Iconic bomber makes return flight to former home of Goderich

When, when you touched down on the runway and you felt it, how did that feel? Oh, I felt great. I, I, you know, I, I said to the crew, I said FM 213 is home. Exactly 60 years ago to the day, this Lancaster bomber touched down here on the runway in Godrich, Ontario. Its new home at the time. It had been purchased by the local Legion and spent ten years in the town like others mounted on public display. 1977 the historic plane was brought down from stilts, disassembled and taken by helicopter to Hamilton to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, where the restoration crew spent the next decade putting it back together and restoring the plane to once again be airworthy. It's now the only Lancaster fly in Canada and only one of two in the world. Now, on the 60th anniversary of its first arrival into town, the Lancaster has returned, drawing a crowd of hundreds to watch as the wheels of one of Canada's greatest historic monuments. In the place it once called home. When I fly this airplane, I think about the service, the duty and the sacrifice and we fly it in a testament to to that the planes pilot David Rohr crediting the team in Godrich decades ago for making a decision then that made it possible to restore today to mount it on the jacking points. And so there was no damage structurally to the airplane. So the restore it was this was the only one that could be restored. What was that just good luck in decision making or was that good foresight? I understand there was a gentleman that was on the project who had a good engineering background and and it was a deliberate decision. I'll just say this is the Canadian way. We look after things in Canada, right? We want to preserve things. My grandfather, their great grandfather served in the Second World War. I just feel like, like, so like surprised and amazed of it, bigger than I thought it was amazing feeling to be part of a historic moment like this. Are you excited to take a look inside? Yeah. We've got veterans. We've got widows of veterans. We've got those that serve. We've got those that actually worked on the aircraft here today. Michael, did I hear you right? You used to play inside. And is this plane, this exact plane yet when it was across the street on pedestals, My grandfather, my daughter's great grandfather was the head of the restoration team of the Lancaster to get it flight worthy again, proud of him. Mostly my dad right there in the middle. Your dad flew a Lancaster? Yes, he did. With Bomber, Yeah. I mean, how do you feel standing next to one of these planes? Just thrilled, just thrilled, just hoping I can get in and maybe stand where he was on that plane. The Lancaster will remain here overnight and take off again on 2:00 on Saturday afternoon to return to Hamilton and Godrich. David Zura, City News.