The NetLetter
For Air Canada Retirees
(Part of the ACFamily Network)
April 15, 2014 - Issue 1297
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First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
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NetLetter Past Issues
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Donation Information
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Send cheques payable to "ACFamily Network" to:
ACFamily Network
#800 - 15355 24th Ave, Suite 523
Surrey, BC V4A 2H9
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Sponsors
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Welcome to the NetLetter!
We welcome you to allow the NetLetter to be your platform, and opportunity, to relive your history while working for either TCA, AC, CPAir, CAIL, PWA, AirBC, Wardair, etal and share your experiences with us! 
Terry Baker and the NetLetter Team
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| TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker |
Below we have musings from the "Between Ourselves" and "Horizons" magazine, Air Canada publications from years gone by, as well as various in-house publications.
The NetLetter has been fortunate enough to have our readers donate vintage Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada publications from as far back as 1941 to share with you. These have been scanned and are being prepared for presenting in a special area of the ACFamily Network for archival and genealogy research.
1959 - Jan - Viscount aircraft fin 632, damaged at Chicago when struck by a Compania Mexicana de viaeon DC-6, was returned to service. Repairs carried out at Winnipeg consisted of a new tail plane centre spar right hand stabilizer, elevator and elevator torque tube and the fitting of new formers and skins in the damaged area.
- May 1st - Vienna added to the route system, served from Montreal.
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Issue dated - February 1959
Some items gleaned from the "Between Ourselves" magazines.
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 Broadcaster "on air" as a stewardess.
A combination of airwaves and airlines was leading to excitement and travel for Pat Marini.
Pat was a broadcaster with radio station CFCF in Montreal. She was also a stewardess with TCA. An experienced broadcaster and women's editor of CFCF, Pat became a stewardess the hard way. She had been given an assignment to produce a news story about TCA stewardesses, what better way to do the story than to become a stewardess.
In October 1959 she enrolled at TCA's stewardess training school in Montreal. FIVE WEEKS of instruction was the order of the day for stewardess applicants. Pat Marini is shown during one of the lectures she attended as a trainee. Following classes every day she would tape a story to be presented on one of her two daily radio programs. |
 ON THE JOB Following her graduation as a TCA stewardess, Pat found the same ''butterflies'' on her first flight as she did when she made her first radio broadcast. Here we have Pat working in the galley of a TCA aircraft. |
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 Perhaps as famous as Goose Bay itself
was the company-operated Airlines Inn, Labrador's one and only commercial hotel.
Many world-renowned personalities have stayed briefly at the Inn. The six-wing 107-room hotel was operated by TCA with a staff of 27 employees. Five other airlines beside the Company, BOAC, Air France, Pan- American., Trans-World Airlines and SAS contribute to the operation and maintenance of the Inn and are classified as contributing members.
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 AT YOUR SERVICE behind the counter of the Airlines Inn desk in the Station staff at Goose Bay.
From the left: Jack Resac, Manager; Paul Deroshers, Station Attendant; Bill Stratton, Station Attendant; Ted Keith, Mechanic; Mrs. ''Shippy'' Townley, Station Clerk; Johnny Lessard, Licensed Mechanic; "Corky" Shorten, Station Attendant; Earl Young, Station Agent; Rod Wood, Station Attendant.
Rezac, Lessard and Young live in houses provided by the Company while the others are guests of the Airlines Inn.
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| Alan's Space - by Alan Rust |
Crosswind Landings 2013 - 2014
I don't know about you, but I always find it interesting to watch these crosswind landings. These landings really show the skill needed to get an aircraft on the ground in very difficult conditions.
Below is a video of some landing and take-off highlights in awkward wind conditions at BHX (Birmingham, England) this past winter (a record winter for stormy conditions in the UK). Note the frequent flexing of the planes' wings in response to the turbulence.
Of the five "missed approaches" shown, three diverted to other airports, and two were "go arounds" and landed successfully on second attempt.
It's interesting to note that the runway looks "wavy" because the zoom lens used to take the video exaggerates the runway's "hills".
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| Crosswind difficulties - winter 2013/14 |
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Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker
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 News and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and its "ancestry" of contributing airlines. |
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Issue dated - August 1983
Items from the "CPAir NEWS" magazine -
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 Employees who patronized the kiosks at the YVR Ops centre could get assistance for those in this photograph.
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 Crew of B-737 guides lost Cessna to safety.
Flight 654 was proceeding routinely from Whitehorse to Fort St.John on July 2, 1983, when suddenly Capt. Norm Headrick and First Officer Keith Stewart picked up an emergency call from a twin Cessna 401 "He was 2 1/2 hours out of Prince George flying visual flight rules for Watson Lake, and very lost." Headrick said. "We were approximately 150 nautical miles from Fort St. John and at about 60 out of Fort St. John it was apparent he was still in trouble. We had extra fuel on board and set up a circular holding pattern, managing to remain In contact with him until we could determine his location.
"We held for about 15-20 minutes, directing him to Watson Lake. He landed safely just a few minutes after we arrived in Fort St. John." Needless to say, Headrick and Stewart received a heartfelt thanks via radio for their assistance.
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 Out of this world!
Space ladies from the Calgary City Ticket Office flank John "Capt. Kirk'' Keenan, sales rep, Lethbridge, at a CP Air promotion for travel agents in Calgary where they were holding a national convention. The 2001 theme costumes were made up by the Banff School of Fine Arts.
