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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! Eileen Magill (1906-1964), Canada's second, and Manitoba's first, licensed woman pilot.In mid November 1928, Eileen Magill, Manitoba's first woman aviatrix was taking to Manitoba skies with the first pilot's license ever granted to a woman. She was born in Nova Scotia April 18, 1906. Her parents came to Winnipeg where she graduated from the University of Manitoba in May 1928 as an honours student in French and Philosophy. Eileen Magill was a different kind of lady for her times. She smoked, she wore slacks, she drove a fast car and she dreamed of becoming an aviatrix. Read complete article on Eileen by clicking here Other references; Cynthia Enloe, Does Khaki Become You: The Militarization of Women's Lives (London: Pandora Press, 1988; originally published in 1983); Ruth Roach Pierson, "They're Still Women After All:" The Second World War and Canadian Womanhood (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986), Miriam Cooke and Angela Woollacott, eds., Gendering War Talk (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1993). |
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Our first 70 years.
  1947 - September 1st - First transcontinental charter cargo operation under command of Capt. N. Rickard, F/O Don McClean, Engineer W.B.Megaw.  1973 - Construction underway of a new home for C & SS at YUL due for completion January 1974. |
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Air Canada News
 Air Canada said that it has matched the prevailing checked bag policy of international carriers on U.S. transborder and transatlantic routes.Announcing the start up of daily non-stop fights between Happy Valley- Goose Bay and St. John's, effective May 1, 2010. Flights will be operated by our commercial partner Jazz using 50-seat Bombardier CRJ regional aircraft. |
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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. Richard Vandam sends us this memory - With the Holiday season approaching I thought it would be interesting to see how the Vancouver sales staff looked like in 1979. Here a picture of the Vancouver Sales Staff XMas party 1979 30 years ago!!!!!!!!  L to R Bill Rowe, Ross Kimmerly, Dick Vandam, Gordon Woida, Bob Horseman, Bob Black, second row Don Hancock, Flo Booth, Helen Meurant, Donella Robertson, Carmen Laureano, Jean Maxwell, George Martin, Dave Kettler, Candy Reed, Jean Quintel, Don Malone, Dorothy Grant, Harry Atterton, Marv Lohnes, Libby Black.(It's interesting to note that Bill Rowe, Gordon Woida, Don Hancock, and Donella Robertson all held important positions within the Pionairs (www.pionairs.ca) Musings from "Between Ourselves" magazine Issue dated October 1947 September 1st, the first transcontinental charter cargo service was inaugurated between YVR and YUL..  Here we have the first shipment being unloaded in Montreal. (Unfortunately, the identities were not mentioned - eds)  This is a photograph of two of the most popular employees in Winnipeg. They work in the Accounting Department. Ruth Macauley operates the Verifyer and Dorothy Angus at the Punching Machine, preparing a mass of payroll cards. This is a photo of Bill Affleck, Passenger Service in Winnipeg attempting to rearrange the misplaced articles owned by passengers but left behind on TCA aircraft. There was a gathering of Calgary staff to watch the presentation of a five year pin to Pat Sandgathe by Jim Burritt, here are the rest of the group -  l to r: Gilbert Cooke, Alf Fiske, Jo Perozak, Helen Gilfoy, Carol Prosser, Irene Gerlitz, Gordon Hooper, Harvey Malcolm and Kaye Luke.At Victoria, the Pat Bay airport, TCA got a new terminal. Originally an RCAF hanger, the building has been extensively altered. We have these two photos.    We thought that, perhaps, there was fresh fish on the menu for this flight, but, apparently, the passenger manufactured pens and was demonstrating to stewardess Donna Rose, that the pen does indeed write under water.  Steve Polak in Toronto has several photos of co-workers from the ramp at Toronto and placed on his Facebook site. Steve has allowed us to share them. Don Millbury, Joe Biondic, Tony Bhugaloo, Brian Simpson the YYZ Rapirair crew taking a shot break. Modeling the latest in haute couturier fashions are Jan (the kid) Duncan, Cheryl Chung, Dave Spalding, Craig Adams.Gleanings from "horizons" magazine Issue dated July 1973 DC-8 fin # 822 caught fire during refueling at YYZ. The flight was due to load passengers and then depart for Zurich and Vienna under the command of Capt.Charlie Fogal, with crew members A.D.Dimarco, A.J.Cheshire, M. Zeitsoff. Cabin crew were J.Reicher, P.Lebrum, H.Tartarotti, H.Beviere, H.Neilson. The aircraft was completely destroyed. The is group of employees are inspecting the new cargo terminal facility at YVR during their regional cargo & Sales meetings.  