An aviation fixation

Rare, vintage model planes on the block

10 aviation items from Lorne Jordan’s esteemed collection are slated to be sold at Miller & Miller’s December 12th Advertising & Historic Objects auction. — 10 aviation items from Lorne Jordan’s esteemed collection are slated to be sold at Miller & Miller’s December 12th *Advertising & Historic Objects* auction.

It all began in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia when Lorne Jordan was just a boy. He’d lie on his back on his grandparents’ lawn, captivated by the planes overhead making their descent into the nearby airport.

His love of aviation deepened over the years and now he has planes of his own– models that is. His collection of over 340 pieces includes mostly rare, vintage models of commercial aircraft, but also aviation-related signs, plaques, and other items.

“I’ve been collecting for 20 years, but the last 10 I’ve been really serious,” says the Cobourg, Ontario-area health inspector. “It’s taken me a while to learn how to track down the early models, but I was also lucky enough to have had an experienced collector take me under his wing and teach me.”

The models were commissioned mostly in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s by commercial airlines who wanted executives, airport lounges and travel agencies to showcase their fleets. They were also commissioned by aircraft manufacturers for use as sales tools. Some models, known as cutaways, actually opened up to reveal such exacting details as passengers, flight attendants, carpeting, seating, lavatories, the cockpit, even ashtrays.

Jordan’s collection of over 340 pieces includes mostly rare, vintage models of commercial aircraft, but also aviation-related signs, plaques, and other items.

His collection includes a rare, double-sided cutaway that’s 165 cm long (65 inches) and cost Air Canada an astounding $32,500 to make. It’s one of 10 aviation items Jordan has slated to be sold at Miller & Miller’s Dec. 12th Advertising & Historic Objects auction. It also happens to be a replica of the aircraft legendary Air Canada pilot Bob Pearson glided to a safe crash landing in Gimli, Manitoba in 1983, saving the plane and all passengers on board – including his future partner, as it turned out. A movie and several documentaries have been made about the incredibly skilled aviator, who Jordan got to meet.

This Space Models UK Air Canada Boeing 767-200 Cutaway Airplane is offered as lot 238 in the auction.

Another highlight in the sale is his Wardair model of a Boeing 747, circa 1970s. Made from blown fibreglass, it’s 193 cm long (76 inches) and it’s the only one he’s ever seen.

This Space Models 1:36 UK Wardair Boeing 747 Airplane is offered as lot 237 in the upcoming auction.

A few unique snapshots of the Wardair Boeing 747 taken at the Wardair headquarters in the 80s.

Jordan is still actively collecting, combing through yard sales, comic book shops, antique stores, auctions and online sites. “You have to cast a pretty wide net,” he says, admitting that “sometimes the models find you.” Like the time he was contacted by the owner of an old Montreal travel agency. The agency itself was 85 years old and the current owner had run it for 55 years but was looking to retire and wanted to dispose of a number of vintage models that had been stored away for years. “I drove 950 kilometers round trip to get them,” recalls Jordan. Another time, one early Sunday morning, he came across a buy-sell website where another travel agency had posted for sale an early ‘70s Air Canada Tri-Star floor model cutaway that was six feet long (close to two metres). “My hands were shaking,” he says. “It was the kind of thing we collectors live for.”

It’s been an exciting hobby, but it’s also been an education. “I’ve been so fortunate to have learned about the history of aviation,” says Jordan. “When you think of it, the dawn of commercial aviation in Canada was the 1930s and flight itself has only been around since 1904. In just over 100 years we’ve gone from watching birds fly to being able to fly across the world ourselves in a matter of hours.”

By Diane Sewell

Diane Sewell has been a writer for over 25 years, producing stories for some of the country’s top newspapers, consumer magazines and websites, as well as client newsletters and two commissioned books.