Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Air Canada - our first 70 years

1971 - June 2nd - inaugural B-747 service Toronto-London England
June 3rd - inaugural B-747 service London, England-Toronto.

Air Canada news

May 1, 2009 a new daily seasonal service will link Toronto with Sydney NS (YQY) using a 50-seat  CRJ-100/200 aircraft.

TCA/AC People Gallery

Ralph Shortill sent us this undated photo of Winnipeg  pilots with 10, hours of DC-9 flying.

Doesn't seem that long ago ! 

Found this in a box of pictures and newspaper clippings that had been saved ... Believed to be from "Horizons" January 1988 .

Nobody has changed much ...
All had flown the DC-9 more then 10,000 hours each...
Brought back some memories







Musings from "Between Ourselves

Issue dated April 1971

Under the heading "Company thanks employees for 747 display duty", we selected these two photos.







More than 300 of Montreal employees who organized and staffed the highly successful 747 static display at the Dorval base, were thanked by being on the first courtesy flight and enjoyed a 60 minute flight.





Yet another report of assistance given to a lost aircraft. Shortly after taking off from London Ont, Capt. Glen McLarty was contacted by London control tower asking for help in locating a lost aircraft which was practicing landings and take-offs but became lost in the haze. The aircraft was located and was guided back for a successful landing at London.

Gleanings from "Horizons" loaned by Robert Sedlak

Issue dated June 14th 1976
Quality Assurance reps meet in Montreal for their annual swap of ideas.

Here we have this photo of this years crop.












Issue dated Sept 16th 1975

We have this photo of Bob Sedlak presenting Chester Speer with his winnings in the Charlottetown contest.
















Issue dated April 2nd 1976
The Merchants Workshop for France and Western Europe was held in Paris.

Here are the attendees.










From "Regionnews" loaned by Robert Sedlak

Issue dated August 1983

The crew for the final departure of the DC-8 service at Montego Bay is in this photo.

Star Alliance news

The global recession has forced Singapore Airlines to drop Canada as one of its destinations. 

After more than 20 years of flying to Canada, Singapore Airlines is indefinitely suspending flights to this country effective April 25th. The carrier flies to Vancouver three times a week through Seoul, South Korea.

Bytes and Pieces

Flight of the Silver Dart

I found a great site that celebrates the Flight of the Silver Dart where they are having a Centennial Celebration in Baddeck, Nova Scotia

2009 will mark the 100th anniversary of the first
powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. Baddeck will play host to aviation enthusiasts from
all over the world as they celebrate this centennial with events and activities throughout 2009.

The Silver Dart and the Birth of Canadian Aviation

On a cold morning in February, the vision of flying a powered
aircraft for the first time in Canada came to be when the Silver Dart took to the air above the frozen waters of Baddeck Bay in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

This inaugural Canadian aviation feat on February 23rd, 1909 was the result of innovative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, unrelenting determination and a talented team of experts who had a common vision.

For the full story they have an excellent website you can visit at: www.flightofthesilverdart.ca

Canadi>n/CPAir/PWA, Wardair, etc. Events & People

Over the past months we have been publishing various photographs from earlier in-house magazines, should any photos prompt a memory in seeing one of them, feel free to send us your comments and thoughts.

Perusings from "INFO Canadi>n" loaned by Robert Sedlak

Issue dated April 1990

This photo of Simon Alsop based in London England.








John Anderton has sent us some 35mm slides, here are some of them.

Norman Wells 1955 with two unidentified employees.













C46 engine change at Norman Wells 1955, no id's. 












Twin Otter at Norman Wells 1955 - no id either.













Refueling process at Fort McMurray (YMM) airport - no id. (Note - this is actually oil being added, not fuel)












John commented - Also remembered some more about Fort McMurray which may be of interest. At the time the pix of YMM were taken the CPA Agent was Roy Hawkins.

A great guy.

Taught me a lot about the airline biz but never talked about himself.  
Years later, in the 1990's I discovered that Roy was a real WW2 hero.  If you read Collins pocket book 'Winning the Radar War' by Jack Nissen & A.W.Cockerill - ISBN 0-00-215428-5 - it describes Sergeant Roy Hawkin's exploits in a famous commando mission at Dieppe, and includes a picture of him.  