Shown from the left, front row: Art Jones, Dick McCullough, Steve Rabbitts, George Mende, George Steeie, Gord Thorvaldson, RL. Goran, All Berting, Jim York, and George Odowichuk. From the left, rear: Cliff Dobson, Fred MacDonald, Fred Pope, Jim Howett, Hank Ernst, Dory Russell, Alfred Drechsel, Ted Nichol, Pierre Laforest, John Dozois, and Lewis Cardin.Class of '63 Graduates of the Company's first bilingual stewardess training course talked up a storm of old time over dinner at the Berkeley Hotel in Montreal. 0f the 19 original class complement, 11 turned up, some, of whom are still flying. Many chose marriage over career in the sky at a time when Company regulations did not permit employment of married stewardesses.  Shown at the reunion are, from the left, back row Madeleine Trutschmann, Joyce Hansen, Carole Boland and Joan O'Connell. Front row, stairs: Grace Leblanc and Lorette Desmarchais, right. Beside the stairs: Jocelyne Rouleau and Flight Instructor, Kay Mcintyre, right. Latecomers not shown in the photograph were: Shirley Cormier, Nicole Rochon and Lise Schwind. |
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Star Alliance news
 Lufthansa offers wider choice of hot drinks at gates in Frankfurt and Munich free of charge. Coffee connoisseurs can now pick and choose from a wider choice of their favorite hot beverage on Lufthansa flights out of Frankfurt and Munich to German domestic and most European destinations (Schengen Area). At the departure gates to those destinations, Lufthansa has installed new automatic vending machines with a choice of hot drinks. Black coffee, cappuccino, espresso, marocchino, espresso macchiato, latte macchiato, Wiener Melange, café au lait, hot chocolate and diverse sorts of tea are on offer free as a 'pick-me-up' to passengers in Economy and Business Class before boarding their flight. Offering hot drinks to passengers prior to departure is a long Lufthansa tradition. The airline began offering hot coffee and tea from large thermos flasks in the mid-Eighties. The first automatic vending machines serving freshly brewed coffee were installed at airports in 1993. Meanwhile, a total of around 100 automatic coffee vending machines can be found serving drinks in Frankfurt and Munich. (Source: Lufthansa) United Airlines announced an order for 50 long-haul aircraft evenly split between the A350-900 and 787, along with purchase rights for 50 of each type Brussels Airlines have became the 26th member of Star Alliance in ceremonies in the Belgian capital, 12 months after it was invited to join and following the conclusion of a strategic partnership with Lufthansa, which acquired 45% of parent SN Air Holding in June. Star Alliance is holding exploratory talks with Ethiopian Airlines and will discuss the African carrier's potential membership an announcement can be expected in the first half of 2010. ET would be Star's third member in Africa and would provide a good fit with Egypt Air in the north and South African Airways down south. |
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Alan's Space
 EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2009
FACTS AND FIGURES Comment from EAA president Tom Poberezny: "I had high expectations for AirVenture 2009, but even those expectations were exceeded. After each event, you like to say it was the best ever, but you can't do that every year. But I'm going to say it this year - AirVenture 2009 was the best ever. It's difficult to imagine a week that matched the highlights, enthusiasm, and passion for aviation that we saw this year at Oshkosh." Attendance: 578,000 - An increase of 12 percent over 2008. Comment from EAA president Tom Poberezny: "When times are tough, people make choices. Those with a passion for aviation made their choice this year ... Oshkosh was the place they couldn't miss in 2009. I've been chairman of AirVenture since the mid-1970s and I have to say we've never had a better lineup of airplanes, people and programs than we had this year. I'm pleased EAA invested nearly $4 million in site improvements over the past 11 months, allowing us to handle this year's increased attendance. We've received extensive and positive feedback on those site improvements and enhancements." Total aircraft: More than 10,000 aircraft arriving at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. Total showplanes: 2,652 (highest total since 2005). That figure includes 1,023 homebuilt aircraft, 1,007 vintage airplanes, 355 warbirds, 116 ultralights, 99 seaplanes, 36 aerobatic aircraft and 16 rotorcraft. Commercial exhibitors: 750 International visitors registered: Up slightly from 2008, with 2,182 visitors registered from 75 nations, with Canada (700 visitors), South Africa (220), and Australia (208) the top three nations. (NOTE: This total includes only non-U.S. visitors who register at the International Visitors Tent, so the actual international contingent is undoubtedly larger.) Total estimated campers (fly-in and drive-in camping areas): More than 41,000. Media: 907 media representatives on-site, from five continents. What's ahead in 2010? Comment from EAA president Tom Poberezny: "This year we highlighted emerging new aviation technology such as electric-powered aircraft. We will continue the emphasis on those innovations at Oshkosh in 2010. In addition, there are several significant aviation anniversaries next year, such as the 75th anniversary of the DC-3, and further developments in Virgin Galactic's space tourism efforts." From the photographer who put together the excellent video below. "After an excellent 10 day trip that was condensed into 6 hours of HD video, I am finally able to present to you this year's EAA Airventure music video. To the tune of "The Killers - All These Things That I've Done" I've created a montage of some of this year's highlights. Enjoy!  Click on image above for video
