The Philippine Mars has flown for the first time in 17 years.

"Today's flight was short and so sweet," pilot Pete Killin posted on social media following the flight on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. The Philippine Mars has not been flown since 2007 when the Coulson Group purchased the last two Martin Mars waterbombers from TimberWest (now operating as Mosaic Forest Management).

Killin flew the Hawaii Mars on its final flight to Patricia Bay outside of Victoria in August, and will fly the Philippine Mars to its final destination outside of Tucson, Arizona. First officer on Tuesday's flight was Todd Davis, who is Coulson Aviation's U.S. division chief pilot.

Photographers and aviation enthusiasts at Sproat Lake were surprised the aircraft took flight, as the weather was still socked in with low clouds. The flight lasted long enough for the aircrews to gain a bit of altitude before they put the Philippine Mars back on the water and taxied back to the buoy.

"Everyone was just breathless," said Coulson Group spokesperson Gennifer Connell. "You're just stuck in that moment in time. It's super thrilling to get it up鈥攖o have it in the air."

People have been coming from as far away as Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia to see the Philippine Mars taxi on Sproat Lake, and wait for its final departure. Connell said a final date hasn't been set. "Everything right now is weather dependent," she said.

"We're waiting on an aircraft that has to be maintenance-ready, that has to have its test flight so we can go."

Coulson's crews have received permits from Transport Canada to conduct test flights with the Philippine Mars. Once the test flights are done the company can apply for a ferry permit to transport the plane down the west coast and then inland to Arizona, where it will end up in the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Crews have been having problems with the No. 2 engine again this week. The original engine was swapped for one from the Hawaii Mars when a crack was discovered. Now the "new" engine (from the Hawaii Mars) has developed problems that Connell called "regular hiccups" that come with switching out an engine.

She said Coulson has an experienced group of aircraft mechanics working on the plane. Many of them came out of retirement jsut to get both Mars waterbombers airworthy again so they could be flown to their final museum destinations.

"We have the best of the best."