Who We Are

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The JET AIRCRAFT MUSEUM (JAM) exists to create and maintain a dynamic and living history of the modern age Royal Canadian Air Force and to provide permanent honour for those valiant Canadian men and women who flew these aircraft with distinction in periods of war, peace, and peace keeping. In short, our mission is to “Preserve, Educate, and Soar”.

JAM is a not-for-profit organization that has as its primary purposes the acquisition, display, preservation, maintenance and, most importantly, providing in flight demonstrations for the people of Canada now and for generations to come. The JAM mission is to combine the creation and operation of a museum, housing aircraft, historical artifacts, records, and salient memorabilia, while simultaneously keeping representative historic aircraft in the air whenever and wherever major aviation events are held across Canada and at appropriate international centres.

The Museum offers full voting membership to everyone interested in preserving Canada’s noble jet heritage. Governance is provided by a Board of Directors and Officers.

The Museum has been granted charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency. With this status and our organization’s plans growing daily we continue to seek support through memberships, donations and sponsorships.

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Our Mandate Statements

Jet Aircraft Museum (JAM) will bring students, veterans, and the general public into contact with the science and technology of flight, the importance of aviation history and opportunities to witness and experience actual flight in a vintage jet aircraft.

Jet Aircraft Museum will restore, preserve, and maintain supportive exhibits in the tribute to the thousands of men and women who built, serviced, and flew these aircraft, and in memory of those who did not return.

Jet Aircraft Museum will maintain an education program to teach it’s members to restore, preserve, and service vintage jet aircraft, and teach grade-school students the properties of flight and structures by matching museum material to the Ontario Science Curriculum.

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Our History

The model for the establishment of JAM is the immensely successful Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA), which was created in 1986 and has preserved, trained pilots for, and flown and continues to fly this legendary Air force training aircraft at important aviation events in both Canada and the U.S. It is significant that the founder (Bob Hewitt) of CHAA and many of its senior volunteer members are among the founding leadership of the Jet Aircraft Museum.

The organization that was to become the Jet Aircraft Museum started meeting in the late fall of 2007. An opportunity had materialized for the acquisition of six T-Bird jet aircraft from the Government of Canada and favourable financing has already been established to facilitate this acquisition. This two seater jet trainer, Canadian built by Canadair in Montreal was the workhorse trainer for Canada’s Armed Forces for some 50 years.

With the decision made by the original founders to approve the purchase of all 6 T-Birds the weight of the task was made clear. It was at this point through reaching out to the aviation community to create a volunteer group that the Jet Aircraft Museum was officially formed. These volunteers then became members and plans were created on finding a home for the T-Birds and then getting them in condition to fly there.

After much searching a suitable home for the T Birds and other aircraft as they are acquired was established at the London, Ontario International Airport on December 2008. The support from the Greater London International Airport Authority and local community was strong from the beginning with many of JAM’s membership coming from nearby areas.

With a home base in place the focused turned to preparation of the 6 T-Birds for ferry flights to the hangar at the London Intl. Airport. Through late 2008 and all of 2009 crews of 6 members where sent up to work on all 6 planes at CFB Mountain View in eastern Ontario. After much hard work and dedication the first 2 planes arrived home at the London Intl. Airport on April 15th 2009. The rest of the year saw much more success as the final T-Bird completed its ferry flight on October 19th 2009.

The Museum has started ground and aircrew training programs and the establishment of rigorous maintenance, service, safety and operational control procedures. JAM anticipates that the T-Bird will be its main in-the-air demonstration aircraft until circumstances permit acquisition of other aircraft.

Looking to the future the ultimate objective of the Museum is to have one or more flyable versions of major jet aircraft used by Canada’s armed forces since we entered the military jet age in 1944 and Jets from other countries as well. These include Canada’s first, the Vampire, the CT-133 T-Bird, CT-114 Tutor and others.

Does this sound interesting to you?

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Become a member now!