What is that?: Flying aces greet travellers in Billy Bishop tunnel
Posted May 4, 2016 2:04 pm.
Last Updated May 27, 2016 12:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
What is that?: Toronto sculptures explained is a new series looking at a different sculpture in the city every week. Have you seen a piece of public art in your daily commute and wondered what it was about? Me too … so I’ve decided that I’d learn a little bit more about my own city and share it with you.
The underwater tunnel to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is not the only new thing to check out while you’re running to catch a flight.
Two men made out of bronze are the first to greet you with the lake as their backdrop in the tunnel’s atrium.
The life-size sculptures are of William “Billy Bishop” and William Barker.
The exhibit represents the first meeting between the two Canadian flying aces.
The exact dates are unknown, but it is said to have taken place in early 1919.
The two became friends and started a three-year aviation business of flying boats from the Toronto Harbour. They both continued to work in aviation.
The statues were created by artist George Batholomew Boileau. Artists created a bronze cast of Boileau’s original sculpture using the lost-wax process that goes back 5,700 years.
In addition to the sculpture, a model of a Nieuport 17, a replica of the one Bishop piloted, hangs from the ceiling of the atrium. According to Ports Toronto, the model plane took 1,200 hours to build and has a wingspan of more than 26 feet. According to its builder Aidrome Aeroplanes, the plane would be fully operational if it had an engine.
