We have welcomed 22 new subscribers so far in 2024.

We wish to thank everyone for the continuing support of our efforts.

Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.

We invite you to visit our website at www.thenetletter.net/netletters to view our archives.

Restoration and posting of archive issues is an ongoing project. We hope to post every issue back to the beginning in 1995.

We always welcome feedback about Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge) from our subscribers who wish to share current events, memories and photographs.

Particularly if you have stories to share from one of the legacy airlines: Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Airlines, CP Air, Pacific Western, Maritime Central Airways, Eastern Provincial, Wardair, Nordair, Transair, Air BC, Time Air, Quebecair, Calm Air, NWT Air, Air Alliance, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Georgian and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.

Please feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.

Thanks!

The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) is pleased to announce the annual convention in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Wednesday, June 19 to Saturday, June 22, 2024, being held in partnership with the RCAF History and Heritage in recognition of the RCAF's 100th anniversary.

Full Details: www.cahs.com

Our request from Frank Healy in NetLetter #1526 brought back this amusing memory for Julie Gillate Spencer, retired flight attendant.

As a flight attendant in the late fifties/early sixties with Canadian Pacific (CPA) I'm enjoying reading the memories of your readers.

One that caught my eye was the request for info on 'Sgt. Norman Welles'. Could this be another fun initiation trick of having new 'ticket agents' paging fictitious passengers in the airport?

In 1959/60 CPA had regular 'milk run' flights from Edmonton, Alberta to various small northern locations, one of which was Norman Wells Airport, Northwest Territories. 

Another such trick was to have the newbie agent at YVR paging Herman Nelson, which played on the name of the plug-in heater used by CPA to heat the aircraft while on the ground at northern airports.

Keep up the great work of bringing us back in time!

Editors' Note: We are quite certain that Mr. Healy's request is genuine. However, an airport with the same name is quite a coincidence. Also, practical jokes on 'newbies' using public address systems have been a long standing tradition!

Gail Bennet shares the following regarding the Georgetown Girls' Pipe Band -

(NetLetter #1526 - Remember When)

For a second time, I saw a photo of my former band participating in an inaugural flight, this time Toronto to Vancouver. This was new band history for me. I knew about the first overseas flight but not this story.

Thanks for sharing. 

P.S. My husband was an AC cargo agent at YYZ for 30+ years.

Submitted by Ron Rhodes - Waterloo, Ontario -

It’s been a long time since I was in touch with you guys. I enjoy every issue of The NetLetter…..especially part of today’s!

(NetLetter #1526 - Remember When)

Thanks so much for the Clint Ward story and first Connie non-stop YYZ-YVR! In 1960 (or was it 61?), I flew with my grandmother from Prestwick to Montreal via Halifax on a Super Connie of TCA.

I was only 11, but still remember the long, loud, not vibration free flight! We changed aircraft in Montreal and was lucky enough to fly to YYZ via a North Star!! As a commercial aviation enthusiast since I was very young, those memories, no matter how vague they are now, still make me so happy. Does anyone know when TCA started non-stop from Prestwick to Halifax?? (As far as I can see, it was non-stop. I don’t recall any stop over the Atlantic)

I still have my original flight ticket (scan below).

When the Connie was moved to YYZ many years ago, I volunteered on several weekends in the hangar to help clean up inside: I took the inside window panes out and cleaned the windows. Such fun.

When that aircraft was sold to the aviation museum in Seattle, Bob Bogash (who organized the purchase,) somehow found out about me. One day I got a phone call from him saying the plane was being shipped to Rome, New York for a TCA paint job.

He invited me to be there upon completion before shipping out to Seattle. What a fun weekend my wife and I had! We met with several former crew members who flew it for Nordair and TCA. Former flight attendants were there too.

I know, that aircraft should be in Canada and not USA. But at least it is preserved!

Thanks again to you all for your great, interesting work.

Submitted by Kim Sharpe - Qualicum Beach, British Columbia 

Was very pleased to see you publish an older photo of Al Bingham, taken in a group photo including President of CP Air, Don Carty.

(NetLetter #1526 - CP Air, Canadi>n People Gallery)

A group of us, who regularly golfed with Al, at Eaglecrest Golf Club in Qualicum Beach, joined Al to celebrate his 99th birthday.

Many memories were shared including Al’s first hole in one, at age 91 in 2016. Al is seated on the right.

Thank you, for keeping us in touch with our past careers with all the airlines we worked for.

