Grumman Avengers still alive & well

Here in my Canadian province the government has employed a company to deal with forest fires for the past few decades, and this outfit still has a fleet of Avengers.
It is incredible to hear them thunder overhead - a real journey back fifty-plus years.
Apparently the government this year is purchasing new fire bombers, and museums across the US are lining up to get a shot at buying an Avenger. I think they still have about six or seven airborne, with a few others they cannibalize for parts..

Unfortunately, it will probably be difficult to get them back to original configuration. *

Bomb bay doors, gun turrets and various other Avenger bits removed to convert the planes to sprayers are quite hard to find, last I knew.

Still and all, it will be better to have them safe in storage until restoration is possible, rather than risking them as working sprayers.

[Michael]

I'm a little surprised, as I thought I saw on a website about a year ago that they'd already stopped flying. It's probably too much to hope that the Canadian Warplane Heritage will get one - they lost theirs in the fire some years back (along with a Spitfire, their Hurricane, and a couple of others.

It's probably too much to hope that the Canadian Warplane Heritage will get one - they lost theirs in the fire some years back (along with a Spitfire, their Hurricane, and a couple of others.

They lost a Hurricane? That is a major loss, there must be less than 1/2 dozen or so Hurricanes, compared to about 50+ Spitfires and Avengers left.

Michael,
I think the Avengers flew their last "missions" last year, and the new replacement aircraft are to bein place for this summer, but I'm not 100% sure.