P.W.A. Otter fleet at Norman Wells 1955.

This and That

In NetLetter nr 1056, in view of the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada, we had photos of some aviation stamps issued by Canada Post here is another set.

Here are four stamps issued November 10th 1980 of military aircraft.

CF100 in 1950 and Avro Lancaster in 1941.




Curtiss JN-4 and the Hawker Hurricane in 1935.  



And four more issued November 24th 1981.

Canadair CL41 Tutor and the de Havilland Tiger Moth.



Avro Canada C-102 and de Havilland Canada Dash-7.

Vic Rivers sends us this correction to the picture of the hangar which was labeled YYZ, in NetLetter nr 1056.

Don't think this is the Toronto hangar. Try the PWA hangar in YYC?
Vic and Bud Lewis spotted the error. The 1987 photo of the Canadian Hangar looks a lot like YYC.

Bud

(Here we have the caption for the photo which our editor obviously forgot what had been read - it's an age thing - eds)

Stuart Russell sends us this story and accompanying photo.

Another of the Herc Tales from the PWA Hercules operation

This is a photo of Lockheed L100-20 Hercules CF-PWK at Panarctic Oils airstrip at Bent Horn on Cameron Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The FN-110 Nodwell seismic drill was being loaded for a flight to the Panarctic base camp at Rae Point CYOX. Bent Horn was the only producing oilfield in the high arctic. PWK tail 386 was destroyed by fire in 1982 in Paulatuk NWT after it was sold by Pacific Western to Northwest Territorial Airways.

PWA flew 6 Hercules aircraft in excess of 90,000 hours, over 26 million miles, into 108 countries around the globe, carrying more than 800,000 tons of bulk fuel and of cargo between 1966 and 1984 - a feat unequalled in Canadian aviation history by any other Canadian registered carrier.

Cheers,  Stu

Harold Whittaker sent us this photo entitled "The Dawn of Civilized Travel", which may bring back some memories.(Lets hear about them - eds)






Prompted by the DC-3 article in the NetLetter, Doug Davidson sends this.

What a great aircraft the DC-3 was/is!! 

Here is a photo taken last year in Antigua. 









Four Star in San Juan, Puerto Rico still operate six of them in cargo service. They fly almost daily into ANU and transfer one refrigerated container to the BA 777 for Gatwick. In fact, on occasion there are two aircraft side-by-side in ANU. 

Picture is of me in the left hand seat fantasizing! 
















Best regards,
Doug Davidson

Those of you with memories of the North Star may be interested in the web site information sent in by Jim Riddock

Just thought some of your readers might be interested in this article about the Canadair North Star produced by Vintage Wings of Canada.












A volunteer pilot project under the guidance Canada Aviation Museum staff provides the hands and hearts to reverse the damage of 40 years of continuous outdoor storage for one of Canadaʼs most important transport aircraft. Follow this link to learn more:
www.vintagewings.ca

Cheers, Jim Riddoch

Terry's travel tips

While traveling around the Hawaiian Islands on Hawaiian Airlines to connect with Air Canada back to Canada, because of a ticketing and baggage agreement, you are able to have your checked luggage checked through direct to your destination. Aeroplan miles do not apply though.


Effective June 1st, Toronto Pearson Airport will increase their Airport Improvement Fee from ca$20.00 to ca$25.00 per passenger.

March 1, 2009 - Don't Miss the DFW Interline Travel Show at Delaney's Vineyards in Grapevine. Show is from Noon to 3pm featuring cruise lines, resorts, tour operators and tourism boards. Admission is Free.

Open to airline employees, parents, retirees, spouses including CRS company employees/families and cargo carrier employee/families!

Admission is FREE and yes parents and spouses are welcomed to attend without the employee!

Smilies

Is it our imagination?
But did the size of the print used in the revised "Air Canada Retirement Payroll" pay advice get smaller?
Why would a company assume retirees eyesight gets stronger with age!


Perhaps the revision of print size should have been made by an older employee instead of a younger employee with 20/20 vision. Perhaps the size is a prelude to the diminishing size of our pensions in the future.

We have this photo from the "Horizons" issue dated September 16th, 1975 by Dave Mathias.
It seems appropriate in view of the Christmas 2008 problems in YVR.