Thousands of people gathered on the shoreline of North Saanich91裸聊视频檚 Patricia Bay for the Hawaii Martin Mars91裸聊视频� last landing on the night of Aug. 11.
Among them were Martin and Kristine Van Zyl, along with their young son Sebastian. The event held strong symbolic significance for the couple hailing from Port Alberni, the longtime home of the red-and-white aircraft.
91裸聊视频淚 actually grew up on Sproat Lake and so that was the view outside of my house, the water bomber, every morning. This was kind of full circle for me seeing it come to land for the last time,91裸聊视频� said Martin.
91裸聊视频淥ur parents were on Sproat Lake watching it take off earlier today and now we got to see it land,91裸聊视频� added Kristine. 91裸聊视频淚t was such a great end cap to such a beautiful part of history that we grew up with. It's just a landmark for our town.91裸聊视频�
Equally symbolic for Rick Smerch, a former airplane mechanic at Coulson Aviation, seeing it fly one last time was an event he couldn91裸聊视频檛 miss.
91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 history,91裸聊视频� said Smerch. 91裸聊视频淚t's the biggest water bomber in the world. I haven91裸聊视频檛 worked on that one, but I've seen it sitting in the yard for years, so to see it fly is pretty awesome.91裸聊视频�
For tourists Marti Grudes and Fred Craft, visiting from Eugene, Ore., this event was an unexpected delight.
91裸聊视频淚t was fantastic,91裸聊视频� said Crafts. 91裸聊视频淲e didn't know what to expect and to see this enormous plane fly over with all the jets was just spectacular. Not only was this a historic moment but it seems like this was a community moment. All these people showed up and were cheering for this antique airplane. It was a spectacular moment.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淲e were fortunate to have a gentleman sit down next to us who has worked with that specific plane,91裸聊视频� added Gurdes. 91裸聊视频淗e knows the Mars, he has walked on its wings because he was a forester. We had an hour and a half of listening to him, tell us about working with the plane. We feel like we've had an enormous history (lesson about) this aircraft.91裸聊视频�
History enthusiast Graham Johnson left his hometown of Ladner specifically to attend the event.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 such a historic moment,91裸聊视频� said Johnson. 91裸聊视频淚t was too bad that they couldn't make it run longer, but this was a fitting goodbye at least. I didn't realize there would be so many people here, but it's the kind of human event that everybody comes together to witness.91裸聊视频�
For more information about the Hawaii Martin Mars, visit the British Columbia Aviation Museum website at .
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