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Full-size
Canadian warbird markings by
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Completed
and Current Projects . . .
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Shown here are "before" and "after"
photos illustrating some of our completed and current projects, as well as
short descriptions of each.
See "WARBIRD
FAQ" page for examples of graphics styles
available through CanMilAir.
If you are a private warbird owner, aircraft refinisher or museum curator and CanMilAir can be of service to you,
please refer to the "CONTACT"
page for various methods of communication through which we can
discuss your project.
References are available upon request.
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You will find the newest additions
at the top of this page, while the oldest are at the bottom. |
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| Canadair CT-133
Silver Star 133577 - C-FRGA |
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(above) Owned by Hammond
Aviation C-FRGA, (CF serial 133577) was refinished with
CanMilAir markings from 414
Sqn in 2009, complete with the "Black Knight" crest on the tail band.
(below) In April 2011, Hammond Aviation
Silver Star 133577 was refinished in this striking scheme and
made it's public debut at the Canadian Aviation Expo at the
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum on April 30, 2011.
CanMilAir supplied all markings except the painted
shark's mouth.
In 1992, this special commemorative paint scheme was worn
by Canadian Forces CT-133 Silver Star serial 133504 from VU32 at CFB Greenwood,
on the occasion of the squadron's disbandment. It was nicknamed the "Mako
One" from the squadron's call sign "MAKO". With
roots going back to 1946, VU32 was one of two Royal Canadian Navy utility squadrons.
On a more personal note, this was a special project for me as
my late brother, LCdr (P) James R. Burns RCN was the
Commanding Officer of VU32 from March 1955 until February
1957. |
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| Canadair CT-133
Silver Star 133346 |
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(above) Currently owned by
the Jet Aircraft Museum, in London, Ontario, Silver
Star 346 is now civil registered as C-FUPM. Still wearing the
434 Sqn dark blue tail band, 346 will be the first of their
six T-33's to be returned to its former Canadian Forces
appearance. CanMilAir supplied JAM with self-adhesive
vinyl spray paint masks for all of the Grey FIP markings that
were painted over when it left CFB Mountainview. She will also
proudly wear the 434 "Bluenose" Sqn schooner emblem
on the fin!
(below) Check back soon for the "after"
photo! |
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| Canadair Sabre 6
- N186PJ |
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(above) This Canadair Sabre
6 was built at the Canadair plant in Montreal (c/n 1710) as
part of an order by the German Luftwaffe. It made its
maiden flight on 18 April, 1958. In the West German air force
it served with 2 /JG 72 and was marked as JB-240. After this,
it was used by a civilian contractor in Germany for target
towing for the air force. Eventually the Sabre was acquired by
"Air Spray Ltd." of Red Deer Alberta and used for
target towing at CFB Cold Lake from 1998 to 2005. The Sabre is
currently owned by the Classic Aviation Aircraft Museum
of Hillsboro, Oregon and registered as N186PJ.
(below) Stripped of its Yellow and Black finish at the Evergreen
Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, the
Sabre was given a new coat of Aluminium paint. CanMilAir
Decals supplied all new self-adhesive vinyl markings to give
it the appearance of an RCAF Sabre from 410 "Cougar"
Squadron while based at North Luffenham, England in the early
1950’s. The new serial number and "last
Three" are the Sabre's Canadair construction number
(1710). The new owners chose not to use the historically
correct "AM" fuselage codes but instead opted for
the "RCAF" on the fuselage and underwing locations. |
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At last count, there were only 13 airworthy
Sabres left in flying condition.
ONE
from CAC in Australia
FIVE from North American
in the USA
SEVEN from Canadair in Montreal
CanMilAir markings are
used on two of those seven Canadair Sabres ! !
(see VWoC " Hawk One" Sabre below for the
other)
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| Lockheed T-33A
Shooting Star - Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
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(above) Built by Lockheed in
1951, this pedestal-mounted T-33A (c/n 580-6411) is located on
the grounds of the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. After years of exposure to the elements, a
make-over was in order. The aircraft was removed from its
mount, stripped of its original markings and its exterior
polished to bring back that beautiful natural metal
shine.
