 The NetLetter
For Air Canada Retirees
(part of the ACFamily Network)
June 18, 2011 - Issue 1169
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First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
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Donation Information
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| Greetings! |
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
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| CAHS Upcoming Events - Compiled by Alan Rust |
 The CAHS ( Canadian Aviation Historical Society) is taking the summer off and will be resuming in September.
We hope to have a separate ACFamily Events newsletter available by that time which will include CAHS, Pionairs, ACRA and other airline related events. If you are at all interested in Canadian aviation history, then we encourage you to attend a meeting or visit the CAHS web site at: www.cahs.ca |
ACRA Upcoming Events- Compiled by Alan Rust
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 Retirees Welcome!
The following events are available for retirees through ACRA, the Air Canada Recreation Association. |
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Where: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
When: Thursday, September 29 to Saturday, October 1, 2011
For more inforation visit: www.acrabadminton.org.uk
Retirees Welcome!
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 Are you aware of an ACRA Event that is open to retirees? Please use the online form by following this link to submit your ACRA Event. (ACRA Events only please)
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| Women in Aviation - Compiled by Terry Baker |
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Pat Henderson sends us this, following the poem in NetLetter nr 1167 -
I enjoyed the poem written by Alice Belden and it inspired me to search out this one which I wrote for my own amusement when I was doing Los Angeles turnarounds. I never dated it but it was sometime in the 60s... Pat Henderson
I titled it The 'Stretch Set' as we were flying in the stretch DC8.
On your mark, get set, go
We've taken off from To -
has the 'seat belt' sign gone off already?
The coffee pot's on
there's a run on the john,
hope the Captain can hold the plane steady.
We have filled the bar trolley,
"Mais non sir, I'm sorry
we don't carry Pernod-and- water
Voulez-vous un Martini?"
please don't be un meany.....
This galley gets hotter and hotter!
5A wants a blanket,
it won't take a minute
'til you run to the rear for her cover,
"Oh, you'd like one too? Yes,
I'll get one for you"
and its off to the back for another.
The meals are now hot, but
GOOD GRIEF you forgot
to turn on one of your ovens!
"How fast are we going?"
your panic is showing....
There are kids to be fed by the dozens.
You start the meal service
but you feel somewhat nervous
relating what you have to offer -
(she wants chips for her son,
a steak that's well done, and
a hot-dog and coke for her daughter.)
Then.....would you believe it
that we could achieve it?
Everyone has been well fed and watered.
The turmoil is ending
We've started descending;
...Why are these newspapers so scattered?
The landing light's on -
Where has the time gone?
For a whole cigarette you just yearn;
Put your feet up for an hour....
what you'd give for a shower
before starting out the return.
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| Our first 70 years - Compiled by Terry Baker |
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1945 - Sep 22nd - The first DC-3 delivered.
1947 - July - Scheduled service introduced to Porquis airport serving Timmins area.
1955
- June 11th - Timmins airport officially opened.
- November - Lower tourist fares on Southern service introduced. YUL-BERMUDA $69.00 one way, YYZ-TRINIDAD $162.00 o/w
1969 - March - DC-8 sold to Air Jamaica repurchased mid October 1973 to replace fire destroyed DC-8
1973 - May 24th - CALEA members strike finance dept Winnipeg until August 13th.
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| Reader Submitted Photos - Compiled by Terry Baker |
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 Reader Submitted Photos - The photos and information below was sent to us by our faithful readers. If you would like to send us some old photos you have lying around. we will consider them for publication in a future NetLetter. We prefer good quality airline related photos, with descriptive text included with the submission.
Ron Lingwood sends us some of his memories.
Hi Guys,
Seeing the Hercules of PWA, in Netletter issue 1166 brings back some amusing memories I have of this aircraft. To begin with, although I did work for PWA for a short while in 1969 after I emigrated from the UK, I did not unfortunately work on the "Herc" then. My experience was in Australia where I originally emigrated in 1963.
The Australian Air Force had too few members in those days and consequently a "D" check was taking nigh on a year for them to complete. For those non-maintenance people out there a "D" check is the most involved check in the maintenance schedule. QANTAS, for whom I worked, were contracted to carry out the "D" checks for the RAAF, using a specially selected crew of their own employees.
