The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum was founded in 1972 and is the largest in Canada to house priceless and restored World War I and II Warplanes, including bomber planes used by the Canadian military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The non-profit organization is mandated to acquire, document, preserve and maintain a complete collection of aircrafts that were flown by Canadians and the Canadian military from the beginning of World War II to the present. Their role is to preserve the artifacts, books, periodicals and manuals relating to this mandate. Today, the Museum houses almost 50 aircrafts, an extensive aviation gift shop and exhibit gallery as well as host private events and offer group tours. The museum’s responsibility of staying open daily, year-round also requires a full-time staff making security a crucial priority. The primary objective is to secure indoor and outdoor premises, including visitor’s parking lot next to Hamilton International Airport. The main purpose is to deter all potential crime, vandalism and theft of property, and mainly to secure priceless World War I and II airplanes.

Deploying VIVOTEK cameras at the Warplane Heritage Museum was an ambitious task due to the structure of the site being an airplane hangar housing over 50 Warplane Heritage airplanes. The outside perimeters of the museum contain extremely dark zones and parking lots, requiring equipment with very strong IR capabilities to provide sufficient monitoring. Securing the indoor and outdoor premises, including a 400-vehicle parking lot adjacent to Hamilton International Airport took careful planning and a specific camera surveillance system to cover the extensive property. A new and upgraded security system would also deter potential vandalism and theft of property and vehicles, especially securing the priceless airplanes.

Earlier this year, the Ontario Government through the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, launched a project designed to update and improve the Museum’s existing video surveillance system. The process culminated in the selection of VIVOTEK’s valued partner, A.S. Security & Surveillance, Inc., a systems integration company headquartered in Southern Ontario that specializes in various residential, commercial, industrial and corporate security surveillance system installations.

The new video surveillance system features sixteen VIVOTEK Network cameras including a 32-channel Network Video Recorder, ND9541. VIVOTEK’s IB836B-HT Bullet Network camera was installed throughout the premises due to the 2-Megapixel full HD sensor enabling smooth viewing resolution, capable of capturing high quality and high-resolution video with WDR and SNV technology, regardless of high contrast or low light environments. IB836B-HT is equipped with built-in IR illuminators up to 30 meters for superior image quality 24 hours a day and can withstand inclement weather and the IP66 and IK10-rated housing protects the unit against acts of vandalism, making these units a great selection for installation throughout the Canadian Heritage Warplane Museum. Not only were VIVOTEK cameras used in the installation process, the ND9541, H.265 network video recorder equipped for up to 32-Channel network cameras with 4 hard drives for plenty storage and AW-GEV-264-370, VivoCam Layer 2+ Managed PoE Switch to enable extra power for all cameras were used. VIVOTEK’s PoE switch enables IP surveillance management functions by not only being a standard Layer 2+ PoE switch, but also enabling set up and configuration of VIVOTEK IP cameras, NVR and CMS. Due to the building structure, AP-FXC-0210 was needed to extend the range for two cameras located indoors. The indoor PoE extender allows a daisy-chain installation with up to a 300M installation.