1946 Aeronca Champion donated to Aero Space Museum of Calgary

The Aero Space Museum of Calgary's collection grew by one planethis week a 1946 Aeronca Champion donated posthumously by Aevult Schlenker, who passed away in May at age 87.

"He was always keen to inspire other pilots," said his daughter, Sherry Irvine.

"To learn the love of aviation and that freedom in the clouds. Just to understand where flight is going and understand where it came from. He thought this plane being in the museum was the place for it. That it would tell its own story."

Schlenker bought the Champion back in 1958, a year after getting his pilot's licence.

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"When it came it was lemon yellow, and it was kind of in bad shape," said Irvine.

"It came from the States, I'm not sure where. He and my mom decided when they first got it they were going to take it and get it totally redone. They stripped it down to the fuselage and ordered the Irish linen, got another fellow to help them, rented space in the Medicine Hat Airport and they spent the winter recovering it and painting it and that's how it is today, the red and white."

The plane remains in original condition.

"The only thing he changed out was the engine," said Irvine.

"He felt the [Continental] A65 just wasn't quite strong enough so he changed that out in 1961 and put a Continental A75 engine in it."

A farmer for most of his life, Irvine said her father's two great joys were working the land before soaring above it.

"He'd take off in the evenings after he'd done his farming, or bailing or swathing or harvesting and away he'd go in the clouds and he'd be gone for at least an hour and a half," she said.

"He was just euphoric with the experience of flight, he never got tired of it. In fact, in his last days in the hospital he had to have this picture of the plane in there and when I'd come in I'd see him just gazing at it and I'd say 'Dad, are you flying it?' and he'd say 'I'm there, I'm there,' just back on the stick and in the clouds."