(click on HD for full screen, excellent quality) |
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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.Ken M Jones has responded to our request for information under this banner - Good Day In the spring of 1966 I joined PWA as F/O on the C-46/DC-3.  The enclosed picture taken by our engineer on July 14,1966 shows Captain Jim Tomlinson on the left and myself airborne in CF-CZN. We started out as an Edmonton based crew on a Steward B.C. contract for B.C. three "G's". During our month stay Captain Jim introduced me to Alaska snakebite in Hyder the friendliest ghost town in Alaska a stones throw from Steward. After the Stewart contact we headed to Fort Nelson outfitted with a diesel fuel bladder, which we put to good use flying back and forth between Fort Nelson and the Rainbow Lake area. Initially it took 30 minutes to fill and 10 to empty although the filling time improved with experience and a bigger pump. In between we also made an August summer excursion to McKenzie King Island to pick up some old dynamite alias minus the life rafts, as we didn't have the fuel to carry them. I still remember the Eskimos fuelling the aircraft over wing from the fuel drums we brought along. During the refueling the other side engine had to be left running and vs. versus as it was so cold Jim was concerned that we wouldn't be able to restart them if we completely shut down. All in all quite an experience even with CZN's three engine shutdowns due to blown pots. I should add the C-46S flew very well on single engine but not an experience I would recommend. My Air Canada course date was in November so I never saw Jim again until one fine winter night in Nassau when we parked our respective aircraft side by side. The reminiscing about the good old days passed way too quickly and soon we were again winging our separate ways Northward.  The second enclosed picture is of me when I retired from Air Canada as an A-340 Captain Ken Jones.The only surviving DC-6B operated by Canadian Pacific Airlines CF-CZV c/n 45329 fin 444 is being readied for its last flight in Pretoria, South Africa. After service with CPAL it was sold to Transair Sweden in 1961, it was then sold to Braathens in 1965 and then several other owners including Greenlandair, Air Atlantique, Interocean Airways and finally Transair Cargo. It was mothballed for many years and finally ended up in Swarkop in South Africa. By the end of this tear it is hoped to be able to fly it to Whalmanstal and parked permanently and will be painted in CPAL colours. More photos that Heather Johannson has sent us - Wardair class of 1968 enroute to YYZ.  l to r back: Judy, unknown, Sharon, Carol, Josie, Heatherfront: Unknown, Bobby, Unknown. (Sorry, Heather says that after 40 years its hard to remember names - eds)  And this is an early photo of YVR, from the air in 1970. |
 In NetLetters nr 1092 and 1093 we printed some memories from Gordie Aitchison prompted by some articles that we found in "Between Ourselves" magazines and sent him regarding Keflavik and Prestwick. Here we have another memory - I was most interested in Captain Charlie Skelding's lengthy account for several reasons. I always found him a very gentlemanly and likable fellow to talk with. His account was obviously written after my stay - the completed hotel indicates this if nothing else. It has also shown me that my memory, no matter how I may think otherwise at times - is very fallible. I must have been aware that crews "slipped" at KEF at one time but had completely forgotten it. Hardly surprising that they "slipped" really because the flight time from London, through Prestwick or Shannon to Montreal could be as long as 17 hours which is a very very long time even though the North Star did have 2 crew bunks.The photo of the crew quarters is virtually identical to the quarters we lived in some time earlier. In 1948 there was crew accommodation available and my memory says that we used it twice and one of the times happened to be for Charlie Skelding's crew after the coolant pump on one of the engines failed and a replacement had to be obtained from LHR and it didn't come with an O-ring seal and we had a further wait for that to come in. The result was an extremely long delay (which led to a policy change by the Company). On that occasion I was on my feet for 32 hours and Al Gallacher did even longer at about 40 