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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)
Number 648, Dec 29th, 2001 We first published in October 1995.
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.
Don Smith advises us that the AIF has been discountinued at YQT
Thunder Bay effective Oct 15/01.
Effective January 2002 travel in most of continental Europe will require Euro
currency.
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Subject: Al Brown
. From Phil Pawsey -
Sorry to report that I just had a call from D. A. Ross who advised of Al Browns
passing yesterday, xmas day, in his 91st. year. The funeral will be held in the
St Andrews United Church in Williamstown Ont. at 1400, Dec. 29th.
Al was one of the very early TCA dispatchers and headed up that entire
department for many years. Will forward further details of family names etc.,
if and when it is received.
Phil
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. We recently welcomed Marlie & Phillip Kelsey to our readership, and here
are their bios -
Thank you for adding us to your list. Its very interesting reading all the
news. You asked for details on new subscribers so here it goes
Marlie (Field) Kelsey - Worked 18 years with CP. Started in 1969 in YVR with
CPAir in reservations. In 1973 first female to bid to far north that being
Whitehorse. Two part time women who worked there that were restricted to
reservations and ticket office. After I was posted no longer could they
restrict women. The manager had tried to keep me from working there but the
union filed on my behalf and that was the beginning of a lot of changes not
only in YXY but all through the BC district. I worked everywhere, Cargo, ticket
office, airport and reservations. Mostly I worked at the airport doing OD 10
(planning the weight and balance of the aircraft for take off and landings). I
loved it and stayed in the north for 6 years. That's where I met my husband who
was an agent there in his first posting with CP Air. In 1979 I bid to YVR AP
and worked there for a number of years then worked in Customer Relations for 3
years then back to the airport for another few years before taking voluntary
retirement in 1986 to stay home and look after our new daughter. I am now
working on Saltspring as a travel agent at Uniglobe Pacific Travel.
Phillip Kelsey- Worked 25 years with CP/Air Canada. Started in 1973 as an agent
with a posting in YXY with CP Air. Worked all positions there as the agents
rotated through all areas dependant on the shifts they bid for. While Marlie
mostly worked at the airport I worked in Reservations, Cargo, and Ticket
Office. It was a great time to be young and working for the airline. After YXY
I worked in Reservations, then Field Support, back to Reservations as a
supervisor, then Payload Control as a Controller, then Yield Management as an
Analyst, then a variety of other Management positions in Calgary then back to
YVR in Maintenance as Manager of Information Services. Now retired and have a
new career as a Computer Programer/Program Team Leader with Voice Mobility.
Marlie's father Duncan Dingwall McLaren is a past long time Trans Canada,
Canadian Pacific, Pacific Western employee. He started as a bush pilot out of
Cooking Lake in the 1930's with Punch Dickens, Wop May, Grant McConachie, and
many of the oldtimers. Flew with the Hudson's Bay Co when they had an aircraft.
Tested Norseman aircraft during the war He was instrumental in the developement
of the Dew Line while working with PWA. He saw a great many changes in his
lifetime in the aviation industry. He wrote a book in 1992 called BUSH TO
BOARDROOM. A Personal View of Five Decades of Aviation History. So her interest
in the airline industry is not such a surprise.
We look forward to hearing from any old friends and our email is
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. Spotted by Dave Baker -
I spied this ad in the Old Autos Newspaper so maybe it is of interest to a
retiree
that is into the automotive hobby:
1937 GMC F33B Cab Over Engine fuel tender previously owned by Trans-Canada
Air Lines, full restoration, 6 cylinder engine, 4 speed transmission. A real
eye catcher. Phone 780-475-2934 [Edmonton AB]
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. Remember when!
March 29th 1986 saw the start of Odyssey '86 with the 'Spirit of Vancouver'
taking off on a 30,000-mile journey to 50 cities in 28 countries. The DC-3
flight was to invite everyone to Expo '86 being held in Vancouver BC. The
odyssey ended Jun 7th back in Vancouver.
Once part of the Trans-Canada Air Lines fleet, it was the first P & W engined
DC-3 in TCA's fleet and accumulated 31,000 hours before being sold to the
M.O.T.
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. From the RAPCAN eMailNews issued by Duane Frerichs -
Air Canada Trivia:
AIR APPARENT
When it was founded by Ottawa in 1937, Trans-Canada Air Lines, forerunner
to Air Canada, was a paper airline” with no planes or personnel. Thankfully,
neither was it the nation’s first major airline, so it was able to borrow
heavily
from the carrier that held that distinction.
Launched in 1926 by Winnipeg grain baron James Richardson,
Western Canada Airways, later Canadian Airways Ltd., pioneered
safe, reliable passenger flights across Canada, and without its
bush pilots the North would not have been opened up to mineral exploration.
