Yellowknife (Sep 06/06) -Former territories water bomber and bush pilot Carl Clouter returned to Yellowknife in high-flying style Friday, arriving in a 1939 Stinson 105 training plane he recently restored.

"It was quite a trip and a lot of fun," Clouter said of his journey from Gander, Nfld. where he took 18 months to rebuild the antique plane, adding pontoons and a new 160hp powerplant. "Between the two of us, we represent 132 years... the plane's older than I am, of course."

Named Norma Jean, after Clouter's wife, the Stinson enjoyed a rich history before it found its way into the pilot's loving hands.

During the Second World War, it was loaded on to a France-bound ship intended for training allied pilots, only to be turned around mid-voyage after word came that France had fallen to Germany. Once back in Canada, the plane was put into service for the Royal Canadian Air Force in Quebec.

"This is how it looked back in 1939," Clouter said of his efforts to restore the plane back to its original lustre: bright yellow paint with red trim and RCAF insignia.

"Apart from the engine and the floats, everything is original."

The plane's purchase and restoration, which Clouter estimated at between $80,000 and $85,000, allowed the aircraft to return to the skies after 27 years on the ground. According to Clouter, the plane is one of only two remaining Stinson 105s in Canada - the other being a museum piece on display in Winnipeg.

"This is a museum piece also, as you can see," said Clouter, who hopes to donate the Stinson to Yellowknife's Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

Clouter, who flew water bombers in 1973 and lived in Fort Rae for 21 years - where he helped start Edzo Air - is also part owner of Fortune Minerals, which has mining interests in the territories. Now back in Yellowknife, he plans to divide his time between Newfoundland and the territories, where his love of hunting for minerals has been re-ignited.

"I have to do some work on (the plane) tomorrow and then I'll go prospecting," he said shortly after touching down on Yellowknife Bay. "This is a great machine for that."

Met by old friend Gerry Pye, who showed up to welcome Clouter with his flotilla of classic cars, the veteran pilot appeared more interested in checking out Pye's collection of steel rather than talking about his own winged-classic.

"I couldn't have asked for a better welcome," said Clouter, who took five flying days to make the cross-country journey that was no picnic in the restored plane. "Flying it was a handful, there's limited trim. It's not more difficult to fly but it's demanding."

With an engine nearly double the horsepower of the original, Clouter says the plane's range was about three-and-a-half hours. Top speed of "Norma Jean" is approximately 100 knots, but Clouter admitted that with a headwind, much of the voyage he managed only about 85.

Clouter's wife Norma, who was also on hand to meet her husband shrugged off the grown men's enthusiasm for vintage vehicles.

"The older the boys get, the more expensive the toys," she said. "I collect China dolls; they're much cheaper."