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Vesta's Jump Seat
 Why not allow the NetLetter be your platform, and opportunity, to relive your history while working for either TCA, AC, CPAir, CAIL, PWA, AirBC etal. and share your experiences with us! |
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Air Canada - our first 70 years
 1946 - June 9th - Halifax's first international charter destined to New York. July 1st - Inauguration of the service between Toronto and North Bay. July 15th - North Star prototype first flew from Canadair's Cartierville airport Montreal. 1967 - Sep 1 st - First regularly scheduled DC-9 arrives at Saskatoon commanded byCapt. Ron George. Sep 20th - First DC-8-61 landed at YVR on the maiden transcontinental flight. |
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TCA/AC People Gallery
 Over the past months we have been publishing various photographs from earlier "Horizons", should any photos prompt a memory in seeing one of them, feel free to send us your comments and thoughts.Musings from earlier "Between Ourselves" magazines Issue dated October 1967  On September 19th the largest meeting ever held by the Toronto district garnered some 742 employees who attended the meeting and party. THE WORKING SIDE of the employees night included from the left: Barney Harding, Sales Representative, who co-ordinated the affair; and Ground Hostesses Joanna Walcott, Donna Elkin, Donna Whealy, Marion Courtney, Marg McCrae, and Doreen Aisbitt. SASKATOON AIRPORT was visited by some 2,000 people September 1st to witness the arrival of the first regularly scheduled DC-9 into that city. The Saskatoon Board of Trade rolled out a red carpet for the occasion and had all passengers piped into the terminal building.  B of T President George Gulls, extreme right, presented mementoes to the crew: Stewardess Janet Loest, Captain Ron George, Stewardesses Pat Stevenson and Joyce Wright, and First Officer Bob Campbell.Maiden flight DC-8-61 transcontinental flight arrives at YVR.  Here are Capt's Bill Bell, Al Ross and Flight Attendant Judy Robinson being welcomed by Kelly Edmison, Regional Ops Mgr at YVR.We continue to scan through some older editions of "Between Ourselves" We trust that you will find these articles interesting. (We realize these photos are more than 60 years old, but, we feel they may be of interest to anyone with long memories or with genealogy aspirations - eds) Musings from the "Between Ourselves" magazine Issue dated Midsummer 1946 Here we have this photo of the key men and woman involved in the C-47 conversion to DC-3 at Canadair. Members of the TCA Liaison Office at Canadair who were associated with DC-3 conversion.  Left to right: Jack Douglass, Andy Anderson, Art Higham, Al Cargill, Grace Stewart, Hal Coverdale, Frank Lukeman, "Baldy" Torell and Frank Rousseau. Missing : Jimmie Miller and "Jud" Judson.Just before Req Campbell left Ottawa for the Traffic Managership of the Eastern Region he gathered his Chateau Laurier cohorts about him for the above group photograph. It records a fine staff and a deservedly popular boss, neither of whom is likely to forget the other.  Left to right, front row: Mary Neilly, Teletypist; Jean Davis, Reservations Clerk; June Ferguson, Secretary; Reg Campbell, Hattie Hall, Mary Crawford, and Adelaide O'Regan.Telephones Middle row: Dick Forrest, Cashier; Don Richardson, Traffic Representative; Martin Betts, Chief Clerk; Mason Johnston, Doug Roberts, Traffic Representatives and Don Graham, Ticket Agent. Back row: Jean Sharpe, Teletypist; Betty Roberts, Telephones; Enid Foster, Counter Clerk; Lola Gibson, Reservations Clerk; Norah Quinn, Counter Clerk; Audrey Denison Stenographer and Jean McCredie, Teletypist. Stewardess Sheila Lucy holding the 35mm film made by Canadian Paramount News for Vancouver's Diamond Jubilee. The film was flown to Vancouver by air express. Issue dated September 1946 TCA FLIGHT 201 On July 10, a giant, four engine TCA Lancaster, only 28 hours out of London England, lowered its wheels over Vancouver Airport, marking the completion of the first direct commercial flight from the United Kingdom to the Pacific Coast and the first non-stop commercial flight flown by TCA across Canada. The aircraft which made the flight in connection with Vancouver's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The plane had taken off from Prestwick the previous evening and early that morning at Montreal, the Trans-Atlantic crew handed it over to a new crew made up of Vancouver and district personnel, for the non-stop trans continental run. Members of the crew looked over the controls of the TCA Lancaster at Montreal for the second leg of the United Kingdom to Vancouver flight.  Left to right: Captain G. H. Lothian; Radio Officer W. Lucas; F. M. McGregor, Operations Manager of the Trans-Atlantic Service, Captain J. A. Wright; Navigator P. 0. Powell and Purser-Steward D. V. Miller. In the foreground are Captain Lewis (right) and First Officer Harrison, the two pilots who flew the aircraft from Great Britain to Montreal. |
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Star Alliance news.
