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Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter Since 1995

Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Since 1995

The NetLetter #1149

The NetLetter
 For Air Canada Retirees
 

January 15, 2010 - Issue 1149
 
First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
In This Issue
Quarter Century Club
CAHS Events
ACECF
TCA/Air Canada People Gallery
Alan's Space
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc
Reader's Feedback
Terry's Trivia
Smileys
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Inter Canadian
Time Air
Canadian Pacfic
CPAir
Pacific Western
Transair
Austin Airways
Eastern Provincial
Nordair
Quebecair
Wardair
 
Greetings!
Terry Baker

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!

The NetLetter is an email newsletter published every weekend 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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!

Terry & your NetLetter Team
Quarter Century in Aviation Club - Compiled by Alan Rust
Quarter Century Club
Quarter Century Club - YVR
 
The January scheduled meeting of the club is on Tuesday, January 18, 2011. 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) and the membership fees are $20/year. Guests are welcome, you are not required to join the first time you attend. Click on image or link below for directions.

When: January 18, 2011, Social - 17:00 hours, Dinner - 18:00 hours

Dinner: Roast Beef and Schnitzel, dessert, and coffee, (buffet style) - tip is included.

Cost: The cost is $25 per person including tips and taxes. Beer, wine is extra.

Guest Speaker: Tony Swain, Tony's talk will be....."Tony and Mary do Britain".....a trip down memory lane.  Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Vintage and Classic.

Website: www.quartercenturyclub.ca
CAHS Events - Compiled by Alan Rust

Calgary - January 20, 2011: *** Alan H. MacDonald Memorial Lecture ***
"Aim for the Sky and Hope for Money: The Canadian Aircraft Industry, 1909-1929" by Dr. Stéphane Guevremont 


Ottawa - January 27, 2011: Rob Erdos, Chief Test Pilot for the National Research Council of Canada, shares his test pilot insights and personal experiences flying Vintage Wings of Canada's recently restored Westland Lysander.  Join us for what promises to be a most interesting evening. 


Toronto - February 12, 2011: Alan C. Dares,   B.A, C.T.M, A.T.P.L. will be speaking on "Light Sport Aircraft (LSA's) in Canada" 


Vancouver - February 8, 2011: The February meeting presentation will be a slide presentation by Keith Wade on flying boats and amphibians. For more info call Jerry Vernon at (604) 420-6065

 
Air Canada Employees and Retirees Charitable Foundation
 
Air Canada Employees Charitable FoundationNancy McKay sends this THANK YOU for the help that was given to the ACECF (Air Canada Employees and Retirees Charitable Foundation) during the  Christmas Season. Volunteers were: Irene Smith, Helen Jackson (sister of Irene) Anne Harward, Claudette Zeiler, and Karen Houston.

"The ACECF was once a going concern, for many years since 1955. After the amalgamation of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines we were no longer able to do Payroll Deduction for the employees. The Company informed us that they did not have the man power to do this for us. This was our way of Raising Funds for many  Charity Groups here in the  East/West
(raising $26 million in YVR alone). Up until Dec 2008 we were still receiving cheques and could still support some groups.

Unfortunately we no longer receive any money to continue with our work for this Foundation, and, every year for the past 6 years we have collected toiletries from the flight attendants in YVR. They bring them back from their trips and put them in the crew room. Thank You to each and every one of you who make this project possible.

This year we made up (500) packages... plus 10 Gift Baskets that were given to the Battered Women's Shelters along with  Toys that were given by the Dreams Take Flight Team.  Thank you all for making just that someone's life a little bit better.

Thank You,

Nancy McKay
TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker
 
TCA/Air Canada LogoMusings from the "Between Ourselves" magazine an Air Canada publication from years gone by.



seagrimIn NetLetter nr 1147 and 1148 we had published some photos and information from Brian Johannesson (ex-Winnipeg, ex-Montreal, now living in Kitchener) under the "CPAir, Canadi>n, Wardair etal events and people" banner. Here is a photo which relates to TCA -  just remembered one more picture, of Herb Seagrim, once Vice-President of TCA.  He was a flying student of my fathers at the Winnipeg flying Club in 1931. The caption on my website reads: "L to R: Herb Seagrim, Konnie Johannesson and Wilf Fair at the Winnipeg Flying Club, 1931.

