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_| TCA |_ B E T W E E N Y O U R S E L V E S
_|\| AIR |/|_ N E T L E T T E R
> CANADA <
>_./|\._< for Air Canada retirees
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Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson
http://www.acra.ca/between/vesta/
Co-pilot - Terry Baker
http://www.acra.ca/between
number 306 date Sept 3rd, 1998 1st Published in October 1995
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. Where are they now.
Jack Somerset has been using his son David's email, but now has his
own email address now - try it
Mary Mosienko has returned from vacation and changed her email to
We are not getting through to James Robertson, email was
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. In response to the appeal by Margaret Bartlett in NetLetter nr 305,
Gordon Froede sends this information -
There is the ole Ramada airport inn which is close to Port Everglades.
It's a dump in the middle of nowhere, but it has a pool and reasonable
interline rates. I stay there the night before catching a cruise ship.
Sorry, no 800 number, and to get the rate you cannot call the Ramada central
res. ofc.
An alternative is the Sheraton Yankee Clipper, slightly more expensive
but right on the beach and also near the port. The last two times I tried
to get a rate they were full. Bonne chance! What if any cruise are you
going on? I am booked on the Grand Princess two weeks back-to-back
Eastern Carib. Nov.1-15/98.
Crusing beats flying and their captains don't seem to strike so much.
Cheers, Gordon Froede
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. Ready for another story from Bill Norberg? - here goes -
A nearly airline story.
During my years as Vice President Air Transportation Services for the
airline I did a lot of travelling to interesting places around the
world. As would be suspected I also had some very interesting experiences.
On one occasion I was visiting Syrian Arab Airlines in Damascus Syria and
had Clayton Glenn travelling with me as well as one other person who
could speak Artabic. We spent several days meeting with executives of the
airline establishing what services we might be able to offer them to assist
them in developing their airline capabilities.
We had travelled from Montreal to Paris via Air Canada and then Paris to
Damascus via Air France. The hotel accomodations in Damascus while acceptable
in a broad sense were far from the standards we usually expected. We had one
set of working bathroom facilities between the three rooms as an example.
Clean potable drinking water was almost impossible to find it seemed and
canned Lebanese beer was the only safe beverage.
On the last evening we were there we were dinner guests of the Vice
President of Syrian Arab Airlines at a large outdoor restaurant where
most people were smoking large water pipes at their tables. The Hors
D'Oeuvres were very local in nature such as raw sheeps liver etc which we
declined as graciously as we could. I weakened and accepted a local beverage
that used ice cubes and was to pay for that later. The Vice President of
Syrian Arab was most anxious that we fly on their airline back to Paris but
due to loads there was only one open seat available. I graciously deferred to
Clayton and I continued with my Air France arrangements to Paris. As there
was a difference in departure times I was to advise Air France and and we
agreed to meet in Paris for our flight back to Montreal.
I waited for Clayton in the agreed hotel in Paris but he didn't show up
at the scheduled time. I was concerned but was unable to get any reason for
the delay. Later in the evening there was a knock on my hotel door and
there was Clayton and did he have a story for me.
It turns out that the flight he was to travel on to Paris started in
India and when it arrived in Damascus there was a 30 passenger overage due
to improper flight load data from India. The aircraft was a Caravelle which
as you may know loaded via a stairway at the rear of the fuselage. When the
boarding passengers tried to get on the aircraft it became obvious there
were many more passengers than available seats. The ones in the seats
wouldn't give them up and the boarding passengers who thought they had
seats wouldn't leave the aircraft. It was a mess. Damascus is in the desert
and in mid day it is hot! Clayton left the aircraft when he saw what was
going on and stood outside in the shade of the wing while the local manager
tried to sort matters out.
His solution was to close the front door of the aircraft, turn off the
ground airconditioner and let the heat build up inside the aircraft. It
wasn't long before they were all running out of the aircraft like rats
leaving a sinking ship. He then herded them into the airconditioned
terminal where he coralled 30 passengers in a room while he boarded the
rest. That is one way to deal with oversales!
I was to regret my decision to have that local drink with ice cubes as I
awoke the next morning with the worst case of the "flying axe handles" I
have ever had. I had a miserable flight back to Montreal and spent 10 days
in bed with an intestinal infection due to the parasite in the ice cubes.
From: Bill Norberg <
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. The story from Charlie Mackie in NetLetters nr 304 and 305 prompted this
memory from Bob Robbins -
Many thanks for Charlie (as I knew him) Mackie's engrossing
story of the CGTAS Lancaster's "mechanical-forced" flight into Greenland's
Blue the West One. I don't think I've ever seen that Airport's name in
writing. My phonetic memory of it was "Bluie-West".
