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 There's Something In The Air! - Princeton, BC Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 49° 28.431 W 120° 30.145
10U E 680931 N 5483131
This CT-133 Silver Star was restored and mounted at the entrance to the Princeton Regional Airport in 2012, thanks to the time and effort of a group of dedicated aviation enthusiasts.
Waymark Code: WMN8EV
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/18/2015
Views: 1
Not only is this CT-133 a display airplane, it is now Princeton's largest weather vane. You see, it was mounted on a swivel atop its pedestal, allowing it to swing into the wind, just like the little weather vanes atop houses, barns and churches.
Powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet, the CT-133 was built for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) by Canadair. It is a licensed version of the T-33 Shooting Star Trainer designed and built by Lockheed in the U.S.
When the Silver Star was due to be mounted at the airport the Similkameen News Leader published a short story on the project and the airplane in its issue of April 16, 2013. Read it below.
(The Similkameen News Leader's online format is a bit unusual. To find the article at the given URL one must scroll to the date, April 16, 2013, then to the news item. Dates appear in reverse chronological order.)
There's Something In The Air!
Princeton Airport will soon have an interesting feature at the entrance to the facility just off Highway 5A. Thanks to the efforts of a handful of locals, a Canadair CT-133 Silver Star trainer jet will welcome pilots and visitors to the local airfield. According to Airport Manager Dave Woodruff, the vintage 1952 jet came from the Brazilian Air Force. The craft was in the Okanagan for service and local pilot Dave Eccott eventually ended up with it. Roy Harker took on the task of restoring the jet, with some expenses out of his own pocket, to be displayed at Princeton Airport. Woodruff says the idea was first brought to the Town of Princeton Airport Committee a couple years ago.
The story of the CT-133 is interesting. The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star is the Canadian licensed-built version of the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, which was a jet trainer. The 1951 contract was to provide the RCAF with Shooting Star trainers of which Canadair built 656. The Princeton Airport project will see the jet mounted on a pivot with bearings, which will move the plane with the wind, acting as a giant weather vane or windsock. A number of pole-mounted planes are located throughout North America but ones that will move like the Princeton Airport project are rare and unique. Woodruff told the News Leader that he is looking forward to completion of the project and showed his enthusiasm saying, 'I love it' and 'that's just great!'
From the Similkameen News Leader
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 04/16/2013
Publication: Similkameen News Leader
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: regional
News Category: Arts/Culture
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