Unveiling the vital role seaplanes had in connecting the coast

A Look Back into the History of the Campbell River Area

Allan Gray, AC CSSA YVR, sent in this photo that appeared in the Campbell River Mirror

Have you had the opportunity to visit the Spit and watch the seaplanes land and take-off? It may interest you to know that during the 1960's it was once regarded as the busiest seaplane base in Canada, and some would even say the world.

The first seaplane to visit Campbell River was in 1920, bringing tourists to the Willows Hotel. The demand steadily grew and soon BC Airlines was established to service this need. The SeaBee, an amphibious plane, made up most of BC Airlines fleet. The planes were stored in a field near the Willows Hotel and when needed, would be taxied across the street to the water for takeoff.

See www.campbellrivermirror to read the full article

On right is pilot Bob Langdon, standing in front of his BC Airlines SeaBee in 1949.

At this time BC Airlines picked up passengers on the beach in front of the Willows Hotel.

Submitted by Garth Caron -

Can anyone confirm which aircraft this Stainless Steel Thermos by Stanley was used on?

I have Air Canada  'Wings Across Time' book, with a similar photo. I'm thinking it may have been used on the DC-3.

Logo is stamped on it. Unfortunately there is a dent in the logo area, probably from a drop.

Any suggestions?

Click the image for a larger view.

Found in The NetLetter archives.

Wardair Memories from Ron Martyn.

Originally published: Tuesday, March 19, 2002.

There are no Wardair stories about crashes or accidents because Wardair in 27 years of DC-6, B-727, B-707, B-747, DC-10, A300 and  A310 passenger charter operations had none.

This was a remarkable achievement. Wardair also had tremendous passenger appeal and was fun to work for. Credit is due to all employees and the astute Max Ward.

Hopefully the following reminiscence will jog other publishable Wardair memories. Not daring to offend any of my colleagues, this memorable Wardair story offends just me.

Wardair's superb jet standards emulated from our Chief Flight Engineer Peter Tollovsen and the Vice President Flight Operations, Ab Freeman.

Wardair's early GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) not only called out "whoop, whoop, pull up" but was modified (wink) to say "get a haircut". Haircuts were important in Wardair (strange now when you look at our nautical bearded ex-boss).

All knew when a haircut was necessary, your hat didn't fit. That was before the days of flight crews carrying their hats so as not to ruin their coiffures.

After a hair growing vacation, I shot out of the house early one morning to get my required SOP haircut for a flight that night. My regular barber was booked so I ended up with a strange barber in the town of Stayner, Ontario. While cutting, she also sold real-estate using a phone on her shoulder. Why not?

Having never cut my hair before, she asked whether I wanted the back "blocked or tapered". Being a smart-ass, I replied "just make me look pretty".

Her reply was very memorable, "You got all day?"

A memory by NetLetter editor, Terry Baker  –

Way in the past, before the internet with e-mail capabilities etc., family, relatives and friends used to correspond with each other using a pen and paper, then mail it to the recipient.

During my time in elementary school, we used a nib pen and dipped into a ceramic inkwell usually inserted at the right hand top of one’s desk.

I recall that the nib could be changed into a missile by breaking off the tangs and exposing two sharp prongs. The nib was attached to a paper missile and then dispatched towards other students, before being caught out.

I was fortunate to obtain one of the first new ballpoint pens. In the UK it was named a Biro. When I started to use it in class the teacher confiscated it and forbade its use. He would accept the use of a fountain pen however.

Those of us who wrote letters overseas used flimsy lightweight paper, to save on postage. This Viscount pad (above left) is one of them.

Air Canada's first female pilot recalls sector's sexist hurdles on route to success

Judy Cameron still remembers getting the telegram that marked her first offer to fly planes for a major commercial carrier.

Pacific Western Airlines had come calling, writing her a "congratulations" and inviting her to sit down with the interview board.

"When I walked into the room, everyone's face was very distraught," Cameron recalled. "It turned out that they had wanted to hire me, but it had been vetoed by someone higher up when they realized I was female."

Forty-five years later, Cameron — who was Air Canada's first female pilot — has 23,000 hours of flying, a scholarship and an Order of Canada membership to her name.

Source: www.cbc.ca/news

Ken Pickford came across a link to this item from the Montreal Gazette in the Air Canada Media site.

Homecoming: Retiring Air Canada pilot shares cockpit with daughter on final flight.

Air Canada’s Montreal-based chief pilot for the Airbus A330 jet has retired after nearly four decades, passing the baton to his daughter.

