At Winterfest's vintage snowmobile show last month, one entry stood out among the crowd: a snow plane.
A snow plane looks like a mix between a crop duster airplane and a vintage snowmobile, and it stole the show with its unique presentation.
The snow plane, a 1963 Trail-A-Sled, is owned by Jerry Kallal, who has had a passion for vintage snowmobiles since he was a kid.
"It was 1965, [my dad] was going out, and his friends came from Camrose," said Kallal. "One guy had a '65 snow cruiser, and the other got a '65 skidoo, and I got my first ride on a snow machine."
"I was kind of hooked. I thought, 'this is pretty neat.'"
It took years of collecting snowmobiles before Kallal got his hands on a snow plane.
"I saw it back in [2007]. I kind of walked away from it, but I ended up buying it here three years ago. The same guy still had it," said Kallal.
Kallal said the project took some work to get the machine in running order. For an authentic look, Kallal had to build the skis by hand.
"I built my own mould and did the ski bending and woodwork all by myself. I was really happy the way it turned out, but that was a yearlong process," said Kallal. "I had more time to restore it because it was in rough shape. It took a lot to get that machine where it is today."
Despite the name, snow planes aren't designed to go airborne. Their name comes from the enclosed cockpit resembling that of a plane, and the fact that the machine is powered by a propeller.
"It doesn't fly. I'm a pilot, and people always say I'd better put wings on it," said Kallal. "It's incredible the way this snow plane works, the way it goes over snow and drifts."
"I haven't gotten stuck with it once. It really performs well. It'll climb a hill quite well."
Kallal, who is from Tofield, travels across the province showing off his unique piece of history.