Herb Seagrim, a future Vice-President of Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada), was a student and very good friend of Konnie's."  Just one more thought - notice in that picture that Konnie and Wilf are wearing speaking-tube earphones.  These plugged into tubes in the airplane, the "microphones" were a funnel-shaped devices on a rubber hose that one person picked up to speak to the other. I remember them from my father's 1942-ish Tiger Moth. "No batteries required".

There are also several references to Herb's exploits in the Winnipeg Free Press archives which I can dig out if you're interested. For more information about them or to see more of the collection go to my website at http://www.rareaviationphotos.com 

Thank you, Brian.


Issue dated - January 1963
Gleanings from "Between Ourselves"
wellsCAPTAIN F. P. "Billy" WELLS started the New Year right by appearing an the CBC Front Page Challenge program New Year's night. He stumped the panel for a little while before they guessed that he was the man who piloted the first flight between Vancouver and Seattle in 1937. "Billy" is now Station Operations Manager, Vancouver. The appearance was in conjunction with the Company's 25th anniversary celebrated in 1962.
 
dc-8fThese five men are of one accord when it comes to praise for the new DC-8F's that will soon be delivered to the Company. Here they stand under the tail section of the Jet Trader that recently made a trip around the United States and was on display at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.

From the left are: Captain George Lothian, Superintendent of Flying; F. T. "Bun"  Moore, Project  Engineer - DC-8; Captain Al Ross, Chief Flight Instructor; Captain Ron Baker, Flight Test Engineer; Ken Rutledge, Contract Representative. These men are shown as they landed at Atlanta Airport on the first stop of the DC-8F from Long Beach, California.

planningCOMMERCIAL PLANNING Managers listen to Claude I. Taylor, General Manager, Commercial .Planning (seated) as they discuss the effects of a change in the Company Planning Cycle. (from the left)  A. T. "Bud" Wiley, Manager, Planning Systems; "Al" T. Ward, Manager, Sales Financial Analysis; "Max" W. S. Eagles, Director, Marketing Research; A. E. "Mickey" Mackay, Manager, Sales Performance Analysis. All these men are in Headquarters, Montreal.
(We wonder what nickname Claude Taylor had - eds)
pawseyEVERYONE'S TALKING DC-8F these days and Flight Operations Instructor, Phil Pawsey (second from the right) brought to Vancouver some of the answers for Captains Doug Haddon (left) and Ray Nelson (right) as well as Flight Dispatcher Wilf Sheffield (standing left). Classroom instruction by Joe Held and Phil Pawsey was followed by simulator training for the pilots. The day and a half sessions were attended by 40 pilots and dispatchers just prior to Christmas.
draftsmanFirst woman draftsman reaches 20th anniversary. M.C."Pegi" Edwards was employed November 1942. She was the first woman to be employed in this capacity, and the first woman to receive her 20 year award in a technical position. "Pegi" transferred to the Airways Engineering section at YUL in 1949. In the photo left to right are A.E.Ades, "Pegi", Mary Lawson and C.W.Johnstone.

Issue dated - September 1972
Extracts from "Horizons" magazine
birdiesThis happy group of birdie' watchers were all winners at the recent Vancouver Flight Operations Golf Tournament. From the left: Jim Storie, visiting Captain; Gerry Rousselle, retired navigator; Harvey Ackermann, Maintenance Communicator; Auck Lenihan, MOT.; Roy Yates, Captain; Phil White, retired Captain; Denny Brendon, Flight Dispatcher; Ralph Tisdale, Manager, Crew Manning and Scheduliing; Jim Graham, Crew Scheduler and Gerry Geddes, Captain.
brustaffBrussels Passenger Agents Josée Gaelens and Herman Peeters, and Supervisor Gilbert De Herder discuss the summer's high traffic with the President.

brustaff-2The Brussels office payrolls department. Shown chatting with the President are Hedwige Lauwaert, Clerk Stenographer, left and Jacqueline Staessen Sales Office Assistant.
brustaff-3At the City Ticket Office the President met with Supervisor Gilbert De Herder and Passenger Agent Diane De Wolf.
brustaff-1At the airport from the left are Senior Station Agent Paul Sperandieu; Station Agents Andre Andre, Roger Van Horenbeeck, Passenger Agent Georgette Mosselmans; Sidney Dirks Manager Benelux, and Harold Miloff.
cargoguysThe development of air freight business between the Orient, Western Canada and Europe was the subject of a recent meeting of Company cargo personnel at Vancouver.

