Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Subject: Emailing: Silver Broom Late 70's - Hi Gang, This photo according to Jim Ursel Pionair member from Kelowna (Canadian champion and runner up to the Silver Broom 1977) was taken later in 1978 or 79. I have most of the names either from Mr Taylor or Jim. Most were AC Employees.

Left to right

Hal Cameron YVR, Ray Godber Manager Silver Broom for AC, YUL. He was my neighbour in Dollard Des Ormeaux. His widow Else called to give me some of his memorabilia (pins, badges, etc)from his time with the Silver Broom Committee. Doug Maxville Head of the Canadian Curling. He passed away about 3 months ago, Claude I Taylor, The Silver Broom, John Duville YUL, Pierre Jerome YUL, Terry Denny YUL, Next two unknown, In front, Jim Ursel YUL on the right and on the left Jim or Mr Taylor didn't know who he is but said he worked down town in publicity.

A few years ago Jamie Hay Cargo YWG (retired) found the Silver Broom in the Cargo Warehouse in YWG. They made it available to show at different curling events. We had it at our Pionairs National Bonspiel in Hudson 2005 and also in Calgary 2006. There was such great interest in it amongst all curlers when they saw it. It is a very impressive trophy.

Regards,

John Rodger This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(We have more next time - eds)

Another memory from Bill Norberg -

I often think of this interesting flight in 1947 as winter approaches.

Wood stoves and aircraft cabin heaters

Most people can relate to the idea of a wood stove that provides such friendly and warm heat to summer cottages or ski lodges. In some respects it was a similar type of heating system that was used in our DC-3 and North Star aircraft to keep us warm as we traveled during our Canadian winters.

The DC-3 heating system designed by our Engineering department was identified as the TCA 100 heating system. It was a modular system that could be exchanged as a unit and used aircraft fuel burned in a combustion chamber as the source of heat. Cabin air was warmed as it was circulated around the combustion chamber with a fan system. It was located at the rear of the passenger cabin and worked quite well.

The North Star aircraft had a more advanced type of system that was built as part of the ducting used to distribute conditioned air throughout the cabin. It was located in one of the accessory compartments below the passenger floor level.

It was a Janitrol system, and as in the case of the DC-3TCA 100
system, also used aircraft fuel as the energy source to produce the required heat. A spark plug was used to start the combustion process when heat was required. It is sort of fascinating when you stop to think about it, a fire on board aircraft to keep us warm!

Not long after we began receiving our first North Star M-2 aircraft an airworthiness directive was issued that prevented us from using the Janitrol heater system in flight. There were some modifications that had to be carried out which would prevent aircraft fuel that might leak from the wing tanks, from finding its way down the wing structure and into the lower compartments where it could be a potential cause of an on board fire.

Apparently DC-6 aircraft had experienced such a problem. As our aircraft basically used the DC-6 fuselage design, our aircraft heating systems were decommissioned until these modifications were fitted.

We were flying a great deal of airmail across the country at this time and with the inability to fly the North Star until the modifications were completed, we fell behind in deliveries. Late in December 1947 it was decided to fly a North Star from Montreal to Winnipeg in the unheated state to deliver a load of mail and relieve the backlog. I had been planning a quick trip to Winnipegto see my parents and deliver some Christmas presents so this was a unique opportunity. They were going to allow some contingent passengers on board, and I was one of the lucky ones.

There were no flight attendants on the flight but cold sandwiches were boarded. Captain Ron Baker was operating the flight and we flew at altitudes between 6000 and 9000 feet. I presume this was done to find the warmest outside air temperatures, as the cabin was very cold. We all wore full winter garb and kept warm mitts on for the whole flight. The flight was planned for a return late the next day and again I was able to travel as a contingent passenger along with several others whose names I forget at this point. The only thing I clearly remember is that one of them was from "Sales"...a mysterious part of the organization for us Maintenance types at the time.He was a most pleasant individual and came on board with a 26 ounce bottle of Seagrams Crown Royal Rye Whiskey in its Royal Purple bag with the gold cord. The four of us spent the flight between Winnipeg and Toronto huddled together in the circular restroom area in the rear of the North Star. Many may remember that spacious and rather attractive area. We kept the door closed to conserve heat to the maximum degree possible. I suspect the Crown Royal did a better job of creating body warmth. The flight terminated in Toronto and I had to spend a night in the ever famous Roseheath Lodge that was home to so many plusses over the years as they struggled to get through Toronto. These flights were a very cold experience but gave me warm memories.

The Superconnies used a similar type of cabin heating system but they had much larger and technically superior heating units. There were two units per aircraft so there was always a back up in event of a unit failure. Once aircraft began using turbojet engines, cabin heated air was obtained by bleeding off high pressure compressor air.

John W. Norberg