In August 1959, they took off and were never seen again. Until we found them almost six decades later.
The family located both souls and their aircraft in 2018, starting a year’s journey towards their recovery. The Museum was proudly able to provide assistance in the recovery of the aircraft in April 2019 from Peter Pond Lake, Saskatchewan.
Using recovery teams and knowledge, and having the lake frozen over, they were able to find the plane 59 feet (18 m) deep in the freshwater, meaning the plane was fairly intact. The “finishing touch” was when members of Michel Village, St. George and Dillon First Nations came across the ice and made it possible to bring the aircraft up to the surface.
It was three years in the making by a range of volunteers, including commercial pilots, carpenters and aircraft mechanics to build a replica. The JDO exhibit is a tribute to a piece of Saskatchewan Aviation history. The exhibit features the Saskatchewan Government Airways (SGA) Cessna 180 float plane flown by Raymond Gran, with its unique Saskatchewan government airways paint. The exhibit honors Saskatchewan heroes like pilot Ray Gran and conversation officer Harold Thompson.
Of the many donors to this project, we thank-you whole heartedly. A Donor Board of contributors and contributions is on display for all to view when visiting this exhibit.
The book “Into the Mist” written by Tori Heatherington, tells the story of the recovery of their downed Cessna 180 (CF-JDO), recovered after 59 years from Peter Pond Lake and available for sale in the Museums Gift Shop.
It’s with reluctance that the museum has had to temporarily relocate the aircraft of this exhibit to outside.
A smaller memorial display is being developed within the museum to convey its history and story. The need to repurpose the area where CF-JDO exhibit was housed back into our Restoration Hangar is to continue with another historical aircraft project. We anticipate at some time in future to be able to bring CF-JDO back inside the museum.