The space ladies, from left, agents Colleen Quinn, Carol McCIeery, Cathy Fortune and Nancy Griffiths.
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| Reader's Feedback - Compiled by Terry Baker |
Every week we ask our readers for their stories or feedback on what they have read here in previous issues. Below is the feedback we have received recently.
Val Frost supplied most of the input about the "Ferry Command" which was part of the "Prestwick Story" in recent NetLetters. Val and our Chief Pilot exchanged e-mails which recalled the "joys" of "Space available" trips, and here are Val's memories - Oh yes, the good-old "stand-by" situation - i.e. "as space available".
It may have been a bit stressful for my folks, but I guess it never bothered me much, as I was just too grateful to board one of the gigantic "silver birds" and fly somewhere - anywhere.
I ALWAYS wanted the "window seat" to see the cloud formations and feel the vibrations and the strength of the engines. "A seat with a view", if you will. Besides, the aisle seat was a guaranteed "food/drink cart in the elbow bruise", as I always used the armrest. Safety first! That was 'way back in the 50's and the 60's, as the North Star developed into the Super G and Super H Constellation (the Super "Connies"), and then came the "war-horse" Viscount, which carried too few passengers when traffic picked up and eventually got placed on the freight runs instead - a sturdy little soldier for sure. Then the Vanguard, then the small DC-8 and the small DC-9, and later on the s-t-r-e-t-c-h DC-8's and DC-9's.
And then the JUMBO's invaded and the propellers disappeared and progress made its position well-known. Amen.
BUT, we do have our memories of the olden days when the Stewardesses dressed in their Winter Royal Blue and their Summer Light Blue military-style uniforms, with their official-looking wedge-hats, their short white gloves and their uniform black shoes. They were a real "role models" - when they actually resembled being part of the Air Crew, including the Pilot, the Co-Pilot, the Engineer, the Navigator and even the Steward - who were all both handsome and beautiful.
The stewardesses had to be RN's and no contacts or eyeglasses were allowed. Hiring practices were strict, but the "Cabin Crew" looked the part of a true Military Team, and it made us feel that we were in really safe hands.
Times have changed so very much, and in the guise of "progress" we have lost the "essence" of the "flight crew" tradition. At least I am still "gifted" with a very detailed memory...so far.
Val Frost (nee ARCHIBALD) and Bubbles, my Newfoundland Service Dog
(If any reader has memories of their SPAV trips they would like to share - they will be most welcome - eds)
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Odds and Ends.
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 Sometimes we receive articles and information that just doesn't fit in our other areas. This is where it goes!
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 The Quarter Century in Aviation Club - April Meeting Dinner
The April scheduled meeting of the club is on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. (today). The club includes airline employees from all areas of aviation meeting as friends to share their experiences and memories. If you wish to join the club, you must have 25 years in aviation (any airline, any job). The membership fees are $20/year.
Guests are most welcome, you are not required to join the first time you attend.
When: April 15, 2014
Social - 17:00 hours,
Dinner - 18:00 hours
Where: The Richmond Curling Club, 5540 Hollybridge Way, Richmond, BC V7C 4N3
Speaker: Pam Ryan
Subject: George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project
Dinner: Main Entree, Roast Beef - buffet style - coffee, dessert, (tax and tip is included).
Cost: The cost is $25 per person including tips and taxes. Beer, wine is extra.
See: www.quartercenturyclub.ca for more information.
 Early photo of Vancouver Airport, sent to us by Doug Robinson
Flags, Flypast and Flivvers were the order of the day when the original Vancouver Airport was officially opened by Premier Simon Fraser Tolmie on July 22nd, 1931. The opening day program proudly noted that the runway was 2,350 feet long and that the airport's two hangars could hold "12 large planes or 30 small aircraft with wings folded".
 Here is the poster to commemorate the opening of YVR.
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Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker
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| Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker |
As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.
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 This cartoon by Dan Fallwell who was a passenger agent at Terrace (YXT) appeared in the "CP Air News" magazine issued January 1981.
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The NetLetter is an email newsletter published (usually) once a week and contains a mixture of nostalgia, current news and travel tips. We encourage our readers to submit their stories, photos and/or comments from either days gone by or from present day experiences and trips. If we think that the rest of our readers will enjoy it, we will publish it here.
We also welcome your feedback in regard to anything we post here. Many readers have commented with additional information, names and personal memories from the photos and articles presented here.
The NetLetter, which is free, is open to anyone that wishes to subscribe but is targeted to retired employees from Air Canada, Canadian Airlines and all the other companies that were part of what Air Canada is today. Thanks for joining us!
We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the NetLetter, see you next week!
Sincerely,
Your NetLetter Team
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Disclaimer: Please note, that neither the NetLetter or the ACFamily Network necessarily endorse any of the airline related or other "deals" that we provide for our readers. We would be interested in any feedback (good or bad) when using these companies though and will report the results here. We do not (normally) receive any compensation from any companies that we post in our newsletters. If we do receive a donation or other compensation, it will be indicated as a sponsored article or link.
E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted) - The historical information as well as any other information provided here is subject to correction and may have changed over time. We do publish corrections when they are brought to our attention.
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First published in October, 1995
- Chief Pilot - Terry Baker, Nanaimo, B.C.
- Co-pilot - Alan Rust, Surrey, B.C.
- Flight Engineer - Bill Rowsell, Londesboro, Ontario
To contact us, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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