Best Coast Distillers in North Saanich has produced WildFire Whisky in honour of the Hawaii Martin Mars, with some proceeds going to the B.C. Aviation Museum for its restoration of the plane.
The historic Martin Mars water bombers are getting some extra attention this spring with a new documentary film and a special edition whisky honouring the aircraft, former troop carriers that fought wildfires for decades in British Columbia.
The last Martin Mars water bombers, the Hawaii and Philippine, made their final flights to museums in 2024 and 2025. The Hawaii is now a major attraction at the B.C. Aviation Museum in North Saanich and the Philippine at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona.
Built as troop and cargo transports in the U.S. for the Second World War and later converted to firefighting aircraft in B.C., they are the only two known to exist.
Best Coast Distillers in North Saanich has produced WildFire Whisky, a limited edition run, in honour of the Hawaii Martin Mars, with a portion of the proceeds going to the nearby B.C. Aviation Museum for its restoration of the plane.
The label highlights the Hawaii Mars dropping one of its loads of 27,000 litres of water.
Best Coast Distillers co-founder Corey Wood called the Martin Mars bomber a “B.C. hero that deserves to be celebrated.”
In Port Alberni, where Coulson Aviation operated the planes from its base at Sproat Lake, the Savoy Theatre is hosting the world premiere of Fire Guardians: Final Flight on April 24 at 7 p.m.
The documentary film follows a team of pilots, engineers and mechanics as they “re-awaken the slumbering giants” for their final flights to museums.
The limited run will continue on April 25, 26 and 27, with show times at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The three one-hour episodes, produced by M&G Co., highlight the tremendous effort required to get the Hawaii and Philippine planes airworthy again and their final flights that attracted thousands of onlookers.
source & photo: Times Colonist
