Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

November 24, 2013 - Issue 1282

Issue dated - May 1978
Some items gleaned from the "Horizon" magazines.

Aerial Demo Reel 2013

Below is a very High Definition video of scenery in and around Vancouver, British Columbia created by Alterna Films.

Make sure you view Full Screen and turn up the sound.

News and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and its "ancestry" of contributing airlines.

Issue dated - February 1989
Items from the "Info Canadi>n" magazine -

Issue dated - March 1989
Items from the "Info Canadi>n" magazine -

Issue dated - May 1989
Items from the "Info Canadi>n" magazine -

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.




In NetLetter nr 1277, we related a story from the local Nanaimo press regarding the refugee airlift out of Uganda.

Lorne Paterson has sent us this memory of the occasion -
I believe that CPAir was the first to operate into Entebbe to bring out refugees. As the Engineer on the first four flights, I can tell you that it was a scary experience. We were utilizing aircraft FIN 607 which was PW JT3d powered DC-8-53 and allowed us a little longer range. The crew change transition point from Canada to Uganda was in Madrid, Spain. We would operate from Madrid to Nairobi Kenya and overnight. We would depart early the next morning into Entebbe and arrive at first light. There are many stories from all carriers in this operation, but I can relate two from the first flight that I personally experienced.
 
The first involved the aircraft itself which CPAir staff might remember was named the Empress of Lisbon. At the time the ATC people (I believe) were still expats and it is important in this story. On landing and taxi to the ramp, the tower controller asked if he was seeing right and the name of the aircraft was indeed the Empress of Lisbon. The captain replied in the affirmative. The controller then advised us that we had better cover the name as the Ugandans hated the Portuguese and we may get into some trouble. You can guess who got to hang out the door on the hinge and tape over the LISBON. Thank God for duct tape.
 
The second was far more somber and really brought meaning to what we were there for. On the first flight we boarded the passengers as fast as possible to depart given the very trigger happy soldiers around the airport. I was the last one to board once we got one engine started.

As I went up the stairs I found a vaccination book on the ground. If you old-timers remember we used to have to carry a yellow vaccination book along with our passports. When I got on board the aircraft I asked the Purser to page the passenger to return the book. He paged on several occasions but there was no reply. We took off, which was another story, and about an hour later I was walking down the aisle and a man signaled to me and called me over. He said he was the individual who we were paging. I asked why he did not reply earlier and he replied as follows and I will never forget it, "Yesterday my brother was shot and killed because he answered to someone calling out his name". I realized then exactly why we were doing this job.
 
The one benefit we had over most other carriers doing this operation was that we were Inertial Navigation System equipped and were able to operate direct over the desert to Madrid and could shorten the flying time and allow us a lighter fuel load. Given the condition of the runway in Entebbe this was a godsend.
 
There are many other stories, but the first flight was certainly an adventure.

Lorne Paterson, Retired International Maintenance Manager, Canadian Airlines
 

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Here is the conclusion of Hob Knobbing With The PM by Jim Griffith, which we started in NetLetter nr 1281  -

Always anxious to please, I twiddled the dial of my radio compass repeater, struck it rich and picked up a clear skip signal of the CBC and Foster Hewitt's unmistakable funky twang. The rest of the cockpit crew seemed totally absorbed in trying to establish contact on HF with the Azores for further clearance, so I boldly told the PM's aid that if he wanted to go ahead and invite the great man to come up and listen to the game on the radio, I was sure he'd be welcome.

Moments later an obviously very tired PM, sans his trade mark bow tie, inconspicuously stole into the cockpit. Without a word, I motioned him to my seat, passed him an extra headset then together we listened to the end of the game. Once it was over I tried to steer the conversation to ask him, pilot to pilot, about his flying experiences. All I knew about him was that I'd heard he had been a pilot during the First World War. What I didn't know then was that shortly after his first solo, he crashed while landing in a Grahame White trainer, writing it off and injuring himself enough to be shipped to London to recuperate. While there on a night outing from the hospital, he'd been whacked by a double decker bus on the Edgeware Road in a blackout during a raid aggravating his injury enough to be invalided back to Canada ending any hope he had of being a pilot. That might explain why he was reluctant to discuss his short lived flying career. In any case as soon as he recovered at home the plucky fella volunteered to go right back into the fray where he had served as a stretcher bearer for two years in the Balkans before being selected for flying training.

Over the years I've always treasured my few minutes of sharing the simple pleasure of listening to a hockey game with a truly great Canadian even more so since the setting was in the confined darkened cockpit of a DC-8 in flight over the South Atlantic. In the crowded cockpit, there were five us, I nevertheless felt like there was only just him and me. What struck me most was his modest dignity and unassuming manner. He spoke to me as an equal in his quiet voice. I've always marveled at how this soft spoken, lispy, middle class son of a preacher became such a giant in global geopolitics not to mention his celebrated achievements as Lester B. Pearson, Canada's 14th Prime Minister.

As for the game... do you believe it??? The Leafs actually won!!!
Jim Griffith
 

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Referring to the article by John Rodger in NetLetter nr 1280, Wally Cawson has this thought - Is it possible the pin shaped like a light bulb had something to do with the Company's suggestion program from many years ago? Wally Cawson - YWG Airport Services Instructor - AC14921-Retired

As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.

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.

• Chief Pilot - Terry Baker, Nanaimo, B.C.
• Co-pilot - Alan Rust, Surrey, B.C.
• Flight Engineer - Bill Rowsell, Londesboro, Ontario 
• Stewardess - Lisa Ruck, Brooklin, Ontario