Bombardier Inc. sold its 148-hectare Downsview factory and airport site in Toronto to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board in 2018 for redevelopment, and the runway will close sometime in the 2022-2023 to facilitate a major real estate redevelopment. Production of the Global 7500 (pictured), Global 6500, Global 5500 and new Global 8000 is going to move from Downsview to a new factory on the northwest side of Toronto Pearson Airport (CYYZ). All new Globals are flown "green" at YZD and flown to Montreal (YUL) for completion unless another completion center is specified by the customer.

On June 11, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC) paid tribute to tens of thousands of employees who designed and built its iconic aircraft built in Toronto since the company was founded on March 5, 1928. The event marked the departure of the last DHC employees and aircraft from Downsview which was sold by Bombardier in 2018. Ten historic DHC aircraft were displayed. This Dash 7 flew in from Yellowknife, NWT and landed on Runway 33 at YZD which will close in 2023. It was delivered new with a cargo door to Air Niugini in PNG in 1981. Air Tindi bought it from Voyageur Airways in 2003.

On June 11, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC) paid tribute to tens of thousands of employees who designed and built its iconic aircraft built in Toronto since the company was founded on March 5, 1928. The event marked the departure of the last DHC employees and aircraft from Downsview which was sold by Bombardier in 2018. Ten historic DHC aircraft were displayed including this former Kenyan AF DHC-4. It's the 4th DHC-4 converted to PT6A-67 power by Pen Turbo Avn in Cape May, NJ. Delivered to Rampart Aviation in Dec 2020, it mostly flies on US military parachute training contracts in AZ.

Undergoing pre-flight prep at YZD.

Undergoing pre-flight prep.

Sitting on the ramp at Downsview. Former SpiceJet NTU.

This aircraft is shown as taken on charge by RAF but there is no indication it crossed the Atlantic. It was used as a development aircraft for DHC built models. Built as an FB21, it played a part in the development of the FB24 and FB26, essentially testing the more powerful Merlin engines fitted to these variants. Only the latter went into production. Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

Written off after a midair collision near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on June 25, 1945. Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

Returned to the RCAF after the war and scrapped. In US service used for research purposes by NACA (now NASA). Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

KA100 was lost "in transit" on August 4, 1945. It crashed into the Atlantic while being ferried to the United Kingdom. While it appears in some lists as an RCAF aircraft, it is not in others. The man by the tailplane appears to be pre-flighting the aircraft, possibly ahead of its fateful ferry flight. Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

Canadian built KB112 was retained by the RCAF. Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

Crashed landed on Wolfe Island on April 4, 1937. Photo from: Ken Molson fonds - Ingenium

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

VA-8 Air Barons

Current status unknown. Photo from: Library and Archives Canada

New Dash 8-400 for JeJu Air of South Korea about to takeoff from Runway 15 at Toronto Downsview Airport on a test flight on May 28, 2005. The aircraft departed CYZD on its westbound delivery flight to South Korea on June 12 as HL5252. Later, this Dash 8-400 flew with AIRES in Colombia (HK-4725), and with Air Berlin and Eurowings (D-ABQN) in Europe. It's owned by Nordic Aviation Capital and was re-registered OE-IMF in July 2020.

Retired mining executive Bob Dengler lands his Bell 206L-4, C-GWRD, at the Canadian Air & Space Museum's 2009 Wings & Wheels Heritage Festival at Downsview Airport in central Toronto. The helicopter previously flew in Canada and the USA as C-GADH, N209LB, N888LB and N888LN before Dengler purchased it in Apr. 2007. The aircraft was re-registered C-GFTE in May 2010 and C-GWRD reassigned to his new Bell 429. The LongRanger was sold to National Helicopters in Oct. 2011 and to Ardellini Aviation in Aug 2012 which owned it for only one day before exporting it to New Zealand as ZK-IWY.