A recently decommissioned "Connie" hangar was renovated to take the Herc including making a large slot in the roof to take the high tail assembly and providing a full docking facility. We completed the first aircraft in two months, much to the pleasant surprise of the RAAF brass. Now the RAAF rules were at that time "you fix it, you fly it" so without much ado we were fitted with parachutes per regulations and readied for the first flight. There were about six of us, two for the flight deck and four as observers. My job was to monitor the hydraulics and general equipment.
As we were being fitted with our 'chutes' the RAAF guy told us in confidence that not to expect too much if we had to use them because they had not been repacked for years.
Coincidentally I was the only one who had ever parachuted before, as I had been a reservist in the Airborne Regiment prior to my emigration. A few of my crew mates asked me what they should do if the chute did not open if they had to use them. I went on to demonstrate that since we had no emergency packs, the drill was to reach around the back and pull open the lacing which held the pack together. As I was demonstrating this maneuver I accidentally clipped a big chap, by the name of Owen Frost on the chin with my hand, down he went with a bang pack and all. To the cries of "bloody hell he will kill you when he wakes up", I boarded the Herc.
Obviously he did not kill me and we took off and flew out over the Blue Mountains east of Sydney Airport. During the inspection of the interior of the fuselage all the insulation blankets had been removed and installed again after. The blankets fwd of the ramp/door hinge line were secured using snap fasteners and those aft were secured with spring pins.
After about 30 minutes of flight the order was given to open the cargo ramp/door, which was accomplished and of course a very large flow of slipstream entered the cargo hold.
Immediately all the blankets on the aft side of the ramp/door hinge line took off out of the door, caused by the lack of pin replacement. It seemed like a flock of birds had just left and I can well remember the sight of those blankets heading for the dense forest around the Blue Mountains.
I was not privy to the report that the foreman made but I am pretty certain that QANTAS had to pay for the blankets. We went on to do all the "D" checks on all the C-130 A's that the RAAF operated and they were very happy when we got the time down to 1 month for the check. Oh, and we never lost any more blankets!!
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 What a wonderful airplane it is.
Ron Lingwood (ex CAIL) |
| TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker |
 Musings from the "Between Ourselves" and "Horizons" magazine, an Air Canada publication from years gone by, and various in-house magazines.
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 The local Air Canada family at St. John's, Newfoundland are holding their Lobster Boil on June 18th.
This photo is of the crew prior to the event and accompanied the advert, but no identifications.
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Issue dated - August 1955
Extracted from "Between Ourselves" magazine -
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 LATEST GROUP TO GRADUATE from basic training is this class of Passenger Agents (Telephone). Back row from left: T. C. Purdy SJ, L. Stapleton NY, Miss A. M. Sigouin SB, Miss L. Kinnaird XF, Miss L. Cilin NY, P. Coyle OW, W. Farrell NY, and Instructor R. C. Climie. Seated: Misses D. M. Desbrisay QM, N. M. Brisson YB, P. MacLellan XF, G. L. Tosheff CG, P. Stevens CV. |
 TCA OF 1955 (Montreal version) is the title that was bestowed upon Marcelle Cardinal, centre, of Montreal's Planning Section, alter winning the contest at the Headquarters' annual TCARA picnic. Runners-up were Margaret Gallagher, Inspection-Records, left, and Maureen Rhind, Stores, Dorval. |
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Issue dated - September 1955
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 This view is part of the static display at the SBAC Farnborough Air Show in 1954. You may recognize the aircraft on the right - yes one of our Vickers Viscounts. |
 Crew of the inaugural fifth trans-Atlantic flight on May 2nd from YUL to PWK. Captain J.R.Bowker, F/O R.Richardson, Nav Offs J.Rousselle and Frank Coughlin, Radio Off Bill Tritter and Purser-Steward Eddie Mann. |
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Issue dated - August 1973 Found in the "Horizons" magazine -
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 Air Canada Recreation Association presidents gather in Montreal for their annual meeting. Standing, from the left, are: Ernie Keen-Edmonton; Ron Munson-London. England; Carmel Field-Vancouver; Hal Walker, Mgr. Employee Services & Suggestions; Joanne Langevin-Halifax; Bob Pyper-Winnipeg; Lucien Bussiere Montreal (sitting in for Bill Cosgrove); and Jim Smith-Saint John. Seated are men representing the four new ACRAs formed since last year's meeting: Aurel Chartrand-Sault Ste-Marie; Dan Rowe-Chicago; Harry Sulley-Ottawa and Joe Zammit-Toronto. |
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 And then there were none - Vanguard aircraft no. 913 trundles past the Dorval Maintenance Base on its final 'flight'.