Standing, left to right:
Fred Pope, Cargo Sales Manager, Vancouver; Ron Gordon, Cargo Sales Rep., Calgary; Hank Ernst, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Calgary; John Eden, Director, Cargo Sales & Service, Montreal; Joe Tabet, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Paris; Doug Russell, Regional Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Vancouver; Lowell Peidt, Cargo Sales Rep., Seattle and Roy Stringer, Cargo Sales Rep., Vancouver.

Seated, from the left are: Alf Devenish, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, London, Eng.; Hank Stewart, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Winnipeg; Dick McCullough, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Edmonton; Dermott Haltmayer, Cargo Sales & Service Manager, Frankfurt; John DeGroot, Cargo Sales Rep., Winnipeg and Fred MacDonald, Cargo Sales & Service Coordinator, Vancouver.
Alan's Space - by Alan Rust
Alan's Space
Alan Rust
Southwest Airlines The Making of Florida One
A 2.5 minute summary of the process of assembling a Boeing for Southwest Airlines. Interesting!!! The process used for the paint job is amazing.

Submitted by Ken Bjorge - YVR

Click on image below for video or this link for more information of the paint job.


Florida 1
The making of Florida one
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker
CAIL TailsNews and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and it's "ancestry" of contributing airlines.
Issue dated - July 1998
Extracts from the "Canadia>n Flyer" magazine -
b767Under the summer schedule, services on 3 new routes were launched: Toronto - Boston (May 4th), Vancouver - San Jose, Ottawa - London, UK (June 2nd), also, on June 2nd the Dayliner/Starliner service between Toronto and London UK.

Here is a photo of the ceremony at Ottawa on June 2nd, the Mounties standing guard of the Canadi>n B767 aircraft.

accidentHere is a photo from Ray Fletcher

Freak accident disables an A320 aircraft -
  A loose piece of asphalt, rocketing upwards after being hit by a jet blast as aircraft 411 was undergoing run-up tests following its Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV), shattered the aircraft's left horizontal stabilizer on April 23. The aircraft's entire empennage (back end) had to be disassembled. A complete replacement stabilizer unit was simultaneously flown to Vancouver from Europe by an Airbus Beluga, a spectacular event that drew hundreds of employees to the tarmac in front of the Vancouver Ops Center to watch the proceedings.

Damage from the unusual mishap was over $1 million. Fin 411 was back in service by May 1.
enginechangeBy all accounts, the Mothers Day engine change on aircraft 884 in Hong Kong was a class act. Among the participants, (top from left): Eric Visser, Air Engineer 1, Bay 4; Ross Olson, Aircraft Mechanic, Bay 4; Aaron Chan, Lead Engineer, Hong Kong. Middle, from left, Chris Gray, Air Engineer 1, Bay 4; Anthony Ko, Base Engineer, Hong Kong; Po Kamphant, Lead Engineer, Hong Kong; Ping Tan, Avionics Technician, Bay 4. Front from left: Ray Fletcher, Aircraft Mechanic, Power Plant Maintenance; Tam Wing Wah, Mechanic, Hong Kong; Ian McMahon, Air Engineer 2, Bay 4; Cheng Man On (Moe), Mechanic, Hong Kong; Mel Himaras, Supervisor, Maintenance Operations Centre.
retireesVancouver retirees process the "Canadi>n Flyer" newsletter for distribution to more than 4,500 retirees worldwide. The keen volunteers roll up their sleeves and tackle this six to eight hour task each month.
(Retired - but not forgotten - or are they? - we have no identifications- eds)
Reader's Feedback - Compiled by Terry Baker
Reader's Feedback
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. 
an-225
Shown Departing runway 13 at Prestwick is the worlds largest aircraft the Antonov AN-225 "Mriya".This aircraft has a payload of 550,000 lbs and a max gross weight of 1,410,000 lbs needing a runway of 11,500 foot with max payload.

Aviation enthusiasts are invited to the regular meeting of the Montreal Chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, on Thursday, January 20, at 365 St. Louis Ave. in Pointe Claire. Meeting starts at 11:00 AM; the featured speaker will be a Canadian Forces pilot with experience in Afghanistan. Voluntary landing fee of $5.00 is requested to cover the light lunch provided. Further information call 514-481-8786.