(below) CanMilAir supplied EAA AirVenture with
all new vinyl markings (except for the four Stars and Bars,
which were painted on by the EAA staff). The cresting on the
tail identifies this T-33 as belonging to the USAF's Mobile
AMA (Air Materiel Area) which was phased out in the late
1960's. These crests were digitally printed on self-adhesive
vinyl while all the remaining striping, lettering and graphics
were supplied in cut-vinyl in Black, Red, Yellow and
White.
The T-33 was then carefully placed back onto its pedestal just
in time for the week-long 2010 EAA AirVenture in July. |
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| 1952 Dodge M37
Truck |
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| (above) This 1952 Dodge M37
three-quarter ton, four wheel drive military cargo truck was
restored by John Hooper of Echo Bay, Ontario in Korean
War era RCAF markings. John is the President of 432 RCAF
(Algoma) Wing of the Air Force Association of Canada and
CanMilAir was able to reproduce the RCAF cresting for the
doors. |
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| Canadair CT-133
Silver Star 133564 |
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| (above) Built in the
early 1950's, this Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (Canadian
Forces serial 133564) went through the Avionics Upgrade
Project (AUP) in the late 1990's. It proudly served with
AETE and finally 414 Sqn before retiring in 2005. After it was
de-militarized, it was purchased from CFB Mountain
View by Jared Isaacman in 2007 and US civil registered as N133MQ
the following year, still wearing its overall Black finish and
414 Sqn tail band.
(below) In early 2009, through Jared's Fleet Manager, retired USAF LCol
Jerry Kirby, CanMilAir Decals provided custom-designed 2-mil self-adhesive
vinyl spray-paint masks for all national insignia, lettering and
service/maintenance markings. Modifications made to the
aircraft included stripping out the two analog cockpits and
installing all new digital "glass" cockpits.
The T-33 was then painted in the Black/Grey/White "Arctic Aggressor"
scheme worn by the F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 18th
Aggressor Squadron (18th AGRS) at Eielson AFB, Alaska.
The beautiful dusk photo was taken by long-time CanMilAir
customer Allan Sauer at the 2010 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. |
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| 2008 BMW Mini
Cooper |
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And now for something completely
different . . .
This 2008 Mini Cooper is owned by Dr. Joel R. Kann MD of
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The British Racing Green colour
inspired Joel to add Spitfire roundels to both doors of his
Mini with carefully selected "code" letters to
either side. While the "MD" is obvious, the
"Z" is for his nickname "Zeke".
Barely discernable in the photo due to the glare of the paint
is the "pilots" name under the canopy, I mean
driver's side window. It reads: Joel "DOC"
Kann.
Commonly used on Canadian Spitfires during the war, RCAF maple
leaf roundels were added to the engine cowlings to further
enhance the Spitfire look.
She's definitely an eye catcher! |
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Canadair CT-133
Silver Star 133577
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(above) One of 14 Canadair
Mk.3 Silver Stars purchased by Air Combat Warfare
International in Kitchener, Ontario, after its retirement from
CF service, 133577 was registered as N577KK.
(below) Now owned by Hammond
Aviation and registered as C-FRGA, CT-133 AUP Silver Star
133577 once again wears her Canadian Forces markings from 414 Sqn,
including the "Black Knight" crest on the tail band. |
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| Canadair T-33
Silver Star 21556 |
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(above) This old
Silver Star (s/o/s from the Canadian Armed Forces inventory in
November 1970) is currently registered as N133KK (ex N99179,
ex RCAF 21556) and is owned by Ken Pacholski from Chicago,
Illinois. Ken wanted the T-33 finished in full colour USAF
markings so he made arrangements with CanMilAir Decals to
provide the vinyl spray masks for the USAF national insignia
and lettering and Superior Plane Aircraft
Coatings to do the painting.
(below) The finished T-33 after Pat Janczak at
Superior Plane Aircraft Coatings finished his paintwork. |
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| CF-101 Voodoo
Ejection Seat Data Label |
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| Eric Chapman from Kars,
Ontario needed assistance while rebuilding an ejection seat
from a CF-101 Voodoo. He needed a new data label for the
rocket motor. Eric supplied all the dimensional
information and a new label was created and printed using
Black
and Metallic Silver. It was printed on clear self-adhesive vinyl to
give it the same raised 'feel" as if it were an original
metal label. |
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| 1944 Chevrolet
Canadian Military Pattern C60L GS Three Ton Truck |
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| A bit of a different job for
CanMilAir was making replacement switch plates for this CMP
truck currently under restoration at the Comox Aviation Museum
in Comox, British Columbia. Used by the RCAF, this particular
C60 variant was one of about 2000 vehicles made to pull a radar trailer in the
Second World War. These trucks were supplied with a winch to hoist the radar sail. |
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| Van's Aircraft
RV-4 C-GOIV |
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Pictured above is a RV-4 kit plane
offered by Van's Aircraft. This particular one was built by Joe
Schweers of Langley, British Columbia. The RV-4 has a
wingspan of 23' and is 20' 4" long. Gross weight is 1500
lbs and is powered by a 150 to 180 hp Lycoming engine giving
it a top speed of 201 to 213 mph, depending on the engine
used.