It is one of the three remaining Vanguards, sold to an American leasing company, and destined for Atlantic Aviation on the other side of Montreal airport. There, at least two of the Vanguards were to be dismantled and their parts sold.
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| Alan's Space - by Alan Rust |
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| Alan Rust |
WWII B-17 bomber crashes outside Chicago
(June 13, 2011) The "Liberty Belle", a B-17 bomber that dates to World War II, crashed and burned in a cornfield outside Chicago.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says all seven people on board the plane escaped uninjured. She says the plane took off from Aurora Municipal Airport on Monday morning and crashed about 20 minutes later in Oswego.
Fire officials say the pilot reported a fire shortly after taking off. Firefighters from Oswego, Sugar Grove and Plainfield responded to the crash. But fire officials say they're having difficulty accessing the crash because of wet fields.
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| B-17 crash - Chicago |
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Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker |
 News and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and it's "ancestry" of contributing airlines. |
 On February 22nd 1959, was the official opening of the Britannia Hangar at YVR. Here is the front of the official booklet sent to us be Malcolm McRae.
On June 1st 1981 PWA service to Brandon was inaugurated on the route Calgary-Brandon-Toronto with B737 equipment.
B767 fin 783 delivered to PWA November 10th 1981.
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Issue dated - August 1981
Extracted from "PWA Flightlines" magazine -
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 This photo, at Brandon, is of CSM Al Gee and agent Scott Wilton brief Janet Blais of In-Flight Services Dept. |
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 Boyd Shaw (R), the brand new Maintenance Training Instructor at YXD with his first class (no jitters???) of a group of new hires on a maintenance fam. course.
Jim Kulak (L), Regional Director of Maintenance, welcomes the group pictured (L to R): Jack Scoffin, Randy Tychowsky, Peter Bonser, Pat Rennich, Dan Garsonnin, Peter Karkanis, Peter Ormiston, Rob Gray and Murray Sissons.
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 Flight Attendant Graduates
Left to right: Lynette Hatton-Gwynn; Ann McDonald, Loretta Goalder, Cheryl Litterman, Lilly Zyla, Lynn Brideau, Lillian Izzo, Lynne Gallimore, Cresien Dawson, Marion Ashfield, Hadley Haynes, Darlene Gignac, Jill Heppleston, Sandra McDermid, Charlene Welguz, Stephanie Parkinson, Patricia Lozinsky, Linda Stewart and Theresa Ramsay (Instructor). |
 More Flight Attendant Graduates
Left to right, back row: Rob Hathwell, Ann Gregory, Kim Ritchie, Lesley Steen, Alan Osadchy. Front row: Wendy Reifel (Instructor), Murray Williams, Karen Stewart, Laurie Greig, I Gajda, Valerie Monk, Barbara Miller, Terry Wyen. |
 Still more Flight Attendant Graduates
From issue dated December 1981.
Left to right: Wendy Reifel (Instructor), Dave McNeill, Rosemary McConnell, Margo Csontos, Debra Nelson, Cindy Pasco, Patricia Swan, Terry Mills, Anne-Louise Bradshaw, Lori Wojciechowski, Donna Maciboric, Shan Jones, George Merry.
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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.
Dick Dunn sends us this update
Further to your August 1st, 2009 article re the Rome, NY visit to CF-TGE, early this April, Bill Marr, retired Air Canada Captain organized a bus trip to the Museum of Flight at Seattle's Boeing Field. A guided tour of the TCA Super Constellation was a prime focus of the expedition.
While viewing the flight deck with Captains Bill Marr, Alex Bull and museum volunteer Bob Bogash, there was mention of a promised manual. As Bob wrote: "I tapped on the F/E desk, which has a plastic, hinged cover, and said there was an insert that went on that desk, with performance figures and settings, etc, and someone had sent me an email from Eastern Canada - a retired AC pilot - saying he had removed that during a visit to the airplane when it was in St. John Port Joli. He asked if I wanted it - I said sure - I would reunite it with its proper spot on the airplane. He agreed - but nothing further happened. I gave him my address etc."
Could you please include a reference to this "missing" manual in your next edition, in the hope that the retired AC pilot will step forward and contact Bob re donation of the manual.
Bob's e-mail is: Bob Bogash This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thanks,
Dick Dunn, AC B744 Captain (Rtd.)
