Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

For Air Canada Retirees
(Part of the ACFamily Network)

In 1988, Canadian Airlines had only three employees remaining at its former hangar and office facility on the south side of Vancouver airport, where predecessor companies have operated for the past 39 years.

Aircraft ground radio technicians Mario Bulfone, Carlos Malos and Don Ra, and their complex radio servicing equipment continued to occupy a leased comer in the old Britannia hangar while suitable space was arranged for them in the Vancouver Ops Centre, five kilometres away.

Seventeen employees including check pilots, simulator instructors, secretaries, technicians and crew and ground safety personnel moved to the Ops Centre on July 4. Originally, the site was the home of a Boeing aircraft factory that built Canso Flying Boats during World War ll. Canadian Pacific Airlines acquired the properly in 1949 and moved its headquarters operations there. Previously, the airlines head office was in Montreal and its major maintenance facility was in Edmonton.

The Boeing factory was later dismantled, although the offices were retained, and CP built a new hangar to accommodate its large Britannia aircraft coming on line CPA moved into the current Operations Centre when it was completed in 1969, leaving the south-side complex vacant until it was sold to Pacific Western Airlines in 1973.

Part of the PWA operation included running a flight kitchen at its 'new' facility. From 1973 through 1979, the flight kitchen supplied over 500,000 meals to the Victorian Order of Nurses' 'Meals on Wheels' charity program. Shortly after PWA Corporation purchased CPAL in 1987, the bulk of the south-side operation was moved to the Ops Centre, and the complex was sold to the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Since then the facility has become the largest educational avionic engineering training centre in Canada.
 

Mike Horan sends Christmas Greetings from Ireland: Requesting all past TCA/AC employees who are currently living in Ireland to identify themselves...  who knows... this might be the beginning of "Green Shoots." Regards, Mike Horan This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Alastair Alves sends us these comments: In NetLetter #1234 there was mention of the Caravelle in AC colours. There is a dim memory in what is left of my brain of that Caravelle in the Pima museum south of Tucson, Arizona. I was there many years ago and saw the acft and the placard quoting the same info that was in the Newsletter. I scoffed at that because I had never heard of it before but I guess I have to change my mind.

If anybody is interested, the museum is south of Tucson and along side Davis-Monthan Air Base which is one of the largest air force grave yards in North America and well worth a visit itself. Of course, all is out in the open so beware of the sun when walking for miles between stored and junked aircraft. There is also an old Titan missile base just across the road that has also been turned into a museum. The area can keep an aircraft nut busy for a week if so desired. Alastair Alves, Retired flight dispatcher
 
Ruth Burton sends us this story: Re: NetLetter 1234 - about the article Norman Hogwood wrote on the gold door stop. My husband Joe Burton joined AC in 1968 YYZ ramp and tells the story this way... He remembers in the early 70's the ingot or bar of gold was indeed holding a door open in the cargo terminal at YYZ. He said he walked through that door many times. He has no idea how long it was there or how it was eventually discovered. He said it may have been discovered when the cargo terminal was enlarged. I was in sales at the time and remember the astonishment of everyone after it was found. Maybe someone else can add more to the story.
 
Jannet Tricarico has, with the help of others, come up with some names for the people in this photo published in NetLetter nr 1232:

From front to back: 1. Brooke ?, 2. Dixie Lee Blackwood, 3. Marylin Bliss, 4. Elaine Razzel, 5. Joy Armstrong (now Jones), 6. Frieda Yeske (now Frantzen), 7. Donia Sims, 8. Jan Law,  9. Linda Dunn,  10. Susan Campbell (now Stech), 11. Carmel Field, 12.  ?, 13. Lorraine Ainsworth. Hopefully someone can fill out the missing person or correct any of the names if need be.
 
Jim Bruce has dug up a 5 page document of TCA - Engineering Dept., 1960: I found this fascinating 1960 snapshot of TCA history in my files recently. The listing gives, for each person, the date of employment, office phone, employee no.(?), home address and home phone no.  Teletype numbers are given, also service dates for pass priorities. There is a listing of local businesses with phone numbers. Also included is a list of hotel rates - here are some of them in Montreal: Queen Elizabeth  $12 - $13, Laurentien $7.50 and up, Mount Royal $8.50 and up Windsor $9.00 and up, Queens  $7 - $8. What a job of typing that was! Enjoy, Jim 

Sometimes we receive articles and information that just doesn't fit in our other areas. This is where it goes!

Interline Club of Portugal is hosting the 24th Passarola Tennis Cup 2013 and the 26th Passarola Golf Cup from April 16th - 20th 2013. Details on www.waca.org under events.   

We found this cartoon by Dave Mathias in the "Between Ourselves" magazine issued October 1946.