End of the road: Iconic Philippine Mars makes final flight out of B.C. [Video]

An iconic piece of British Columbia aviation history has left the province on its final flight.

The Philippine Mars conducted one final pass over Vancouver Island’s Alberni Valley before a flight south.

The historic aircraft stopped Sunday evening in San Francisco, before heading to its final destination at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz., on Monday.

The Philippine Mars is the sister aircraft to B.C.’s famous wildfire-fighting water bomber the Hawaii Mars, which was finally retired at the B.C. Aviation Museum in Patricia Bay last summer.

“It’s the end of the road. I hate to take it away from here, but they are going to good places,” said pilot Peter Killan, who was at the controls for the Philippine Mars’ retirement flight.

“(We’re) sharing it for all of North America by having one in the states and one here.”

The massive Martin Mars aircraft, which boast the wingspan of a Boeing 747, were conceived as patrol bombers during the …