Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

Photographer: Fred Guthrie.

New Global 7500 on the flight line at Bombardier's Downsview factory at the same time as De Havilland Aircraft of Canada was saying goodbye to its long time Toronto home since September 1929. There are two Global final assembly lines at Downsview: One for the Global 5500 and 6500 and another one for the Global 7500 and new 8000. All Global production will move to Toronto Pearson Airport (CYYZ) when Bombardier's new Global factory opens sometime in 2023. Downsview Airport will then close and be redeveloped.

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