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From: Terry Baker <
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Subject: [The NetLetter] NetLetter nr 667 Mar 2/02 - The NetLetter
Date: Sat, 02 Mar 2002 07:56:48 -0800
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T H E _| TCA |_
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N E T L E T T E R > CANADA <
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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)
Number 667 Mar 2nd, 2002. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2200+
Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson - Co-pilot - Terry Baker
To get in touch with either editor/pilot our email address is
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. Need to know.
Employee communications advise -
Important Information Kiosks Now Collect Required Data For
U.S. Bound Customers.
The next phase in collecting Advance Passenger Information (API), that is
required by U.S. Customs in advance of an aircraft landing
in the U.S., is ready. Effective Feb. 28, kiosk users who are travelling
without bags will enjoy the features of one stop check-in. All customers and
employees who use our Express Check-in kiosks will be requested, through a
pop-up screen, to enter and confirm five basic pieces of identification: full
legal name, date of birth, gender, nationality and travel document number. If
all the API data is filled in correctly, a boarding pass will be issued.
Otherwise, a kiosk assistance coupon (KAC) will be generated and the customer
will be directed to a check-in counter.
March Spring Break Plan Ahead And Bring Alternate Tickets.
Spring Break is here again and over the coming weeks we’re anticipating heavy
flight loads, especially on weekends. Standby travel during March will be
extremely difficult. Before you leave home for destinations in Canada, Europe
or some fun in the sun, be sure to bring back up tickets on other carriers
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. Nice to know!
From the YYZNEWS issued by brian Dunn -
Air Canada announced on Feb 20th that it will boost frequencies for the
peak March period to Florida as follows;
Montreal-FLL additional daily A320/319 March 1-17, then 4 times per week
until April 6th. Toronto-Miami will get an additional Airbus narrow body
March 1 to 18th
Toronto-Orlando get an additional Airbus narrow body March 1 to April 6th.
Additionally, they have deployed its new Airbus 321 aircraft on Toronto- Ft.
Lauderdale and Toronto-West Palm Beach routes. It replaces the smaller A320
until April 6th.
A boost in overall services to the U.S.A. this summer as follows;
Halifax-Newark will become daily year-round effective April 7th with twice
daily CRJs. Montreal-San Francisco sees a daily year-round A319 effective
April 7th.
Toronto-Charleston becomes a daily year-round service with a CRJ....it is
currently operated three times a week only.
Vancouver-Washington-IAD sees a new daily non-stop resume for the summer
season only effective June 1st to Sept 15th with a A319.
Vancouver-Anchorage will have a daily A319 service from May 13 until
September 15th. Vancouver-Phoenix will have a daily year-round service
operated with a Boeing 737.
Calgary-Phoenix also becomes a year-round daily 737 service.
Alberta-Hawaii service to be re-introduced for the winter of 2002/2003 with
non-stop service from Calgary to both Honolulu and Maui and from Edmonton to
Honolulu and Maui. These flights will begin December 1st and operate with
Boeing 767 aircraft.
A further expansion of the Tango network for the summer.
Effective June 17th there will be London-Halifax, and
London-Calgary-Vancouver routes added as well as new Windsor-Ottawa-Halifax,
and Windsor-Winnipeg-Calgary service daily.
Out west, a new Saskatoon-Vancouver and Regina-Vancouver routes will be added.
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. May Day!
Help Needed!!
I need an overnight single and possibly also a double or triple , near Glasgow
Airport Hopefully inexpensive. Maybe B&B. Night of 5th July possibly 4th also.
We are joining a group arriving 6.30 am 6th july
any info would be appreciated .
Chuck Campbell
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. From the YYZNEWS issued by brian Dunn -
...Air Canada announced on February 15th that it has agreed to donate
to the
Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa a vintage 1960s Douglas DC-9 aircraft. The
aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to the Ottawa museum ( at Rockliffe
airport -YRO) this spring. The announcement was made at Montreal-Dorval during
an official "retirement" ceremony and party held for employees at the
maintenance hangars. The DC-9 has been the workhorse of the Air Canada fleet
for almost 36 years. The airline took delivery of its first DC-9 on January 6,
1966 and became the first airline outside of the USA to adopt this aircraft
type. It gradually replaced the Vickers Viscount fleet of turbo prop aircraft.
At its peak there were 50 DC-9s in the fleet.
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. A final word on the item re cigarette duty mentioned in NetLetter nr 662 -
Alastair Thomson offered to investigate and sends this -
I checked with Canada Customs re the duty on cigarettes.
They gave me the "Welcome to Canada" declaration card E311, here is the
paragraph pertaining to duty free cigarettes.
For residents of Canada only, effective October 01 2001, you must pay duty on
cigarettes, tobacco sticks and manufactured tobacco that you include in your
personal exemption entitlement, unless they are marked "Canada-Duty Paid-Droit
Acquitte.