Here is the email content that Brian Walsh sent with the information Alan had in his column NetLetter nr 1168 -
Here is a 25-minute video about the DC-3 operating in Columbia. It takes me back to my first posting as a YXS airport agent in 1968. Brian Walsh.
The NetLetter gang's comment when we viewed the video was -
The crew have no harness belts, and the pax are no better off either, and the busses in that area are not an option either and the mechanic had the minimum of tools in his tool bag - a sledge hammer and screwdriver.
Brian responded with:
Yes - the safety aspects remind me of my trip on a Tupolev from BJS to Pyongyang in N. Korea - open overhead racks.
I remember leaving Pyongyang - it was snowing. A 4' x 8' piece of thick plywood was being used as a plow. It was held upright at a specific angle by two men, and six other dragged it with ropes.
Shirlee Schacter had these memories prompted by our issue NetLetter nr 1167 -
Greetings, NetLetter Crew - Terry, Alan and Bill.
Just finished reading #1167. Great issue! Filled with nostalgia, especially the excerpt "IF" from the March '82 issue of PWA Flightlines written by Lisa Graceffo for Passenger Agents. It brought back so many memories of all the codes that were so ingrained in us back in the good old Reservec days. Then what a treat to be able to read the very first issue of Between Ourselves from 1941, so many years ago! The article "We Welcome Our Ladies" regarding the increasing number of females being hired to compensate for males needed in the war effort was absolutely priceless. Great to see the expressions of that era like "The girls are doing a swell job". The format Alan has introduced for accessing this Between Ourselves issue is very user friendly and I love the capability to zoom the print size so the text can be read comfortably without straining. The NetLetter has become a real keepsake and I look forward to more of the same in upcoming issues.
Thanks so much for keeping our memories alive. Shirlee Schacter
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 In NetLetter nr 1042 way back in November 2008, we printed this photo.
Jack Stephens, who is the researcher for the Viscount website at www.Vickers.net had this photo in a recent Viscount Network Magazine #12 and received this memory from Rag Bailey.
I happen to have a coffee pot from a TCA Viscount galley like the one in the photo. It was salvaged from the galley of a TCA Viscount for use in the lunch room at TCA YFC. The pot in question was used as a teapot and coffee pot. The tea was hot water with added tea bags the coffee was instant so the pot was used to serve both to the psgr. The one I have was used for tea, which was the beverage of choice in our lunch room on station YFC. As far as I know these pots were only used on Viscounts.
Reg Bailey TCA/AIRCAN Ret.
Roger Rouse sends us this comment regarding the article in NetLetter nr 1167 -
I read with interest your article about sky-high dining in Edinburgh. Dinner in the sky seems to be a spreading phenomenon and is now available in many cities worldwide. It is currently available in Montreal at the Old Port. But somehow I prefer dining at ground-level, or in the old days of true First Class air travel.
Regards Roger
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 John Rodger sends this suggestion regarding the Viscount photo in NetLetter nr 1167.
Here is a post card I have that we saved from the archives when AC decided to send everything out to CA&SM. I think this is the answer to the question about Jack & Robert. Note the control tower and the radio towers on the roof. Looks the same as the artist's drawing. I remember this building when I first started at TCA 1956. This one must be from the 40's.
John Rodger
Our Chief Pilot, Terry Baker, sends this information -
Under the banner "Preview of "Between Ourselves" back issues" In NetLetter nr 1167", we announced the creation of a new database, contents of which we plan to release later this year.
The data is of the various company magazines which have been donated by our various readers. These magazines have been scanned in .pdf format. The scanning commenced in March 2007, for a total of some 1540 issues. Some were in the 8.5" x 11.0" size, which was easily accommodated by our scanners, however the majority were sized at 11" x 19" which required two passes of each page and the two sections to be merged - not always too successfully, for which we offer no apologies.
Most of the magazines were an average of 18 pages, we leave you to figure out how many scans that took, and we wore out two scanners in the process.
The purpose of creating these issues is to have information and photos available for interest, research or genealogy purposes.
These are some of the details:
- "Between Ourselves" - 364 issues from 1941 to April 1972. We are missing 14 issues numbers 004, 005, 006, 007, 009, 011, 012, 90, 132, 245, 246, 247 and 331.
- "Horizons" 554 issues from May 1972 to Dec 2003. From Jan 2004 to date, are on thr ACaeronet and protected by copyright. We are missing 5 issues numbers 420, 426, 466, 512 and 904.
- "CPAirNews" - 37 issues from May 1971 to Jun 1986.
