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Nice to know
AVIS Rent A Car
This special offer is for all active and retired ACE family employees. Full details for retirees are available on the Air Canada Employee Portal under My Retirement: Travel: Employee Discounts There you will find the AVIS Worldwide Discount Numbers (AWD #), which you will need in order to benefit most from the program. For information and reservations, call 1 800-TRY-AVIS (1 800-879-2847) (French speaking customers can dial 1 800-321-3652) or visit AVIS online through the links provided on the Portal. Until December 31, 2007, Aeroplan partner, Park 'N Fly, is offering all active and retired ACE family employees an opportunity to save 25 per cent when parking at all Park 'N Fly airport facilities across Canada. For a list of airport parking facilities, consult www.parknfly.ca. To take advantage of this discount, present your Air Canada identification card, business card or letter confirming employment and quote the following coupon codes by date:
31735 - Apr 1/07 to Jun 30/07 31736 - Jul 1/07 to Sep 30/07 31737 - Oct 1/07 to Dec 31/07 Shopping?
Our chief pilot Vesta suggests this - Here's a little something to buy because it's Canadian!!! Murphy Aircraft of British Columbia, Canada, will be showing its new four-seat Murphy Yukon kit aircraft to the public for the first time this July at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. The Yukon is the original concept design behind two of the company's high-wing taildraggers -- the Super Rebel and the Moose. "We started this aircraft 10 years ago," said Darryl Murphy. "This is an aircraft that will allow families and friends to leave for weekend fishing or camping expeditions -- an 'SUV of the skies.'" The all-metal Yukon is similar in size to the four-seat Moose, but by replacing the Moose's radial engine with a standard 180-hp Lycoming O-360 or equivalent it will burn about half the fuel. It will also be available with either tricycle or tailwheel gear. The aircraft weighs in at 2,550 pounds gross and can carry a payload of 1,150 pounds. |
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Air Canada News
New non-stop seasonal service between Montreal and Rome launched.
Departure of flight AC 892 on June 1st., marks the launch of non-stop seasonal summer service between Montreal and Rome. We will operate daily non-stop flights linking Montreal with the Italian capital. We offer connecting flights via Rome to popular destinations in Italy operated by Air One, a Lufthansa partner airline. "The reintroduction of non-stop Air Canada flights between Montreal and Rome is great news for Montrealers and consumers in eastern Canada who will benefit from substantial time savings during the peak travel season to Italy This additional non-stop service to Europe from Montreal, which complements our year-round Toronto-Rome non-stop flights. Rome is our fifth European destination with non-stop service from Montreal, joining London, Paris, Frankfurt and Munich ." New non-stop service between Ottawa and Las Vegas.
The expansion of our service to Las Vegas by adding year-round, non-stop twice-weekly flights from Ottawa starting September 6, 2007 Air Canada Jazz began flying between Calgary and both Prince George BC and Seattle on June 1st. The Calgary-Prince George route will have one flight per day and the Calgary-Seattle route will be operated twice daily.
Our first 70 years
Trans-Canada Air Lines began service from St. Hubert, Quebec in 1938 using the 10 passenger Lockheed L10 (Electra) until 1941, when the service was moved to Montreal's Dorval airport on September 1st 1941.
Lockheed Aircraft
 Mary Charbonneau - 1946
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First Flight to Burmuda feedback
In NetLetter nr 970 we printed an appeal by Tom Singfield for information regarding a survey flight by a North Star to Bermuda. We reprint some of the readers responses -Gentlemen Thank you all for your input in this matter. I have amalgamated all the comments and notes that you have sent, but at this stage, I am still unable to confirm that the September 1946 flight actually happened. Here is what I know at the moment; The original notice of this flight that I found appears on the excellent Bermuda-online website compiled by Keith Forbes. See http://bermuda-online.org/aviation.htm In this he says that a 5-hour survey flight was flown by a North Star from Montreal to Bermuda in September 1946. Keith also reports to me that he visited the Air Canada archives and found the reference himself.
