In 1986, a Canadian crew flew a Douglas DC-3 around the world to promote Expo 86 in Vancouver. Forty years later, a new documentary brings the people behind that journey together to tell its story. Produced by the KF Centre for Excellence in partnership with filmmaker Ryan Tebbutt of Edge Digital Media, Odyssey 86: 90 Years of the DC-3 follows the crew’s two-month trip through 28 countries and 55 cities. The aircraft logged more than 280 flight hours before returning to Canada with its fuselage covered in stickers collected along the route.
The DC-3 had a long history before the flight. Built in 1944, the aircraft served with West Coast Air Command during World War II. It later flew with Canadair and Trans-Canada Airlines before Transport Canada used it as an airway calibrator. KF Aerospace founder Barry Lapointe subsequently acquired the aircraft and joined the crew that flew it around the world.
Lapointe sold the DC-3 in the 1990s but reacquired it in 2021, bringing it back to Kelowna, British Columbia. Today, Odyssey is part of the KF Centre for Excellence collection. Operated on a not-for-profit basis, the Centre celebrates aviation in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley through aircraft exhibits, educational programs and events. Its collection of working aircraft also reflects Lapointe’s legacy and the Centre’s aim to encourage careers in aerospace. The 30-minute documentary features recollections from people connected to the flight and archival material from the expedition. It premiered at the KF Centre in June 2026 and screened there throughout the summer. The Centre has since made the full film available online.