CanMilAir was able to supply Joe with the upper wing and
fuselage roundels as well as the pair of Red with Black
outline CANADA
titles typical of those found on Canadian military aircraft of
the late 1970's to mid 1980's.
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| Canadair T-33 Silver Star
21616 |
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(above) A second project
undertaken by the Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum and
contracted to CanMilAir, is the complete make-over of their
pedestal mounted T-33 marked as serial 21616. (The real 616
crashed during its ferry flight to its new owners, the
Bolivian Air Force, in October 1973) The Nanton Silver Star
was finished in quasi RCAF+3 Era markings (with a backwards
Red Ensign), the T-33 will be converted to AB+3 Era
markings complete with full underwing markings. The goal is to
recreate the period when 21616 was with the #2 Advanced Flying
School and used by the Golden Hawks demonstration team as a
support aircraft. During this period, 21616 wore a specially
modified Golden Hawks motif on either side of the nose. Wing
Commander Jack Allen, the commanding officer of the Golden
Hawks from 1960 to 1962, was born and raised in Nanton,
Alberta.
(below) A photo of the completed project taken in July 2009. |
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| Avro CF-100 Mk.3 Canuck 18152 |
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(above) Avro Canada CF-100
Mk.3 Canuck 18152 was taken on strength by the RCAF in May,
1953. Initially assigned to #3 Operational Training Unit, it
was based at North Bay, Ontario and later at Cold Lake,
Alberta to train aircrew destined to the more advanced Mark
IV's and V's. In 1956, 18152 began service with 428 Sqn at
Uplands, Ontario and then two years later was transferred to
432 Sqn at Bagotville, Quebec. The aircraft was then
reassigned back to 3 OTU from 1962 until 1964 when it was
transferred to the "Electronic Warfare Unit" based
at St. Hubert, Quebec. It's last flight was in September of
1968 traveling to CFB Suffield where it was involved in
testing by the Defence Research Establishment.
In 1981, the aircraft was restored in the markings of 3
OTU (JF-152) and placed on display as Gate Guardian to the
entrance to CFB Suffield. In August of 1994 the Canuck was
acquired by the Nanton Lancaster Society after being declared
surplus to the needs of the Department of National Defence,
and was placed on a pedestal in front of the Museum.
Now showing the effects of over 20 years of exposure to the
elements, CanMilAir has been contracted to provide the restoration
staff with all-new replacement vinyl markings as the
museum prepares for the Anniversary of Powered Flight
celebrations in 2009. Work will take place in May 2009 when
the old markings will be stripped off and the new ones
applied.
(below) Nanton's CF-100 Canuck shown after the
installation of the new vinyl markings in the fall of 2009.
Note the T-33 Silver Star in the background (see next entry). |
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Vintage Wings of Canada's "Hawk
One" Sabre
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(above) In September 2007, Vintage Wings of Canada
acquired a Canadair Sabre Mk. 5 (ex RCAF # 23314) which is currently being prepared for
the 2009 air show season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
powered flight in Canada and the 50th anniversary of the
Golden Hawks aerobatic team. Photo above was taken by
Peter Handley of Vintage Wings of Canada.
Hawk One will fly at airshows across the country with the
Snowbirds along with a specially painted Golden Centennaires
Tutor and a fully painted CF-18 Hornet.
In early February 2008, CanMilAir was approached by renowned
artist Jim Belliveau at CFB Cold Lake to ask if we could
assist him with the project. We readily agreed to supply our
Golden Hawks Sabre artwork as our contribution to this most
worthy project. The artwork will be used to create "spray masks" so
that the hawk motif can be painted onto the sides of the Sabre.