 United Airlines will retire its final 737, a -300 on Oct. 28. It has operated 737s for more than 41 years, having placed the launch order for the 737-200 version in April 1965. The aircraft has been numbered UA737 for its final journey, which begins at Washington Dulles with stops at Chicago O'Hare, Denver and Los Angeles, then on to San Francisco where it will be decommissioned at UA's maintenance base before being transported to Victorville for storage. |
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This n That.
Qantas will operate three sightseeing flights over Antarctica during the southern summer with its new A380. It has partnered with Antarctica Sightseeing Flights of Melbourne since 1994 using 747-400s. The first A380 flight is scheduled for Dec. 31 from Melbourne, the second on Jan. 24 from Sydney and the third on Feb. 14 from MEL. Fares start from A$999 (US$859) for the 14-hr. flight, which includes two meals. The most frequently used route takes the aircraft over the icecap, the South Magnetic Pole, the French scientific base at Dumont d'Urville and finally the spectacular Trans-Antarctic Range. Approval has been secured for 19 Antarctic flight routes, with final selection based upon weather and viewing opportunities. With effect from December, passengers traveling in Economy Class on all intercontinental flights operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines can choose seats offering greater comfort. The new Economy Comfort zone offers up to ten centimetres more legroom and back supports that can recline twice as far. What's more, Economy Comfort passengers can also disembark quicker after landing because their seating zone is located at the front of Economy Class. Depending on the distances involved, the price of the new zone will amount to between €80 and €150 for a single leg of the journey. The service in Economy Comfort will be the same as that in Economy Class. |
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Alan's Space
 THE RED SPARROWS
The Red Sparrows is a really funny, typical British humour video with a bunch of British Firemen in little planes performing death defying stunts with less than realistic props, what a laugh! Origin unknown - I couldn't find any references other than on YouTube of this group. It looks like real firefighters from the Hampshire Fire Brigade  Click on image for video
Landing in Guadeloupe - (not)
Last weeks issue showed a small plane going off the runway into the drink at a small Island airport. I wasn't sure what airport it was but we had quite a few of our readers comment and they all identified it as St.Barts. Here's a sample email from Greg Scott (thanks Greg) Good Day Netletter staff Just for your information the light aircraft runway overrun video is in St.Barts, a small French island in the Caribbean just south of St.Maarten/St.Martin. It is only 8 sq. mi. in area but its hills are covered in very expensive private villas. It is a department of France and the central government of that department is in Guadeloupe, which is about 140 miles south of St.Barts. The airport in St.Barts is famous for its steep approach over a hill to a short runway on the edge of the sea. Special training is required to land there. The island is favoured by the rich and famous and New Years Eve is a special time there, where many of these rich and famous come in their private yachts and aircraft. It was here that Jimmy Buffet had his "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" restaurant named after his famous song of the same name. He still arrives here frequently on his personal aircraft and does many impromptu shows for special events. I have been there many times in my job as a helicopter pilot based in Antigua. Sincerely Greg Scott |
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Canadi>n/CPAir/PWA, Wardair, etc. Events & People
 Over the past months we have been publishing various photographs from earlier in-house magazines, should any photos prompt a memory in seeing one of them, feel free to send us your comments and thoughts.Gleanings from "Info Canadi>n" magazine Issue dated October 1991 All dressed up with nowhere to fly Have we hit a time warp? No, a group of flight attendants celebrating 15 years with Canadian recently threw a party in Calgary. As a party theme, flight attendants were asked to wear an old uniform.  Only a few dared to dress up in "vintage" flight attendant clothing: from left, Debbie Steel, Patty Dickle, Tanis Vallevand, Sue Bowerman, and Lesley Ostrosser, all based in Calgary.When it was introduced in October, Canadian's 192-page travel book was the first of its kind among North American carriers world-wide. Complete with a section of product information and a section with the complete timetable. Only SAS have a similar document.  Here we have Linda Smith, Manager , Merchandising Services, with a copy.Issue dated September 1990  Montreal offices find a new home Montreal Reservation; Sales, and Corporate offices relocated into one site at 99 Maisonneuve West, Suite 500 in Montreal. Moving with a smile recently were,from left, Marilyn Stecko, Francois Besner, Colette Charles, ext secretary, Jules Rozon, Luc Prud'Homme, Jean Vernaitis, and Diane Masson. The Canadian Plus paper trail was cut out when the information was placed on a new computer system effective August. Here are photos of those involved.       |