- "Info Canadian" - 231 issues from Jun 1986 to April 1994. Missing 67 issues.
- "PWA Flightlines" - 42 issues from May 1981 to Jan 1987. Missing issues prior to 1981.
- "PWA Keeping Posted" 18 issues from Jul 1969 to Jan 1971 We are missing nr 10 April 1970.
- "Canadian Flyer" 43 issues from Aug 1998 to Dec 2000.
- Various miscellaneous -
- "Cargo News" 1 issue.
- "Esprit" 5 issues.
- "Info Cargo" 27 issues.
- "Parts & Pieces" 211 issues.
- "Regional News" 6 issues.
- "Xpressly Yours" 3 issues.
- "Blue Skies" 3 issues.
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Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker
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| Terry Baker |
From the U.K. monthly June edition newsletter.
Jack and Aureen Morath have documented another of their adventures, and share it with you -
"Flight of the Gibbons" (from Jack and Aureen Morath)
My wife Aureen and I have had many exciting experiences over many years of traveling, but one of the best has been on the "Flight of the Gibbons", north of Chiang Mai, which really is fantastic. We decided on a visit 12 months previously that we wanted to do it and, on return to Chiang Mai, we booked it through Wandering Star Tour.
Khun Dau was excellent in arranging it for us, as she had been on making other arrangements for us. We had a choice of either a 06.30 or a 1.15pm pick up from our hotel. We chose the latter and sure enough a VIP minibus picked us up from our hotel at the due time. On board already were two ladies, Alana from Canada and Lindsey from the USA. They were friends and were on a teaching assignment in South Korea. At the next stop we picked up four teenage Thai lads, the youngest being 13-year old twins who were living in Australia where their father worked. After a 55-minute drive from Chiang Mai, we arrived at our destination in the mountains. We were introduced to our expert tour guides and given a harness to put on which was fitted with metal clasps and through which we put our legs. A bandana was put on our head and finally a crash helmet. Any surplus belongings were put in a locker before we walked along a steep path for about a hundred meters to our first zip line.
As we were both Seniors, I must admit to having a slight concern about whether we could cope with it all. As it turned out there was no reason to be concerned and the guides ensured we were clipped on throughout the three hours duration up in the tree tops of the rain forest. We had never done anything like this before but we enjoyed every minute of it. The girls screamed with delight on the various zip lines which included the longest one in Asia. The whole system enabled us to view the jungle high into the canopy using an ingenious system of platforms, tree houses, cables and sky bridges for over two kilometers. The system was designed and engineered by New Zealand and Austrian specialists. Included in the package is a visit to the unique village of Mae Kampong where time has stood still.
Also included is a trip to the stunning Kampong Falls. Part of the course was a section known as "Gibbon gone wild" which is the longest single zip line in the world. There was a total of 18 platforms of high flying fun. It's the only canopy tour located in primary rainforest with more than five kilometers of thrilling wire zip lines, scenic sky bridges and adrenaline inducing abseils. One of the elevated walkways is over 70 meters long and is the longest canopy sky bridge in Asia. A 20 meter high floating spiral staircase is one of a kind. "Flight of the Gibbons" is an educational adventure you will never forget and will certainly be a highlight of your trip to Thailand. Also included in the trip is a Thai meal served in the village riverside restaurant. There is a chance you would see gibbons in their natural environment. It's been voted the best attraction in Thailand, and we certainly go along with that. The rest of the group called us the coolest Grandparents!
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Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker
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As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.
John Hair sends us this memory, prompted by the cartoon in NetLetter nr 1167 -
I had to laugh at the cartoon of the sailor with the parrot and it's beak tied up. It reminded me of a day when I had to pick up a parrot from the check in international counters at YYZ, the bird was for a flight to one of the islands. When I arrived it was sitting on its own and on spotting me said "hello". I picked up the cage and started carrying it down to the baggage room, as soon as it got near some of the passengers it started yelling, "F*** off" as loud as it could until we were no longer near any other people. I mentioned this when I returned to the baggage room and noticed that if it was approached by one person it would say "hello", if a group approached it would launch into its tirade.
I was not surprised to see the parrot returned the next day, perhaps it was approached by a groups of customs officers.
John
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 This cartoon by F.G.Freeland appeared in "Between Ourselves" issued October 1955.
"Ugh-Ugh, George has his altimeter upside down again". |
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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.
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We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the NetLetter, see you next week!
Sincerely,
Your NetLetter Team
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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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