(below) Here is the Vintage Wings of Canada
"Hawk One" Sabre fresh out of the paint shop at CFB
Cold Lake on December 15, 2008, with the CanMilAir supplied
artwork.
The most obvious differences between the 2009 "Hawk
One" and the 1959 Golden Hawk will be found at the rear
of the aircraft. Gone is the Red Ensign and military serial.
In their place is a specially adapted "Century of
Flight" logo on either side of the fin and the civil
registration in white on the red band.
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Letter received from the Hawk One Project
Director:
March, 2009
From the start of the Hawk One project, Mr
William Burns of CanMilAir Decals expressed a strong
interest in supporting the restoration of the Vintage Wings
of Canada F-86 Sabre to Golden Hawk livery. When Jim
Belliveau, the Project Manager for the Centennial of Flight
~ Specialty Aircraft Paint Schemes, contacted Bill in early
February 2008, to ask for research support for the Golden
Hawk markings, Bill promptly and cheerfully provided
complete digital vector drawings of his own markings artwork
which he professionally produced for his graphics company.
These full size drawings allowed Hawk One to take a huge
leap forward towards its goal of faithfully producing these
historically significant markings.
Bill’s boundless energy, attention to detail and obvious
dedication were instrumental in the success of the Hawk One
paint plan.
Hawk One Project Director and Team Lead
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CanMilAir's William Burns and LCol Steve
Will, the Hawk One Project Director, with the Hawk One Sabre at the July 2009 St. Thomas Wheels and Wings
air show |
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| Canadair
CT-133
Silver Star 133610 |
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(above) CT-133 ex-CF serial
133610 served with AETE at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, but is now owned by
Bob Davis of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and civil registered
as N133DV. Due primarily to time restraints, Bob chose to apply his new markings in
grey paint rather
than vinyl, so all the blocked out areas such as those seen in
the photo above were repainted and blended to match the
overall finish colour of the aircraft.
CanMilAir supplied Bob with all the major Canadian insignia
and markings as vinyl "spray masks" to be used with an appropriate
darker shade of Grey spray paint to restore 133610 to its
former Canadian Forces
service appearance. The actual painting was performed by
Pat Janczak at Superior Plane Aircraft Coatings in
Rockford, Illinois. The freshly painted Silver Star made
its public debut at Oshkosh during the last week of July,
2008.
(below) Photographed by Al Sauer (who also happens
to be a CanMilAir customer - but in 1:144 scale) at the EAA
AirVenture Convention at Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Bob's Silver Star 133610 once again
proudly wears its Canadian Forces FIP markings, complete with
AETE markings on the tail.
Just behind the nose of 133610 can be seen the camo Silver
Star 133579 belonging to Paul Keppeler (see camo T-33 above). These two
Silver Stars made an aerial rendezvous enroute to Oshkosh so
they were able to arrive together in formation. |
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| Canadair
CT-133
Silver Star 133467 |
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(above) CT-133
ex-CF serial 133467 is now owned by Tom Rogers of Victoria,
British Columbia and civil registered as C-FYGM. Tom intends
to return his aircraft to a natural metal or painted aluminium,
appearance and apply 1960's "RCAF+3 Era" markings,
complete with the Red Ensigns on the tail. This will require
full colour markings as well as a complete package of all new
service markings and stencils.
To complete this project for Tom, technical assistance was
sought from (and gladly given) from the Aircraft
Restoration Company in Duxford, England. This was the
company responsible for applying "RCAF+3 Era"
markings onto ex-CF Silver Star 21261 and owned by Golden
Apple Operations (civil registered in the UK as G-TBRD).
This beautiful T-33 was lost during a formation take-off on
Sept 6, 2006. Fortunately, there were no serious
injuries.
(Below) Now sporting full colour roundels with Red
Ensigns.
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| Canadair
CT-133
Silver Star 133648 |
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(above) Silver Star 133648 was one
of the very last Silver Stars in Canadian military service. Earlier in its career,
133648 had
served with 414 "Black Knight" Sqn and was later
configured as a platform to test ejection seats at AETE
(notice there is no back seat in the photo). For
this purpose, it was scheduled to be fitted with a specially modified canopy allowing an
ejection from the rear seat , however the Silver Star retirement
happened first, so the modifications were never completed and it was never used to test the seats.
