Martin Mars Aircraft Slated For Donation To A Florida Museum, Heritage Minister Says 'Not So Fast'

A deal to send a 70-year-old Martin Mars airplane from Canada to a naval aviation museum in Florida has been stopped by Canada's Heritage Minister.

Wayne Coulson of Port Alberni, B.C. owns two of the rare Martin Mars seaplanes, and was working with the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL to send one of the aircraft to the museum in exchange for an unspecified number of U.S. military planes, some of which would be converted into water bombers.

But Canadian Heritage officials, led by Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, say the plane may be the "cultural property" of Canada, and the Cultural Property Export and Import Act requires him to get the approval of a panel for special export permit for the airplane.

Coulson's lawyer said that the airplane should not be considered cultural property as defined by the act, and the the owner can do as he pleases with his airplane.

The government disagrees, and Glover notified both the RCMP and Canadian Border Services. But what they could do is not clear. The CBC says that a briefing prepared for Glover indicated that "As the aircraft is airworthy, typical border procedures may not apply."

One member of the Canadian Parliament, Conservative John Duncan, is attempting to broker a deal under which Coulson would donate his other Martin Mars amphib to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in exchange for two older Hercules aircraft that the RCAF intends to scrap. Duncan said that if one can be preserved in Canada, Coulson should be allowed to export the other one.

Coulson bought both Martin Mars aircraft in 2007, and the CBC reports that he says the government has no right to tell him what he can do with the airplanes. But, he also said that he's open to a deal that keeps one in Canada and allows the other to go to Florida, saying he'd prefer to avoid any legal problems.

(Top image courtesy U.S. Navy. Bottom Image from YouTube)

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_JRM_Mars, http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1266037002102/1265993639778