hours! The crew accommodation then was in a large hangar, divided up into cubicles by wood and canvas screens about 7-8 feet high and fitted with 2-tier bunk beds - sheer luxury - but there was no accommodation nearer that Reykjavik 30 miles away, and it had only one hotel which was always full. On one overnight delay, the passengers slept in their seats on the aircraft while I sat in the cockpit with ground power running to provide warmth and on the long one already mentioned, the settees in the warm terminal were all that were available! We had an office in that hangar, constructed similarly of canvas and wood but it was always cheerless and cold and during my time, we vacated it and moved our equipment into our living quarters. I can only assume the crew quarters must have been somewhat warmer! Charlie Skelding was aware that his passengers had had a rough time during the long delay and on a subsequent trip he told me that when his flight reached Montreal, he made a point of leaving the cockpit and making an apology on the Company's behalf for the delay and lack of accommodation at KEF and he reckoned the passengers were still so angry that he was at risk of being lynched! Because of the lack of accommodation at KEF and possibly resulting from the experience of Charlie Skelding's flight, TCA decided that in the event of delays such as this in the future, passengers on the next flight should be deplaned and replaced by the delayed flight's passengers and passengers on subsequent fights rotated in this way, until the unserviceable aircraft was fixed. We, at KEF, had not been consulted and were not at all happy with this edict, foreseeing all sorts of difficulties trying to convince passengers that they should give up their seats, and on the next occasion when an aircraft became unserviceable with the potential for a considerable delay, we took the decision to warn London, from whence the next flight was coming, that this plan would be put into effect and to advise the passengers accordingly at checkin. Fortunately, shortly after this message was sent, the unserviceable aircraft was fixed and a further message was transmitted to London canceling the plan. When that aircraft subsequently arrived, who should be on board but G.R.McGregor, our President, and he told us that he unobtrusively watched as passengers were checking in and told of the plan and that the majority had objected and refused to travel! GR's only comment was to ask if we agreed with the scheme but I was never aware that the edict was ever canceled. Nuff said! The situation would undoubtedly change for the better when the Keflavik airport hotel was completed. I also enjoyed reading his remarks about the radio "hams" in Iceland, because I know that he was an avid "ham" himself. About one mile from Prestwick airport lived a banker who was also one and during the brief stopover at Prestwick, Charlie would phone him and alert him to the fact that he was available for a chat through the aircraft radio while heading out for the ocean! Thanks again for the nostalgia! Kind Regards, Gordie |
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This n That.
For the Love of Flying
"For the Love of Flying" author Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail tells the story of Laurentian Air Services and its subsidiaries, Air Schefferville, Delay River Outfitters and more. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with Laurentian's owners, pilots and ground crew, explores this innovative company's colourful 60-year history from its founding in 1936 with biplanes through the 1990s when it operated twin-engine turboprops. DC-3's 75th ANNIVERSARY GATHERING AT OSHKOSH 2010 EAA is hoping that its celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3 will gather at Oshkosh the largest group of gooney birds (possibly more than 25) seen in more than 60 years. The aircraft will be on display, flying in formation and the subject of various technical and historical presentations. The 2010 AirVenture Oshkosh event at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh will be held July 26 through August 1 and the DC-3 will serve as the event's centerpiece. While more than 14,000 aircraft were built, serving both in war and peace, fewer than 100 of the aircraft are airworthy today. |
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Terry's Trivia & Travel Tips