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. A NEW COFFEE GROUP IS BORN
On Feb 26 th, 2002 a New Retirees' Coffee Group was
Born in the Niagara Area of South - Western Ontario.
Its name is: The Niagara Peninsula Coffee Group.
At the first meeting a total of 46 Attendees were present.
Membership is not restricted to Pionairs but it is
encouraged. A number of the Central Ontario District
Pionairs were in attendance for this event.
Area Retirees are encouraged to come out and mix and
Mingle, at our next meeting. Dates are currently the
First Tuesday of each month, with the next being on
April 02nd, followed with May 07 th, and June 04th.
Meeting are planned to be held at the Frado's Restaurant,
535 Queenston Street, St. Catharines --- adjacant to
the Welland Canal.
We are attempting to have a Pass Printer at each meeting
if at all possible. This is a trip saver for this group living some
distance from a major airport.
The group selected a Chairperson, Mr. Jim Morgan, and can be contacted at
905-788-2080 .
He does not have E-Mail.
Jim's committee is as follows:
Assistant Chairperson and Pionairs Liaison -- Colin Bailey, an alternate for
E-Mail contact can be
Secretary / Treasurer -- Isabel Fox
Social Committee: Carla West, Evelyn Harling & Margaret Slingerland.
At the opening meeting three Lucky Draws took place and
the Winners were as follows: Colin Bailey ( drew his own Ticket ),
Richard Careless and Richard Slingerland.
Anyone in the area is welcome to drop in on any of the above
dates when in the Niagara area. Local Retirees are encouraged
to attend.
Gord Dalziel -- Temporary Chairperson
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. News from the Districts.
The Courtenay/Comox district Pionairs held their monthly meeting on Feb
28th at
the Courtenay White Spot. 24 retirees and spouses were present.
Emcee'd by Eric van der Holt who announced that the March monthly meeting
is
cancelled as it would fall on the day following the Vancouver Island & Gulf
Island spring
lunch in Nanaimo.
Terry Baker gave an update on some of the travel information issued by Air
Canada.
Wally Lamond - Director of Vancouver Island and Gulf Island Pionairs
provides us with the timing for the upcoming spring luncheon at Nanaimo G.C. on
Mar 27th.
Meet at 11.30-1230 for cocktails & get together etc lunch at 12.30
thanks Wally Lamond
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. Charles Mackie sends us this Lancaster story, which we published way back -
This particular incident happened on a return flight back from Prestwick to
Montreal, during the winter the head winds over the North Atlantic were
strong enough that we often had to make the return over the southern route
through the Azores and then to Montreal.
We left Scotland and were heading for the Azores and the flight was routine.
We had just passed the Point of No Return between Prestwick and the Azores
when all Hell broke loose in the aircraft. I could not read the dials on my
radio set because they were shaking so badly and I glanced at number two
engine and it was shaking like a wet dog. There was a great rush of wind
inside the aircraft and my pad of paper and the navigators maps flew into
the passenger cabin.
What had happened was that one of the Prop Tips on number two engine had
broken and its trajectory was through the astro dome just over our heads. It
broke the front half of the dome away as it went past. Gil MacLaren was
flying the aircraft at the time and he didn't waste any time punching the
feathering button and getting the engine settled down.
The back half of the astro dome was still sticking up and acting as an air
scoop. So we had a 160 Knot wind inside the aircraft and this was stirring up
the dust and carrying all the papers around inside the aircraft.
George Lothian our Captain tried to stuff a seat cushion into the hole to
stop the wind from blowing inside the aircraft. He stuck it in the hole
alright but it did not stay there very long and was sucked out, and as it went
out it took the back half of the astro dome with it and the aircraft then was
like
a hugh whistle and there was a very low vibration tone.
The wind direction inside the aircraft changed and all the papers that were
blown into the passenger cabin came forward and out the
hole. George was standing under the hole and his hair was standing up
in the up draft.
I closed the door to the passenger cabin, and this reduced the wind conditon
a lot. My first duty was to assess the weather
situation, we knew before we left Prestwick that there was a real large
depression in the South Atlantic heading towards the Azores. Under normal
flight conditions we would arrived before the weather.
The whole south coast of England and France has became fogged in, it was
possible to go to Spain or Portugal but didn't want to unless it was
absolutely
the last resort because we could have been interned, so we proceeded to the
Azores.
I got on the radio and informed Prestwick and the Azores that we were on three
engines and still heading for the Azores. Number one had been advanced to
almost full power to maintain the aircraft on a straight course and the
streaks of flame coming out the six exhaust stacks was comforting, as number
two engine was dead.
About 15 minutes the oil pressure gauge on number One engine started to drop
from
normal pressure of 60 lbs to 20 lbs. We didn't know if the engine has lost
oil or if it was going to seize up. We didn't have any option but to keep the
engine going until it quit. I did get on the radio again and advise the
Azores that number one engine might be a failure.
