Museums & Galleries in Airdrie

A passenger aircraft hangs from the ceiling. A WWII fighter jet crouches silently next to a WWI triplane and a vintage helicopter. At the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, visitors peruse an expansive collection of propeller- and jet-powered vintage aircraft inside a renovated hangar that was built in 1941 to serve as the drill hall for a flight-training school. Museum staffers care for and maintain a range of North American and European aviation artifacts, such as military and civilian planes built by Barkley-Grow, de Havilland, and Waco; a replica Sopwith triplane; and Sikorsky and Bell helicopters. They also display an in-progress restoration and daily massage treatments on a real Avro Lancaster, a British four-engine heavy bomber used in WWII. Guides also lead educational tours through hangar exhibits, during which young visitors learn about the physics of flight and the inner workings of airplanes.