 Name this airline – answer below. |
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Trans Provincial Airlines, Ltd.: Canada (1964-1994)
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'A pretty amazing feat': Centenary of first trans-Canada flight celebrated. The trip took multiple flights over 2 weeks to journey from Halifax to Esquimalt, B.C. This week marks 100 years since a group of aviators, many recently returned from serving in the First World War, made a daring first: crossing continental Canada — nearly 5,400 kilometres — by air. The trip from Halifax to Vancouver, undertaken in segments using a series of planes at designated stops across the country, was originally supposed to take 48 hours, but the weather and aircraft troubles got in the way, explained John Orr, a retired colonel with the Canadian Armed Forces and a historian with the Shearwater Aviation Museum in Nova Scotia. The first leg of the journey, from Halifax to Saint John — via seaplane — almost ended in disaster. "It had been very rough over the Bay of Fundy. And the engine cowling ripped off, sheared off an engine-driven fuel pump, covered the pilot in fuel. He did a forced landing in the Saint John River," he said. Crews secured another aircraft, refueling in Fredericton, and eventually landing on the St. Lawrence River "in the midst of a howling gale." The crews switched to land-planes, and the trip from Calgary into Vancouver was another major challenge, said Orr, not just because of the raging snowstorm, but the geography. "We have to remember that in those days, you didn't fly over the mountains. You flew through the mountains," he said. "So they had to navigate that. And that was really, really challenging." Eventually, on Oct. 21, 1920, with a last-minute extension to Esquimalt, B.C., crews completed their trans-continental journey. Source: www.cbc.ca/news |
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Australian airline Qantas conducted a seven-hour sightseeing flight in a 787 Dreamliner the weekend of October 10, 2020 operating out of Sydney Airport (SYD). According to the airline, the Great Southern Land scenic flight was aimed at frequent fliers who “wanted an opportunity to enjoy some of the airline’s Spirit of Australia hospitality even if they couldn’t travel as they normally do” due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The trip included low-level flybys of locations such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Byron Bay and Sydney Harbour. Qantas previously stated that the 150 seats offered on the flight sold out in ten minutes. Ticket prices ranged from AU$787 (US$564) a seat for economy to AU$3,787 (US$2,714) for business class. It has been reported that the airline is considering offering similar flights in the future. |
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Larry Milberry canavbooks.wordpress.com has these reading suggestions -
This delightful new book has several special features: it adds importantly to the Austin Airways story, it’s a model for combining aviation history with family legacy, it comes with many new archival bush flying photos + has a DVD with rare, old-time bush flying movies. A real gem of a package, especially if you have our Austin Airways, Norseman or Air Transport in Canada books.
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Dakota #12253
A huge treat for any aviation bibliophile! Covers this Dak’s wartime role with 271 Sqn as FZ668, its harrowing D-Day and subsequent Normandy operations. In-depth history with magnificent photo coverage. Then, post-war “ops” until FZ668 lands at Cartierville to be converted by Canadair for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) – you know this story from various CANAV books. Its TCA years as CF-TER, then 12253 goes to the DOT for years of valuable service as CF-DTD. It finally retires in 1993, then sits forlornly for decades at St. Hubert until rescued by the Buffalo Airways “Plane Savers” & returned to flight status in 2019. All the details of how this “miracle” was performed, great credit is given to the dedicated restoration team. You’ll be fascinated at this process that almost defies possibility. |