Soon we got a comforting call back from the Azores that they were going to
send out an aircraft that was equiped with an air borne life boat, and one
of the first aircraft that had airborne radar on board. Shortly after this we
reached the pre front cloud of the approaching storm system.
Each of number three and four engines took turns at losing power, then would
give a pop and come back to power. This lasted for
about 10 to 15 minutes. The aircraft was swinging back and forth sideways as
we went. We were also beginning to lose power and the aircraft couldn't be
held at the cruise altitude of 9000 feet. We decided to look around and see
what could be jettisoned and it so happened that everything on that trip was
in mail compartment below the floor deck and we could not get at it.
The radio equiment was the easy item and we decided that we needed it. Someone
suggested that we ask if any of the passengers wanted to volunteer to jump.
They were all senior military and thus we thought that they were all very
brave, but fortunately it never came to pass.
The engines settled down after a while, but we didn't hear from the Azores
about our rescue plane so George asked me to call.
Their first response was that they were refuelling the aircraft and leaving
shortly, in the meantime, I was trying to get weather reports and the strom
was worsening. We had also slowed down and going to arrived later than
predicted.
In another half hour there was still no word from the Azores except that the
aircraft had not departed. The crew was in briefing and leaving shortly.
About 15 minutes later we got word that the aircreaft had finally taken off
and was heading in our direction.
It was a comforting thought that, if we had to ditch, some one would be able
to locate us on radar prior to ditching and then drop the lifeboat to us. As
far as I knew they never did pick us up and we never saw any trace of them.
There is one long runway at Lagans (Azores) and on the west side of the
runway there is a low range of hills. The 60 Knot cross wind on that runway
and the turbulence created by the hills made it impossible to land the plane
on that runway,.
There was a short runway at the sourthern end of the airport and it was
about 3000 feet long. We did a let-down out over the ocean to the east and
finally broke cloud and could see the shape of island through the murk. A
very welcome sight.
The shorter runway happened to be on the top of a cliff about 150 feet above
sea level. The wind down this short runway was quite gusty an the aircraft
floated well down the runway, We ran off the runway onto the grass, over a
ditch, on to more grass and finally stopped. George swung the aircraft around
and I looked out my window and could see the waves crashing on the rocks
some 100 feet below us. We had stopped close to the edge of the cliff.
Everbody got out including the passengers and had a real long nervous
"pee". it was great to be on terra ferma again.
Best regards to all
Charles Mackie
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Charles Mackie also sends this -
Please advise everyone that the Memorial List for all TCA/AC and CPA hams who
have passed away , is now in the ACFamily Network and be reached by using the
following URL
http://www.acfamily.net/forum/showthread.php?threadid=579
If your readers would kindly scrutinize the List and make any additions and or
corrections and if possible supply dates of the
Silent Keys whose dates are missing., it would be appreciated.
Please advise myself at
Thank you all for your co operation
Charles Mackie VE7WW
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. Found on the internet by Vesta our chief pilot -
STEVE MACLEAN WILL BE NEXT CANADIAN IN SPACE
Steve MacLean will be next Canadian in space when he lifts off aboard
the <I>Space Shuttle Endeavour</I> in April 2003.
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. Terry's travel tips.
Bill Hales sends this information -
To get a form letter for a spouse of an employee/retiree showing they are
entitled to hotel/car discounts etc. when travelling alone, this can be
requested by calling the AC Pass Bureau at 1-800-665-2560. They will mail
the letter to you.
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. Smilie.
Our chief pilot Versta sends this one -
WHEN YOU NEED PROOF!
Everybody's heard of the US Air Force's ultra-high-security, super-secret
base in Nevada, known simply as "Area 51?" Late one afternoon, the Air
Force folks out at Area 51 were very surprised to see a Cessna landing
at their "secret" base. They immediately impounded the aircraft and
hauled the pilot into an interrogation room.
The pilot's story was that he took off from Vegas, got lost, and spotted
the Base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Air Force started a
full FBI background check on the pilot and held him overnight during
the investigation. By the next day, they were finally convinced that the
pilot really was lost and wasn't a spy. They gassed up his air- plane,
gave him a terrifying "you-did-not-see-a-base" briefing, complete with
threats of spending the rest of his life in prison, told him Vegas was
that-a-way on such-and-such a heading, and sent him on his way.
The next day, to the total disbelief of the Air Force, the same Cessna
showed up again. Once again, the MP's surrounded the plane... only
this time there were two people inside. The same pilot jumped out and
said, "Do anything you want to me, but my wife is in the plane and you
have to tell her where I was last night!"
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Important reminder, for all new articles, submissions and or comments
for the "The Netletter" please send to:
Our joint e-mail address is:
please add to your Address Books.
This e-mail address has been set up so that both of us (exclusively)
will get an automatic copy and so we can keep up with the continuity of
news for the NetLetter.
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