 In NetLetter nr 1098 we published a list of airline baggage fees, Larry Mitchell of Dacula, GA 30019 has sent us this web site with a more comprehensive list of such information -http://www.sidestep.com/airline-feessidestep.com This airline fees table shows additional fees that might be added to domestic tickets (US routes) for some of the most popular airlines. This airline fees table does not include every airline fee and may not always be 100% accurate, as the airline fees are changing rapidly and they can vary by specific flight, seat assignment, and frequent flier status. Please check the airline websites to verify final airline fees before purchase or travel. Our co-pilot went on yet another cruise - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise October 22nd to Nov 3rd 2009 Our cruise was with Oceanic Cruise Lines on the MS Insignia. This ship has 650 guests with 450 crew and allows you bring your own liquor on-board and they charge us$20 corkage at your dining table. At the self service counters, you are served your choice, this, presumably, to cut down on passengers piling their plates up with food, and discarding most of it - good move as you can revisit this as often as you like. Should you happen to have a credit to your on-board account at the end of your cruise, it will not be credited back to your credit card, but settlement will be in cash. Our trip started on Tuesday October 20th when we caught the mid-afternoon Jazz flight from Nanaimo to Vancouver. The flight was only half full but, strangely enough, no one had been assigned to the emergency exit row 10 on the DH-8. We hate to think of what would happen should there be an incident requiring the emergency deplaning of the aircraft. We assume there would be a made rush to the front of the aircraft. We had taken the early flight from YCD and hung around the YVR airport for a while as it is more comfortable than sitting in a hotel room. Although our Lufthansa flight on Wednesday did not depart until 16:25, we were faced with a very long day, so decided to overnight in Vancouver. For our overnight stay at the Accent Hotel, we had a rate of $89.00 plus tax, the Air Canada rate was not available to retirees, but with our $15.00 discount coupon, the cost was reduced accordingly. We had supper at the IHOP restaurant which is attached to The Accent. We usually stay at the Accents as the rates are cheaper than the Delta Hotel where we used to stay, and, at the Accent, we are always armed with the $15.00 discount coupon which is available at YVR or the ferry, the coupons are readily available and are valid for a whole year. Wednesday October 21st We checked out of the Accent at 08:00 and got the jitney to YVR, and had breakfast at Tim Horton's, then visited the Observation area for a few hours reading, doing crosswords and Suduko or watching the ramp vehicles completely ignoring the painted "roads" and the "STOP" sign painted at a junction. We also took turns walking around until it was time to check-in to Lufthansa for our flight due to depart at 14:25. During my walk around I met up with Clarence Ash who works as a Green Coat at YVR and an airline retiree. We spent quite some time chatting. Clarence is the Director at Large in the YVR Pionair organization. We decided to have lunch at noon before checking in for the flight. When we did check in, we were advised that the flight was delayed due to a mechanical and that we had been rebooked out of FRA on a flight which would get us to ATH at 01:10 on the 23rd - problem was that our cruise leaves ATH at 22:00 on the 22nd.. The check-in agent suggested we go to the Customer Service desk. We contacted our travel agent for assistance, and they called Oceania who advised that Lufthansa be contacted. Upon contacting Lufthansa the advice was to have Lufthansa at YVR airport handle the problem. All this while, we were in contact every half hour with our travel agent as we had no cell phone, our afternoon was spent using 1-800 on the public phone. So we went back to the Customer service desk of Lufthansa, and they arranged for a flight from ATH to Mykonos which was where the cruise would be in the afternoon of the 23rd.. The flight was on Aegean Airlines and left at noon. Cost in Canadian was 130.00 plus 4.64 YQ + 18.56GR + 27.86QT + 20.00 for paper ticket, all claimable from our insurance or Lufthansa. We advised our travel agent that we would meet the cruise at Mykonos and to advise Oceania Cruise Lines of our revised travel plans. We will miss the first port of call which was Delos where the cruise was in the morning before sailing to Mykonos in the afternoon. Our luggage was booked through to Mykonos, so at least we did not have to worry about the luggage. This all added a new dimension to our cruising experiences. Our flight, a A340-600 departed at 16:40. Our supper on the flight was mushy polenta, chicken, asparagus, apple & blueberry pie and all the wine you could wish for - for those not worried about dehydration. The toilets on this aircraft are located mid section down a flight of 10 steps at the foot of which is a foyer with half a dozen toilets. No sign of an elevator for the handicapped. We did manage to get some sleep. (More next time - eds) |
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Smilie
 Here we have another smilie sent in by Vern Swerdfeger Heard over northern Florida : Jacksonville Center: "Airliner XYZ: Turn left, heading 320." Airliner XYZ: "Is that a 320 heading for Airliner XYZ?" Jacksonville Center: "No, that should be, 'Turn left, heading 230' for Airliner XYZ. Sorry about that. Five out of four controllers are dyslexic." Airliner XYZ: "No problem. Five out of three pilots, same thing. Airliner XYZ turning left, heading 230." |