Coffee break!
On January 3, 2011 evening United 940 enroute from Chicago (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA) with a Boeing 777-200 was overhead Kingston, Ontario at 35000' (approximately) when they declared a "pan pan" emergency to Toronto Center and asked to divert to Toronto due to an electrical problem. They also asked to remain on the Toronto Center frequency he was on rather than be passed from several different controllers (Toronto Approach, Toronto Tower, etc.) to landing. This was extremely unusual because the Toronto Center guy is sitting in a dark room at the base of Toronto Tower and would have had to relay requests from the aircraft back and forth by phone to the actual Tower controller. The local ATC closed runway 23 to all other traffic to allow the Center guy to guide UA940 straight in approach (an overweight landing too, due to heavy fuel load).  Fire trucks were standing by for overweight landing and most likely hot brakes after stopping.... after a cool down of several minutes the aircraft was able to taxi to gate 173 at Terminal 1.

United then had to ferry in another 777 from ORD to pick up the passengers and take them back to Chicago where they were put up in hotels pending dispatch to Frankfurt.  Meanwhile, the original aircraft was towed off the gate to a remote stand for mechanics to have a look at it.

The United mechanics said the reason the flt diverted into YYZ is because the Captain spilled his coffee all over the radio consol that is in-between the two pilots and the coffee made its way into the radio equipment and short circuited the wires resulting in no UHF communication needed for transatlantic flt. When told this, I was certain the UA reps we're trying to pull a fast one on me, but when they showed me the damage it was for real.

A small cup of coffee can ground an aircraft and cause so much damage and cost to the company is just amazing. Just thought that everyone out there would like to know the reason.

(Submitters name withheld)

fairchildf11The addition of the Austin Airways emblem to our listing brought this memory from John Gallagher
-Austin Airways was fine but a lot of us TCA types flew next door with Nickel Belt Airways and Pineland Timber.

(We checked for information on Nickel Belt Airways and it seems they used the Fairchild F11 and one is on display at the Western Canada Aviation Museum in YWG.  The Fairchild Husky was used in a variety of bush operations, usually operating from either skis or floats. The Manitoba Government Air Services (which had three), Sherritt Gordon Mines, Austin Airways, Nickel Belt Airways and other air carriers purchased the type. - eds)

 
Mike Nash worked for Air Canada's Computer & Systems Services Group at Front Street in Toronto from 1970 before moving west in 1978 to Prince George in North Central British Columbia. From 1974 to 1978 he was Supervisor of Communications Software for Air Canada. and sends us these memories during a visit by Pierre Trudeau.

The following in memoriam is extracted from my first book, Exploring Prince George - A Guide to North Central B.C. Outdoors. http://www3.telus.net/pgoutdoors/expgbook1.html

I thought of the times when I was unexpectedly near the man. A chance sighting in downtown Toronto once or twice. Once as the first car in line at an intersection, tired after working all night testing computer software, as the motorcade of visiting Soviet President Kosygin streamed past. I worked for Air Canada in the seventies, and one weekend the company threw a large morale-booster party for its Toronto area employees. They flew in a Caribbean band for the event and staged it in the cavernous space of the DC8 hanger at Malton Airport (as Pearson Airport was called then). It was around 9 pm in the evening and I had stepped back from the crowd when I noticed that two men in suits had entered the hangar and were wandering about the throng looking entirely out of place. Curious, I slipped through the giant hangar doors into the darkness outside. A company-owned DC9 aircraft pulled up close to where I stood in the shadows, and I watched quietly as Pierre Trudeau descended the stairs and was driven away in a limousine.

My move to Prince George in 1978 coincided with Trudeau's first retirement from politics. And then, suddenly, he was back for a final run that was to see the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution and a new Bill of Rights. During that campaign he stopped in Prince George, and I was one of many who waited at the old civic centre to hear him speak. On the occasion of Trudeau's visit, fog had delayed his arrival by an hour. So instead of riding downtown on the press bus, organizers hired a helicopter at the last minute to fly him to the civic centre. Once airborne, the pilot radioed the tower: "Permission to land in the bowl?" After an unusual silence, the controller asked tentatively "Who's on board?" "Pierre Trudeau," replied the pilot. "Well, land wherever you like!" was the reply. And so he arrived amid the roar of rotors, and to the delight of the local crowd he was well into his speech before the national TV media appeared. Mike Nash
 
Bill Davidson sends us this information regarding the Comet articles in recent NetLetters -
Comet I - "Empress of Hawaii" -  Karachi, Pakistan enroute to Sydney, Australia (Sydney stop at request of de Havilland for a sales pitch). It was to then continue on to Hawaii and Vancouver.
Crew of 4 from Canadian Captained by Charles Pentland, director of overseas operations.

