The Philippine Mars will leave Sproat Lake on its final departure south on Sunday, Feb 9, 2025. Coulson Aviation made the announcement on its social media Saturday evening.

"Tomorrow morning, the Philippine Mars will take to the skies one last time, aiming to depart from the buoy in Sproat Lake around 9 a.m. heading to San Francisco," the post reads.

"Against all odds, the team behind her has worked tirelessly to prepare her for this final journey to Arizona. She may be leaving the water, but her legacy will always ripple through history."

People in the Alberni Valley were surprised on Feb. 5, 2025 to hear a large plane roar overhead. It was the Philippine Mars, which has been undergoing multiple engine swaps and tuning to prepare for its final flight to Tucson, Arizona. The plane flew again on Friday, Feb. 7 after some fine tuning of one of the engines.

This is the third time crews have planned a departure south for the Philippine Mars.

The aircraft's flight crew made two other attempts in December to fly south, making it as far as Victoria before having to land in Pat Bay due to an engine issue. The aircraft spent Christmas in Pat Bay before it was towed to Cowichan Bay for an engine swap so it could be flown back to Sproat Lake for more extensive work.

Crews hope to stop in San Francisco to go through customs, visit San Diego, where the Martin Mars were once stationed prior to their conversion to aerial firefighting tankers, then fly on to an undisclosed lake in Arizona near Tucson. The aircraft will be dismantled and trucked to the Pima Air and Space Museum where it will be put on display.