Bill Cooke in the UK sends us this interesting URL - This youtube item was sent to me by a friend in YVR who is ex-CP/AC, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE6ZRE28h1w Hope you can include it in your netletter which I read with great pleasure. I am ex-CPAir from YYZ reservations,1969-1982 and London UK,res/ticket office from 1983-1990.Have many happy memories of my airline days and still have contact with ex-colleagues in yyz and yvr.
Here the conclusion of the story "Aircraft down" from NetLetter nr 1061 - sent in by Bernie McCormack. I cannot recall the name of the lake because of an event I will recount on the second part of this story. I felt that the aircraft involved, ATC or search and rescue would eventually contact us and as time passes more quickly than any of us care to admit, about a year went by. I decided I might have to search the records to determine whom we had saved from at least a very unpleasant stay on an insect infested northern lake and at worst a much more serious conclusion. (I was secure in the knowledge that I had the lake and aircraft identification recorded on my map) We admitted a chap to the flight deck some months later as we were about to pass the west coast of Greenland. The passenger was a well-dressed first class passenger and he seemed only too pleased to tell us he had chartered a large cargo ship to transport some goods to and then take on cargo from one of the communities at the end of a bay on the coast. We located the community and then he returned to his seat, satisfied I felt, that he had suitably impressed us. About thirty minutes later our flight attendant came up to the flight deck and asked if the individual I have described could borrow the map. I turned and looked her in the eye and said he could look at it but that it was quite important to me that he return it. Well, I probably don't have to relate any more story. We were busy with our responsibilities on the flight deck, time passed by, we landed in Vancouver and my map with the information on it deplaned with the businessman. We never did hear from any of the participants of the downed aircraft. Bernie McCormack.
Bill Norberg sends us this memory. You no doubt remember the terrible incident in 1970 at YYZ when we lost a DC-8 and 109 passengers and crew. As you may know the cause of that crash was an unforgivable pilot error when the ground spoilers were activated about 100 feet above the runway. This caused a serious lost of lift and the aircraft slammed into the runway with a force of about 19 G's. The result was the separation of #4 powerplant which ripped a large hole in the lower wing skin causing a large loss of fuel. The end result was tragic. After this incident the Dept. of Transport headed by Walter McLeish who was their Chief Aeronautical Engineer, wanted some major modifications to the DC-8's so it would be impossible to have a similar incident ever again. They obviously had ground spoiler activation on their minds when they were refusing to give type certification for the L-1011 to operate in Canada. Their concern centered around the L-1011 activation of ground spoilers in flight as part of the Direct Lift Control system. I should back up a bit. In normal automatic approach systems, the elevator system is activated by the autopilot to keep the aircraft on the ILS glideslope. during approaches. This tends to give a hunting effect as it corrects for deviations. To overcome this effect, the L-1011 system biased the ground spoilers to a 10 degree angle and any correction signals were fed into the spoiler actuators to either increase or decrease the spoiler angle. This of course caused the aircraft to rise or fall vertically rather than using the elevator system . This resulted in a tighter capture of the ILS glideslope.with less hunting. To convince the DOT we had to arrange to take then to Palmdale and have them see the operation in flight and better understand the system. We used the L-1011 being used for flight testing which was equipped with special instrumentation as well as water tanks throughout the cabin so the C of G could be varied and controlled for various testing configurations. There was a limited number of seats for passengers and each one was assigned a parachute stored in a rack just beside the escape chute. This was a large duct directed though one of the baggage compartment doors.There was a complete engineering station at the centre of the cabin which was fully instrumented for all of their flight tests. It was fascinating flight needless to say and we came very close to reaching the sound barrier. We made our point with the DOT and the L-1011 was certified for Canadian operations. As a minor point of interest, Bob Christie shown on the picture was the replacement for Bun Moore who was lost in the YYZ incident. Regards Bill
MEMORIES by Jannet Tricarico Pionair's District Director - YVR As the Aviation Industry and the Air Force in Canada will be celebrating the 100 year of powered flight in Canada in 2009, I automatically thought back on the "good old days". I retired from Air Canada in 2001 after about 30 years and have so many memories in my history with Air Canada, where I was stationed in Vancouver, that it is hard to choose a specific commemorative moment, that made me extremely proud. However 2 special memories comes to mind! I can't go back 100 years but I can go back 23 years to 1986 where I was chosen to be part of the EXPO86 team and work at the Air Canada Pavilion, what an exciting opportunity. The L10A - CF-TCA also called The Silver Giant was part of our exhibition including a laser show and smoke when the engine started up inside the AC pavilion. Together with a multi-screen Kaleidoscope presentation and utilizing 195 projectors, 65 screens and 1,6000 slides of days gone by, it was a fantastic show, and I was proud to be part of Expo86. In addition - the most heart-warming moment, I shall always remember with deep fondness was the surprise letter I received in 1996 from the YVR Recognition Committee announcing that they had nominated and selected me for outstanding performance, dedication and excellent service to enjoy once-in-a-lifetime experience of a scenic tour on-board our historic L-10A CF-TCC - the sister-ship of the same aircraft, that I had worked with at EXPO86 what a thrill. Here I am in 1996. Air Canada - Thanks for the memories Jannet Tricarico District Director YVR (Retired Training Instructor YVR airport) AC Pionairs
Whilst on the subject of EXPO 86, we received this from John White. We had the pleasure of handling the British Airways Concord during Expo 86 at YVR. The aircraft is sitting in the aircraft parking area on the North ramp, with the north shore mountains in the background. John White
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