Six other crew members were from de Havilland tech support.
Crashed on takeoff from Karachi, all on board killed. After a couple of mid-air explosions, the last over the island of Elba (this was the 2nd one to blowup after leaving Rome)  the Comet I was pulled from service. After testing at RAE in a water tank the engineers found a crack around one of the cabin windows - it was metal fatigue which cause the Comet I to breakup in mid-air. After design changes there was the Comet IV flown by BOAC for a few years.

The RAF still flies a version of the Comet (called the Nimrod) on anti-submarine patrol, one crashed during a flying display at the Toronto Air Show in 1995. Here is link to that video. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=02c_1239643943&c=1
Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker
Terry Baker
Terry Baker
Trish and Chris Arbique sends this information -
I would like you to direct readers to www.StarTrips.com, as Air Canada is a member of the Star Alliance...and there's no membership fee - so if retirees are going to surf for deals they might as well get the deals they're looking for with no membership fees, no booking fees - no hidden costs.

We recently incorporated new technologies on the site in conjunction with one of our hotel partners. There are REALLY good savings at over 20,000 hotels....better than (in some cases) Interline.

T4T has been a wholesaler for worldwide hotel reservations for the past 25 years and now offers highly discounted rates at in excess of 20,000 hotels all over the world. T4T rates always include all regular taxes, service charges and breakfast where shown. In many instances, rates are also available for half or full board at resort hotels.

T4T does not work with the general public, only via RumRabbit, and the rates shown for www.StarTrips.com & www.RumRabbit.com members are discounted an additional 15%.

When searching on our website, you will be shown all the hotels & rates available and can then filter the results to fit your particular demands. Great savings, a huge choice of hotels, and a commitment to give you the most competitive rates available and  the best service there is!
Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker
Smileys
As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.



Vern Swerdfeger
sends us another one for us -

Words of Wisdom From Aviators
  • Flying is a hard way to earn an easy living.
  • Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane, the pessimist, the parachute.
  • If helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage helicopter fly-ins?
  • Death is just nature's way of telling you to watch your airspeed.
  • Real planes use only a single stick to fly.  This is why bulldozers & helicopters...in that order...need two.
  • Co-Pilot rules: 1) Don't touch anything  2) Shut Up
  • There are only three things the co-pilot should ever say:
    1. Nice landing, Sir.
    2. I'll buy the first round.
    3. I'll take the fat one.
  • As a pilot only two bad things can happen to you and one of them will.
    a. One day you will walk out to the aircraft knowing that it is your last flight.
    b. One day you will walk out to the aircraft not knowing that it is your last flight.
  • There are Rules and there are Laws.  The Rules are made by men who think that they know better how to fly your airplane than you. Laws (of Physics) were ordained by nature. You can, and sometimes should, suspend the Rules but you can never suspend the Laws.
    About Rules:
    a. The rules are a good place to hide if you don't have a better idea and the talent to execute it.
    b. If you deviate from a rule, it must be a flawless performance. (e.g.., If you fly under a bridge, don't hit the bridge.)
  • The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of discipline and aggressiveness.
  • The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation profession..
  • Ever notice that the only experts who decree that the age of the pilot is over are people who have never flown anything? Also, in spite of the intensity of their feelings that the pilot's day is over I know of no expert who has volunteered to be a passenger in a non-piloted aircraft.
  • Before each flight, make sure that your bladder is empty and your fuel tanks are full!
  • He who demands everything that his aircraft can give him is a
    pilot;  he that demands one iota more is a fool.
  • There are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at night.
  • The aircraft limits are only there in case there is another flight by that particular aircraft. If subsequent flights do not appear likely, there are no limits.
     
(We will have the rest of these thoughts in NetLetter nr 1150 - eds)

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the NetLetter, see you next week!
 
Sincerely,

Your NetLetter Team
 
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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