Donate to help cover the Hawaii Mars rescue costs

"The Mars once saved BC, it is now time for BC to save the Mars."

Updated June 12/24: please feel free to slide the "Tip GoFundMe Services" to zero so your whole donation goes to the project :)

Watch the short film of how the origin of our Save the Mars project.

The BC Aviation Museum is kindly asking for donations to help fund its Hawaii Mars water bomber rescue project.

Costs include getting the aircraft from the donor to the museum, documenting the process for sharing and finally setting up the Mars as a wonderful permanent display for the public to enjoy exploring up close and personal.

As everyone can understand, there are significant costs for rescuing a massive vintage aircraft. Between the donor and the museum, the final budget is projected to be between $750,000 to $1,250,000.

This iconic aircraft is both an engineering marvel and truly a beautiful work of art.

The Hawaii Mars has been widely beloved during its 8 decades of service, first in the US Navy as a troop transport from in both WW2 and the Korean War, and afterwards for the majority of this time as the world's largest ever water bomber, operating on the west coast from Sproat Lake, Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada.

When you heard the Hawaii Mars coming, you felt safe.

The sentimental attachment runs deeper than just being a flying boat as it is more akin to a long-serving, trustworthy sailing ship of old.

The BC Aviation Museum at the Victoria International Airport is in 2024 going to receive the Hawaii Mars as a donation from owner Coulson Aviation.

But we need your help to donate now because all parts of the rescue project have real expenses beyond volunteer time.

Whether you are a Mars fan, a former Mars staffer, a Port Alberni resident, an aviation buff, an aerospace worker, a BC forest service employee or just someone who wishes to preserve one of the most iconic aircraft not only in Canada, but the world, everyone's donation goes along way.

The preparation, flight and arrival are a once in a life-time experience, plus the Mars has never been accessible to the public so the Grand Opening with full access is a truly unique opportunity many are looking forward to.

We warmly thank you in advance for your support towards this important and time sensitive project.

Sincerely,

Richard Mosdell

Save the Mars project lead

BC Aviation Museum

at the Victoria International Airport

www.bcam.net

FACT SHEET

FLIGHT: The Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber will fly south across the communities on beautiful Vancouver Island to arrive in Victoria for everyone to witness as an amazing once in the lifetime experience.

ROUTE & DATE TO BE CONFIRMED: The Hawaii Mars will take off from Sproat Lake, Port Alberni and then land on the ocean at Patricia Bay in the Saanich Inlet directly beside the Victoria Airport on TO BE CONFIRMED DATE BY DONOR.

NO WATER DROP: As much as everyone wants to see it happen, for this special final flight there is no water drop option possible.

ARRIVAL TO MOVING: After arrival, it will be de-watered the next day at the Institute of Ocean Sciences and Canadian Coast Guard, and then the aircraft will be lifted into a state-of-the-art 360-degree cargo carrier to be slowly moved around several buildings before being carried across the Victoria Airport to rest beside the museum.

ICONIC: Almost everyone in BC has a Mars water bomber story as for over 6 decades it had an incredibly positive impact in Canadian aviation firefighting, and the aircraft is cherished by many especially since the Hawaii Mars is one of only two left in the world.

BIGGEST: With a wingspan of over 200 feet, this will be one of the Biggest (in every sense) attractions in Victoria and on Vancouver Island.

PERFORMANCE: In its firefighting days it could drop more than 25,000 litres of water on each run!

FIRST-TIME EVER PUBLIC ACCESS: Once settled in at its specially designed forever home location at the museum, we are planning a uniquely designed OPEN experience format so that everyone may visit the Hawaii Mars to get up close and personal with it, even to sit in the 4-story cockpit.

SHARING THE JOURNEY: This forever home flight will be documented on various media formats for sharing daily and into the future.

GLOBAL FANS: As the number one global vintage aircraft story of the 2024, the international interest in the final flight and the Hawaii Mars itself has already created well over 5 million social media hits.

NEW HAWAII MARS FANS: This new crown jewel in the museum’s BC Wildfire Aviation Exhibit will absolutely bring forward the amazing history and stories of the Mars to a whole new audience, plus fuel even more interest in discovering the many other amazing aircraft and their stories at the BC Aviation Museum.