Silver Star 133648 is now owned by Anthony
Garrison of Texas, and is civil registered as N3648. CanMilAir has provided
authentic Grey cast vinyl markings to return 648 to its previous
Canadian FIP Era service configuration.
Sadly, on July 15, 2009, this T-33 skidded off the runway
during an aborted takeoff from CFB Trenton as it left on the
first leg of its ferry flight to Texas. The engine and
other components were removed and shipped to Texas with the
remaining airframe donated to the Jet Aircraft Museum here in
London for use as spare parts for its own fleet of six T-33s. |
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| Canadair
CT-133 Silver
Star 133579 |
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(above) Purchased from CFB
Mountainview by USAF Major Paul Keppeler
of Wisconsin in 2002, Silver Star 133579 (now civil
registered as NX433RD) has appeared at
many air shows in the US mid-west in pseudo USAF markings over
the original Canadian two-tone Green / Grey wraparound camo.
To acknowledge the aircraft's proud heritage, Mr. Keppeler
wanted to restore his Silver Star to the Canadian marking
configuration it wore at the time of its retirement. During its career, 133579 has been noted with VU-32 at CFB
Shearwater, 414 "Black Knight" Sqn (1982-83), 439
Sqn and 434
"Bluenose" Sqn at CFB Greenwood (1995). CanMilAir was able to
supply Mr. Keppeler with the required roundels, FIP markings,
flags, serials, and "Last 3" for his Silver Star in
flat black cast vinyl.
(below) Paul Keppeler is shown re-applying the stencil block under
the right side canopy to match the newly applied Canada
Wordmark. Look for this Camo T-Bird on the air show circuits ! ! |
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"I was in a quandary. Where am I going
to get marking stencils or 1:1 scale decal templates to
restore the Federal Identification Program (FIP) Canadian
Forces (CF) markings to my Canadair T-33?
I posted the question on the Warbird Information Exchange or
"WIX" website forum and one of the recommendations
was to ask around in the modeling community. I'm an old
modeler and I figured I'd give it a shot since I knew the
modeling community had a lot of knowledge about the historical
accuracy of markings and aircraft finishes.
One of the links supplied from the forum was Bill Burns'
CanMilAir Decals site. I contacted Bill to see if he could use
the vector based software in collaboration with a graphics
shop to print me the big markings for the T-33 i.e. the
roundels, the "Canada" Wordmarks, the flag for the
tail and the serial numbers for the wings and nose. Bill shot
me an email with a sample sheet, said "can do", and
the rest is history.
That was almost too easy! The accuracy and scale of the
markings is perfect, the finish excellent and the price
reasonable.
With the help of a friend, I cleaned and smoothed as necessary
all the aircraft surfaces before applying the decals. I also
referenced historical photos of my aircraft and the official
CF application diagrams furnished by Bill to aid in accurate
placement of the markings. What I learned is that the CF
maintenance personnel sometimes took some liberties in placing
markings so where we had guidance from historical photos of my
specific aircraft, we used that as guidance, otherwise we
referenced the CF diagrams.
I can't say enough good things about my experience working
with CanMilAir. The finished product and supporting diagrams
were first-rate and the service from Bill outstanding. He's a
tremendous resource and it sounds like my fellow warbird
cohorts who own Canadair T-33s 599 and 610 will be calling
CanMilAir in the future for help to "re-Canadianize"
their historic aircraft.
Thanks Bill for a job well done!"
Paul Keppeler
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| (below) As Paul's Silver Star currently appears after application of all
the CanMilAir supplied vinyl markings, including the reverse spray
paint mask of the 439
Sqn "Fang" crests on the tail. |
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| Canadair CF-104D Starfighter 104645 |
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(above) As acquired by the Canadian Museum of Flight in
Langley, BC, CF-104D Starfighter 104645 was an Instructional Airframe
(serial number 878C) from the Aircraft Battle Damage Repair
Program. Volunteers at the museum required full size cut mask templates
to spray paint the primary markings, national insignia,
lettering and numbering after
their Starfighter was repainted in its Symmetrical Era
Green/Grey over Grey camo scheme.
(below) CanMilAir was able to "up-scale" the Starfighter
decal set
#019 to full size and pull out just the elements they
needed, to enable the museum staff to complete
the project and get the dual Starfighter back on public
display - on time and within budget. |
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