Air Canada Flight 879 from Toulouse, France landed at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport Monday at 2:46 p.m., ahead of a scheduled 2:55 p.m. arrival.

That brought the curtain down on the four-decade flying career of the airline’s Montreal-based Airbus A330 chief pilot. Captain Jean Castonguay’s retirement began nine minutes early — and it cost him a tie.

See montrealgazette.com for the full story.

Listen to a radio interview at www.iheartradio.ca

Retiring Air Canada pilot Jean Castonguay has his tie cut off as per tradition by his daughter, First Officer Marie-Pierre, after his last flight from Toulouse, at Trudeau airport in Montreal on Monday, December 11, 2023.

Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

Editors' Note by Ken: Coincidental that his last A330 flight was from Toulouse, Airbus HQ and where all their widebodies and many of the A320 family are built.

Note comments near end of the Gazette item re Airbus also giving him a sendoff and model aircraft. He said he could have moved to the B-787 or B-777 but preferred the A330 which he flew for 15 years.

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated May 1993

St. Lucia makes a move.

Air Canada moved its operations into the new wing at Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia.

Enjoying their new surroundings are, from left to right: Gregory Jean Baptiste, LIAT Passenger Agent; Denyse Joseph, Customer Service Agent - Port of Spain; Ali Ferdinand, Manager - St. Lucia; Kim Henry, LIAT Reservations Agent and Marva Greenidge, LIAT Reservations Agent.

Customers and employees tops in YYC.

Calgary airport staff, including Customer Service and Cargo, celebrated Customer and Employee Appreciation Days by holding prize draws and serving coffee and cake.

Helping cut the cake were, from left to right: Lillian Fioroni, Purser and Customer Sales and Service Agents Sandy Warren, Sandi Burniston and Betsy Regehr.

Issue dated June 1993

Cargo Agent has

winning design.

A logo design by Prestwick Cargo Agent Colin Kennedy was chosen by Air Canada to commemorate the airline's 50 years of continuous service between Canada and Scotland.

The logo incorporates the Canadian and Scottish flags, the Air Canada maple leaf logo and the Scottish thistle.

Anniversary celebrations kicked off July 23 in Glasgow.

From the "InfoCanadi>n" magazine.

Issue dated December 1993

During 1993, Maintenance & Engineering completed its first modified C Check as part of a new maintenance program for the B-737.

"Could all the work be done in five days?", proclaimed Ken Goosen, Director of Line Maintenance.

The Calgary crew included, from the left: Steve Boehler, Maintenance Supervisor; Bob Antonius, ICC; Glenn Ruzycki, program controller and Ron O'Grady, ICC.

Issue dated February 1994

Charter Madness.

During the federal election last fall of 1993, Canadian Airlines provided charter service to the Liberal Party, which eventually was elected to a majority government.

For 47 days a hardy crew of Canadian Airlines employees transported Liberal leader Jean Chretien, his political staff and an entourage of media reporters.

Since they covered 30,000 miles - 60 stops in 32 cities, the crew took it upon themselves to regularly do a few wacky things to relieve the day-to-day tensions of the campaign trail.

On Halloween, for example for a flight from Thunder Bay to Yellowknife, the entire crew dressed up in zany costumes and served pizza.

The charter crew included, from the left: CSD Carlos Furthado, First Officer Eric David, Flight Attendant Joanne Gauthier, Captain John Burridge, Airports Flight Coordinator Knut Ohm, Flight Attendants Carolyne Rodgrigues and Linda Frenette and the scary masked Flight Engineer Joe Desouza.

Issue dated March / April 1996

All smiles and eager to learn the ACS system, this group of agents travelled to Vancouver's Training Department from far and wide.

Front row, from the left to right:  Dave Griffiths, Whitehorse (YXY); Louise Crimmen, London, England (LHR); Gladys Hrabel, Edmonton City Centre (YXD).

Middle row: Len Smith, Comox (YQQ); Len Steg, Vancouver (YVR); Linda Collard, Honolulu (HNL).

Back row: Penny Reid (Airport Training); Kathleen Thomas, (Airport Training); Jack Plain, Customer Service Automation, Vancouver (YVR); Franca Bentrovato, Sault Ste. Marie (YAM) and Adele Garibaldi, Toronto (YYZ).

Freezing of Brand New Planes:

Extreme tests of new aircraft before they are delivered.

Posted by the 'North' YouTube channel, our video explains the rigorous test procedures required before the delivery of a new aircraft.

