Balanced on a long trailer, the 185-foot-long Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber started slowly moving to its forever home at the B.C. Aviation Museum on Wednesday night.
The giant cargo aboard a specialized truck-and-trailer unit started inching forward at the coast guard facility at Patricia Bay in North Saanich just after 6:30 p.m.
Nickel Brothers crews spent Tuesday and Wednesday lifting and securing Hawaii Martin Mars for the 3.2-kilometre trip from Patricia Bay to the B.C. Aviation Museum at the east end of Victoria International Airport.
Steve Nichol, president of the museum, said the unit travelled at a kilometre per hour and made stops for adjustments. Steel plating had to be laid to ensure a smooth ride over bumps and changes in landscape.
He said it took about an hour to get to the fence line of the coast guard facility, a distance of about 500 metres, before crossing West Saanich Road.
The plane, which has a wingspan of 200 feet, was on a swivelled device made of girders on the trailer, allowing Nickel Brothers to move the plane around obstacles.
West Saanich Road was closed to vehicle traffic about 7 p.m. and the plane crossed it at 7:35 p.m.
An estimated 300 people were in the area to watch the plane start to move.
Steel plates were placed on the ditches on either side of the road, so the truck pulling the trailer and Martin Mars cargo could travel over.
Fencing at both the Ocean Sciences Institute and Victoria International Airport were taken down, and several light standards were removed earlier in the day. The plane was driven onto the airport lands about 8 p.m. and arrived at the museum property on Norseman Road at 9:15 p.m.
“Nickel Brothers are so impressive at what they do,” said Nichol. “We’re all in awe here.”
The Victoria Airport Authority gave the movers permission to use taxi areas and runways for a direct route to the museum.
Nichol said it will take Nickel Brothers a few days to unload the plane at the museum.
Hawaii Martin Mars has for decades been a symbol of fighting wildfires in B.C., capable of dropping 27,000 litres of water in a single drop.
It landed at Patricia Bay on Aug. 11 after a historic farewell flight watched by tens of thousands of people.
Its last flight over forestry towns and cities along the east coast of the Island was highlighted by an escort by the Snowbirds.
Since landing, the plane has been manoeuvred out of the seawater in Patricia Bay between two breakwaters and “de-watered” on land.
The process since landing has involved hundreds of volunteers, several specialized companies and skilled tradespeople.
