved out of their hangars and displayed next to our parking lot.

It is not often we use this space to endorse books or other aviation related items, but this month we have made an exception. Recently we received a package that was sent to our restoration office. When we opened it, we were delighted at what that mystery package contained. We would like to thank the Unlimited Details Co. for sending us a sample of the fine work they do. The example of the framed Mk IX Spitfire that they offer is nothing less then extraordinary. The detail offered in this rendition of the beautiful Spitfire is mind- boggling. If you collect aviation art of artifacts then you will be proud to hang this fine piece on your office or den wall. We suggest you check out their website at www.unlimiteddetails.com. Our sincere thanks goes out to Unlimited Details of Cumberland, Maryland for thinking of our project.

We also would like to extend a very warm and special thanks to Canadian Author, Wayne Ralph and his recently released book “Aces, Warriors & Wingmen”. This book chronicles, in a marvelous style, the events and pilots of the RCAF during the Second World War. Wayne Ralph has interviewed over 100 RCAF veterans and tells their story like no other. Several of the veterans that are featured in this fine book will be at the Y2K Open House. This 272-page book is an excellent read and contains stories and photographs that are unforgettable. If you have a desire to experience the feelings and private thoughts of these unique and proud fighters of the RCAF during the epic struggle for freedom, you must read this book. And last, but certainly not least, we would like to announce a new way of donating funds to our historic project.

We encourage you check out the link below and help us if you can. In the past 5 years we have invested about $450,000 into our Spitfire restoration and without your generosity our valuable work would grind to a halt. Our restoration team estimates we will require twice this amount to get Y2K back into the air where it will honour the memory of those Canadians that did not return home. By using this link you can donate to the project using your credit card. The organization that provides this charitable help is CanadHelps.org. It is a non-profit agency that assists thousands of charitable organizations by being a one stop location for people to donate money to the charity of their choice. If you wish to support this worthy project click on the link. It will take you to the Comox Air Force Museum Association page, the fund raising arm of our project. Follow the instructions and when it asks you if you wish to send a message, please note that "your donation is for the Y2K Spitfire project". We thank you for your help!

Thanks again for your time and support,
Pat Murphy and the Y2K Spitfire volunteers