I don't have the copies but I was told that according to books about TCA/Air Canada, "It Seems Like Only Yesterday"-(1986 by Philip Smith isbn 0-7710-8211-8), "The Adolescence Of An Airline"-(1970 by G.R. McGregor-Pres,1948-1968, nil isbn) , and "Wings Across Time"-(1978 by David H.Collins isbn 0-88760-090-5); ONE REFERENCE was found to a Bermuda proving Flight in Sept 1946 . It would appear that no aircraft type was mentioned. According to various sources including Larry Milberry's book on the North Star, the prototype North Star CF-TEN-X first flew on 15th July 1946. The second aircraft, (when was its first flight?) CF-TEK, was borrowed from the RCAF and delivered straight to TCA from 19th November 1946. It may have been used for proving flights but it could not have been used in September. This therefore leaves CF-TEN-X as the only North Star flying in September 1946. One proving flight by the North Star on record in Sept 1946 was on the 14th when the prototype CF-TEN-X flew from Montreal to California - the first time it had left its home base at Cartieville. Captained by the Canadair chief test pilot. This flight stopped at Toronto, Fort William, Winnipeg, Lethbridge then into Vancouver. Later it flew to Santa Monica to be shown to Douglas Aircraft. Another email told me that "Philip Smith's publication (It seems like only yesterday) said that a proving flt was made to the Caribbean and South America in 1946 in a Lockheed 18-08. (with G R McGregor and a number of VIP 's- before McGregor became Pres.), It listed all the stops, but Bermuda was not included" Could the Bermuda proving flight have been carried out with a different aircraft type, say a Lockheed 18? The first direct air service from Canada by TCA North Stars from Montreal and Toronto to Bermuda was on 1May 1948. (CF-TFF had visited BDA the previous month) I am hoping that further research by the retired TCA/Air Canada gents can get to the bottom of this story. If such a flight did happen, then various questions need answering. What type of aircraft was used? Did the aircraft land in Bermuda? (no mention of a TCA flight found in Bermuda US Base records for 1946) and what was the actual date of the flight? I am told that my request for information has been forwarded to the NP News and I look forward to further correspondence on this subject. Over to you. Tom Singfield Horsham UK and from Ross Smyth - I was a flight despatcher in the Transatlantic Region and kept diaries for most years from 1936 to the present, but unfortunately missed years 1946-1948. My 1949 diary shows me making my annual flight route familiarization flight March 12-13/49 to Bermuda and return Montreal with Captain Gil McLaren and crew. I shall list names of people still living that John Rodger of Pionairs or Air Canada might be able to locate. The uncatalogued records at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa should have this info. Stu Leslie in BC and George Bowes in ON were early transat dispatchers. My good friend Al Blackwood was a pioneer radio officer. Stu Leslie also has an older sister who was stewardess on very early flights. Ron Peel in BC was chief navigator. These early pioneers should be contacted soon as we may not be around too long. Ross Smyth, Montreal (514) 388-7445 PS Air Canada/TCA never flew a Lockheed 18 to Bermuda. From Kip Powick I have it from my sources that the first flight to Bermuda, (route checking) was done in one of the borrowed, unpressurized aircraft. Regards, Kip retired RCAF/WD/CP/AC (We think this subject has now run its course - thank you to our readers - eds) |
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Found on the Internet
A Chinese airline has calculated that it takes a litre of fuel to flush the toilet at 30,000 feet and in attempt to reduce the weight of the aircraft is urging its passengers to use the bathroom before boarding their flight. The energy used for one flush is sufficient for an economical car to run at least 6 miles. GLACIER GIRL TO FINISH MISSION, 65 YEARS LATE A P-38 Lightning that was supposed to be in England in the summer of 1942 will finally get there in a few weeks. The P-38, now known as Glacier Girl, will launch from Teterboro Airport on June 22 on a multi-legged flight to Duxford, England, where it will take part in the Flying Legends Air Show on July 7 and 8. Glacier Girl was among six P-38s and two B-17s that had to land on an ice field in Greenland because of bad weather during a mission called Operation Bolero. All the crews were rescued, but the aircraft were abandoned and slowly melted into the ice. Glacier Girl was recovered from 268 feet of ice and restored to flying condition four years ago and is the only surviving airframe of the so-called Lost Squadron. Ed Shipley, who will be flying a P-51 accompanying Steve Hinton in the P-38 that finishing the mission, dubbed Operation Bolero II, has great symbolic significance. |
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Star Alliance News
Austrian Airlines will implement a new five-zone baggage system that will be tied to destination, not ticket price, on June 1. Austrian says the new system should help passengers more easily calculate the excess baggage charges before embarking on their trip.
The system ranges from Zone 1, which carries a GBP5 (C$7.20) charge per kilogram of excess baggage within Austria to a GBP40 (C$57.67) charge per kilogram for Zone 5, mainly Asia and parts of the Middle East. The airline will also change its sports baggage charges, which will be calculated by size and weight, and no longer by type of sports equipment. Passengers will not be charged for the first pair of skis or snow boards but will have to pay a flat rate of GBP20 (C$28.84) GBP40 (C$57.67) or GBP80 (C$115.34) on continental routes for additional small, medium or large equipment, and GBP40 (C$57.67), GBP80 (C$115.34) or GBP160 (C$230.67) on intercontinental routes. Other charges could apply on partner airlines, and special charges will apply on charter flights. Source: Aviation Daily |
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Terry's Travel Tips
When next visiting Melbourne for leisure, pleasure, or business, experience the sensational newly refurbished Commerce Rooms at the Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne. A symphony of contemporary styling, they feature a queen or king size bed, LCD screen, designer bathroom and a work space with broadband internet access. |
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Smilies
 Our chief pilot - Vesta - supplies this one -AIRLINE ADS DEPICT CORPORATE JETS AS FREELOADERS Cartoon airliners have to wait on the runway while corporate jets zip ahead of them and clog up the airways, causing delays for travelers, according to ads produced by the Air Transport Association |