 Jack Stephens sends us a copy of his message to the Vickers Viscount web site - Hi Team...greetings from Canada! Very pleased that the NetLetter (1087) has chosen to show the moving of CF-THG into her final resting place. Again our congrats to Dave Peters and the restoration team for preserving this fine aircraft for today, and for future generations to see, and appreciate. Sincerely, Jack (Jack has involvement with the web site www.vickersviscount.net which has the history of all the Viscount aircraft ever built - eds) Dale Gosney sends us this information - Reading through the Air Canada Pionairs news letter this morning (I think he means our NetLetter - AFR) I came across an article from May of this year asking about the Fantasy of Flight attraction. Its location is halfway between Orlando and Tampa. This facility restores aircraft as well as displaying aircraft. Most of the aircraft on display are in flyable condition. Set aside a whole day to explore. There is a diner style restaurant, gift shop, tours of air frame restoration and engine shop. Touring the various hangers you will see vintage aircraft, military aircraft, helicopters and private aircraft of all types. Aircraft rides are available in their Stearmans and they have a nice patio area if you just want to sit and watch the aircraft. It is a great place to spend the day. Dale Gosney--Air Canada Retired Later, Dale sent this information - Another Museum, not far from The Fantasy of Flight grounds is the Florida Air Museum in Lakelandcheck out www.floridaairmuseum.org Dale In NetLetter nr 1087 Stan Hegstrom provided information about the Viscount being moved into its new hangar at YYJ. Unfortunately Stan misquoted the squadron staff who helped and tells us. I did make one mistake, the CF sqn is 443 that helped tow the Viscount-Stan. Fred Coyle has sent us the latest web sites for the progress of CF-TGE Here's the latest update from Bob Bogash on the TCA Super Connie. Please tell your readers especially to look for the poem at the end by Bob, after looking at all the pictures. It is remarkable. He is a remarkable man indeed. Best to you, Fred The Connie has been reassembled and placed in Boeing's Plant II. Details below: Connie Re-Assembly: http://www.rbogash.com/Connie/connie-reassy-BFI.html and Entry into Plant II hangar: http://www.rbogash.com/Connie/connie-plant%202.html Website hits on the Trip and Arrival pages have passed 1.8 Million since Sept 1. Bob Bogash A.G. Driver sent us this information - am a retired captain....saw your previous articles on TCA Super Connie....was coming back from riding the az trail and saw this ship sitting on the apron of a small airplane museum 30 miles south of the grand canyon.     |
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Terry's Trivia & Travel Tips
  From "Between Ourselves" issued March 1952 - yes 1952 Does the dollar figure (less tax of course) look familiar? Here is the fourth segment of a tour of north and southern Ireland as a package tour with Trafalgar coach lines - here is the next segment
IRELAND TOUR After breakfast we left at 08:00 in a rain storm which pursued us for most of the day. We are off to Connemara and Galway. We stopped off for a tour of the Connemar Marble factory, very interesting, and bought a couple of pairs of earrings. We passed Kylemore Abbey before driving along the shores of Lough Corrib then into Galway. In the evening we had a banquet and entertainment at Dunguaire Castle on the shores of Galway Bay, built in 1520. We were greeted and handed a cup of mead. The hall was up a winding spiral staircase, and the meal excellent, the entrée was a bowl of soup, without a spoon supplied, we had to slurp it. The entertainment was by a harpist, and two entertainers who inspired us with extracts from Irish writers. Gas prices in this area ranged from euro.89 to euro1.10, and the posted rate for our hotel was similar to all the hotels so far - euro259 per person. Breakfast was euro14.00 per person! Really a five star establishment. Saturday May 9th- This is our seventh day of travel, and it only rained twice - the first time was four days, and the second time 3 days, but today - brilliant sunshine. We are on our way to Killarney, enroute we stop off at Craggaunowen for an interesting guided tour of a bronze age encampment, which included a fascinating early working lathe, several huts in an enclosure surrounded by a moat and a glass cover over a reconstructed vessel used to sail to North America before the Vikings. Then, after a stop for lunch, near a monastery, we had a visit later at a store which sold almost every touristy item imaginable, and they served us a glass of Irish cream coffee. After we had checked in our Kenmare Bay hotel we went to the Kenmare River for a cruise. In the cabin was the normal exit sign on a doorway, but with a bigger sign stating "STAFF ONLY" - we wonder what the passengers did to get out in an emergency. After our cruise we had supper at the nearby restaurant, afterwards we were Entertained by three young girls aged 7, 9 and 11 who performed some folk dances for us and without musical accompaniment. Sunday May 10th. Today, we wake up to another sunny day, with temperature of 13c - not tropical, out better than we have had at the first few days of our tour. Today we start our Ring of Kerry excursion and view the granite mountains, Dingle Bay and Ladies View. We went off to visit Muckross House and gardens. We had a conducted tour of the house, and part of the story was that the owner spent a large amount of money when they l earned that Queen Victoria had accepted an invite to stay at the house. With an eye to a English title, no expense was avoided, but, alas, the Queen's consort, Albert, passed away just after the Queen's return, and she went into mourning, and the presentation of titles was further from her mind and the owner of Muckross House went bankrupt.. The optional trip was to have been a traditional Irish farm, but this was cancelled. (More another time - eds) |
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Smilies
  Vern Swerdfeger sends this for us - US Airways' new training program |