Final Flight For Hawaii Mars Aug. 10

Coulson Aviation hqs set Aug. 10 for the final flight of the Hawaii Mars waterbomber. The company had previously said the massive Martin Mars flying boat would be transferred to the B.C. Aviation Museum in the fall. “We’re ahead of schedule,” said CEO Britt Coulson. The plane last flew in 2016 when it limped back to Port Alberni after its hull was holed in a mishap at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The Hawaii Mars has already had its engines run up and maintenance staff are going over the behemoth for the final flight. It will be the centrepiece of an exhibit on aerial firefighting. The Mars was once a key tool in forest fire control up and down the West Coast but more modern platforms have replaced it. Coulson’s other flying boat, the Philippine Mars, will go to a museum in Arizona but details of that transfer have not been confirmed.