Project North Star is the Canada Aviation Museum’s volunteer program to assist in restoring several aircraft that were housed outside, including the Canadair North Star.

On most days you will find a dedicated team of enthusiastic and friendly volunteers who, working with conservation experts, are making great progress in restoring the neglected aircraft. Enthusiasm, pride and good workmanship mark this restoration project, in spite of the daunting task.

Since the first flight of Kitty Hawk 106 years ago, most of the one million aircraft built will ultimately be destroyed. Nearly all will perish, regardless of their usefulness, beauty or effectiveness.

All airplanes eventually come to earth – some fall from grace and are transformed from star-status airliners to carriers of cargo, guns or even drugs. Some rot where they fall – in swamps, on ocean floors, on rock-strewn tundra or in broken-down airfields, while others are cut to pieces for their resale value or sit for years in vast desert graveyards.

Project North Star has come alive because there are groups of people around the world who see these machines as more than just metal. These people could be flight crew, ground crew, builders or researchers, but often their lives were touched by the aircraft they seek to restore and keep alive. They are historians, museum curators and restoration teams who value more than the aircraft’s physical worth.

This site is about such a group of enthusiasts, the volunteers of Project North Star, and hopefully you will learn a little about what we are doing while perusing this web site. Any donations, being of your time to read these pages, join us as a volunteer or contribute with a cheque or online payment is most certainly welcomed.

The Project North Star Team - dedicated to the preservation of Canada's aviation heritage.