By the late 1920s, Richardson’s airline was the second-largest in the British
empire, trailing only Imperial Airways of Britain, and it led all
North American airlines in the amount of tonnage carried.’ Deprived
of its government mail contracts and most lucrative cross-country routes
by a federal government bent on creating TCA as the nation’s sole
major airline, Richardson’s venture nonetheless survived as
Canadian Airlines, which was acquired by Air Canada in 1999.
In its earliest years, TCA turned to Richardson for some of its first airplanes
and raided Canadian Airways for its first complement of pilots, machinists,
and flight attendants. When they took up their assignments with the new
state-owned airline, a greart many of TCA’s inaugural employees
showed up for work wearing their Canadian Airways uniforms.
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. From Ray Bicknell -
Subject: Captain Bob Forrest.
AU REVOIR “LA BUSH”
The news of Bob Forrests passing leaves me with a grudging, stubborn refusal
in my mind to believe that this certainly irrefutable fact is true.
In these times, we are now being conditioned to accept the position that
death is certainly a part of life, and must be part of the celebration of
that life we were such an integral part of all these years. I am gonna have
to work a little harder on that concept, I guess.
I first met Bob in the very early fifties when I wound up in YUL to work for
Trans-Canada Air Line.
My Course had about 30 or so young guys like myself on it. Very few of us
had any exposure to a large cosmopolitan and bi-cultural city, such as
Montreal. The course took most of our waking hours to do any justice to it’s
content. This resulted in our social immersion, in this great and vibrant
centre, being confined to the odd sortie on a week end, to view this new
concept in lifestyles that we found, thrust upon unsuspecting souls by dame
fortune.
To profess enjoyment with our lot would be a major understatement of its
true impact. When the work career began I soon met people that were true
native Montrealais, such as, Bob, Art Brinkworth, Howard Miles, his brother,
Bernie, Howie Noel and Jean Gilbert to name but a few.
I remember old Ernie Hemmingway writing about his early time in the city of
light, good old “Gay Paree”. He wrote an account of same and called it
something like “A Moveable Feast”. Well! Sir old Ern had a way with words,
didn’t he?
I would say that just about describes our Montreal experience. What a
feast! and, what a city! Where could you go to a place like “The Gaiety”
Theatre at midday, and for 75 sous, catch Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, or
any other big namer, in town for a club stint. Head over to Snowdon's and
catch a smoked meat at Chenoys Original Deli, or downtown to Bens, for the
same. The Forum on Sundays for old Quebec senior hockey. Hitting the old
Forum Taverne between periods for a suds. Where else could you take in a
fall Alouette game on a nice day at McGill’s friendly stadium. See Eddie
Hill dart down on the field and abscond with a flag, thrown by one of the
officials, much to that worthy’s dismay, when he went to retrieve same.
Heady, wonderful, memorable times they were. Thanks to Bob Forrest, and that
cadre of young Montreal natives, who shared their moveable feast with us,
and set up so many friendships that endured and are treasured to this day.
Bob’s final approach with the GCA controller up there would read from the
tape something like this:
“By the marker, on course, on glide slope”
“Have you now at 800’, on course, and on the glide”
“At minimums, on course and glide slope, take over visually and land”
“I check you over the button now Captain, “Welcome Home”.
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. Terry's travel tips.
WACA 2002 Calendar of Events
Effective date: 01 January 2002
Date Name of Event Hosting Club Deadline Costppd
MAR 08-18 Thailand Excursion THAILAND 23JAN02 US$620
18-25 China Capitals Tour THAILAND 23JAN02 US$750
APR 07-13 West CoastExperience VANCOUVER 07FEB02 US$496
17-20 Guanajuato Colonial LEON 01APR US$400
MAY 05-10 Cedarland Tour LEBANON 25APR02 US$525
09-12 Jazz on the rock STAVANGER 08APR02 NOK2500
12-16 Kenya Safari NAIROBI TBA TBA
13-18 Sensational Seychelles INDIAN OCEAN 10APR02 US$700
TBA Land of Tequila & MariachiMEXICO TBA TBA
JUN 06-09 Jamaica Jump-Up JAMAICA 15APR TBA
20-24 WACA Football HUNGARY 25APR US$320
27-03JL Singapore Sale & Malaysia Tour
SINGAPORE 31MAY SGD850
SEP 12-16 Iceland Adventure ICELAND 01AUG US$600
OCT 05-13 Romantic Tour to AGA RHEIN-MAIN 15AUG EUR790
13-18 35thAGA HUNGARY 08AUG
Pkg A US$520 Pkg A+B US$670
TBA Desert Splendor JORDAN TBA TBA
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. Smilie.
Sent in by Lawson Tremellen -
The local television news crew was covering a single engine plane crash
that had occurred on the large front lawn of a private dwelling. While the
reporter described what had happened, the camerman panned the grounds. He
couldn't resist however, pausing for a moment on the sign hanging from the
mailbox: NO FLYERS.
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