I was posted to Goose Bay in 1947 - just after the Lanc's were phased
out and the North Stars started carrying (usually full westbound)
loads of passengers.
The ARCAN radio room and the meteorological briefing offices were on
the American Base. In one of them there was a scale mockup of Blue
the West One - (4, 6, 8 feet long??) of the mountains, the fjord, the fjord
fork, the airport, and (I think) the mountains (glaciers?) at the end of
the runway. There was also a document that gave step-by-step
descriptions of how to contact, approach and land; also a suspended colored
wire replicating the heights and courses that should be flown during
the full approach.
Was this mockup inspired by either of those original TCA
pilots - George Lothian and/or Lindy Rood? I expect one or more of
our many ARCAN radio operators could elaborate. (Bill Willows? Don
Demeza? Graham Williams? 50 years rather fade my memories!)
Incidentally, for the many "Goose Bay grads", if you can
ever get hold of "Checkmate In The North (The Axis Planned to Invade
America)" by William Guy Carr (Macmillan, 1945) you'll find it hard
to put down. It recounts the difficult search for an airport site,
the lucky finding of Goose just before the freeze-up, and many
details of the construction and early operations.
Thanks again for all the great stories, you two publishers and
many contributors.
Bob Robbins
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. Found on the internet.
LAX SECURITY?
While the government tries to make us feel warm and fuzzy
about all the security measures being taken to protect us, this story is
likely closer to the reality of the situation. One of the terminals at
LAX was evacuated of 1,700 people last week and 29 flights were
suspended when an X-ray machine detected what appeared to be a gun in a
man's luggage. In a classic from the Keystone Cops, agents then stopped
the wrong passenger. Authorities cleared the terminal and halted all
flights until they could determine, some two hours later, that the
alleged weapon was a gun-shaped cigarette lighter. But wait, there's
more. Earlier this month, a woman with a real gun was able to get past
security, prompting the evacuation of the same terminal and delaying 35
flights.
THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR, THE SUN ON YOUR CHEEKS?
The crew of an Air National Guard KC-135 tanker has taken the phrase,
"Let it all hang out" to new heights, if you will.
The all-male crew flew a mission in the buff last month out of Fairchild AFB
near Spokane, Wash. Major Philip Logan, an ANG spokesman, is keeping most
of the details on the alleged buck naked aviating under wraps, but says the
Guard is taking it very seriously.
UNRULY PAX ATTACK, BA CARDS 'EM!
It seems that on British Airways, a stiff upper lip is going to be replaced
by a little yellow card.
Aviation Daily is reporting that beginning September 1, BA flight
attendants will begin handing out soccer-style yellow cards to unruly
passengers. Once warned, if they persist in their misdeeds, passengers
will be arrested upon landing. Airline officials point to a 400%
increase in violent incidents over the last three years.
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. Brian Dunn sends us some YYZ news -
YYZ NEWS - TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1998
Royal Express obtained its certificate of operation August 14th from
Transport Canada. The airline (an operating subsidiary of Royal
Aviation) expects to begin "scheduled" airline services shortly from
Montreal-Dorval airport to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando as well as to
Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. Royal Express is expected to use a
combination of aircraft allocated from the existing Royal Airlines fleet
including the 737/727/757 and A310.
An interline deal with TWA and First Air has already been worked out with
more to follow once the "new" airline is up and running.
British Airways Concorde will be departing YYZ at 1200hrs on
September 5th, 10th, and 15th. Have your cameras ready.
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. Terry's travel tips.
Canadian Interline Travel -
INTERLINE CRUISE SALE
Norwegian Dynasty Sep 8 - 10 Nights
Inside $699us Outside $799us Deluxe $899us
RATES ARE IN US DOLLARS AND ARE BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY.
For Reservations Call 1-800-665-3100 Today!! and mention Pionairs.
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. Smilie.
"The male pilot is a poor, confused soul who talks about women when he's
in an airplane...and talks about airplanes when he is with a woman."
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. That's it for this time, please we need your input, send
comments and email addresses of any others who may be
interested to Vesta with a copy to Terry.
/------------------------\ |--\_____/--\__ |
| Between Yourselves |______________ \______====== )-+
| NetLetter | ---|/-- |
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Copyright 1998 by Vesta Stevenson & Terry Baker.