Ken found an interesting YouTube channel called 'Stig Aviation' hosted by an Aircraft Maintenance Technician working for American Airlines at Los Angeles. 

Click the image below to view the list of posted videos.

Famed Martin Mars water bomber could be headed to museum.

Excerpt from Times Colonist article by Darron Kloster

The last airworthy Martin Mars water bomber is headed to the B.C. Aviation Museum in Sidney.

The 'Hawaii Mars' owned by Port Alberni-based Coulson Groups of Companies, hasn't been used to fight wildfires since 2015 and has been tethered to a dock in Sproat Lake since its retirement eight years ago.

Discussions between the aviation museum and company president Wayne Coulson about bringing the massive aircraft to Sidney have been ongoing for more than a year. The sides are now trying to determine the costs and logistics to get the bomber to the museum's site at Victoria International Airport.

"It would be one big jewel - make that a boulder - in our crown at the B.C. Aviation museum," Steve Nichol, president of the B.C. Aviation Museum, said in an interview.
"But it will be a monumental project just to get it here."

The Martin Mars is a storied beast. Only seven were ever made by the California-based Glenn Martin Company, all for the U.S. Navy as ocean patrol and long range transport during the Second World War. Most were used for naval cargo on the San Francisco-Honolulu route until 1956.

The last four, sold as scrap, were bought by a B.C. forestry consortium and later converted to water bombers.

One Mars crashed while firefighting in Northwest Bay near Nanoose Bay in 1961 with the loss of four crew, and another was critically damaged in a storm.

The remaining two Martin Mars bombers were acquired by the Coulson Group in 2007 from Timberwest and its subsidiary, Forest Industrial Flying Tankers. The 'Philippine Mars', painted blue and white, was retired in 2012 and isn't considered air-worthy.

The red and white 'Hawaii Mars' had its last fire season in B.C. in 2015, when it secured a 30-day contract with the B.C. province.

The massive water tankers fought fires in British Columbia and other provinces for more than half a century. They were the largest fixed-wing water bombers in the world, with wing spans of 200 feet and bodies 120 feet long, and the ability to carry about 6,000 gallons of water.

CP Air Family Day '74

Subscriber Dave McMillan generously donated a box full of newsletters from CP Air / Canadian Airlines dating back to the late 1960's.

Terry had already scanned many of the same issues, however, Dave's collection does include several issues that we do not already have.

 I found an interesting Special Edition of CP Air News that appears to have been a hand out for 'Family Day '74' at the YVR Operations Centre.

The four page newsletter includes a welcome message from then President, John C. Gilmer, shop photos, the building diagram and facts about CP Air at the time. Too much to copy & paste here so I scanned the full issue and a link is available below for viewing. 

I spent the last 14 years of my career in this building, long enough to develop a nostalgic affection for it. I hope that it can bring back positive memories for our readers who are CP Air / Canadian Airlines alumni. 

Click the PDF icon to view the full newsletter.

Note: 'The Super Orange 747 Souvenir' mentioned was not included.

CP Air Operations Centre Maintenance Base circa 1974

Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.

From the 'Horizons' magazine 

Issue dated May 1993

You wouldn't believe what some employees send through company mail.

Last year, a Dorval clerk sorting mail came across a particularly foul-smelling package. He decided to open it and discovered several rotting fish.

"We figured that an employee had arranged for someone in Halifax to send them some frozen fish," says Dan Stewart, Coordinator, Company Mail Services - Dorval. "Unfortunately, by the time the package arrived in Montreal, the fish had thawed out. Needless to say, the package didn't get delivered."

Paul Robillard, Manager, Publishing and Food Services - Dorval, says they're trying to discourage employees from receiving or sending personal items through the company mail system.

"Company mail means just that," explains Robillard. "It's amazing the number of employees who have personal mail delivered to their company address. We regularly process rnagazines, catalogues and junk mail which aren't business-related. They're easy to spot since publications like Canadian Tire and Playboy don't fall into the aviation category."

Robillard says employees also put the airline at risk, especially when sending personal items to the U.S. or overseas. Customs agents often perform random checks on mailbags and, when they find non-company items, the airline is held responsible.

The company can be fined for violating customs regulations and, in some instances, airplanes can even be seized. "We work on an honour system with customs agents." he says. "Unfortunately, we lost that privilege in London because British customs kept finding personal items like chocolates and cigarettes every time they did a random check of our mailbags. Now they look at every single mailbag.

Robillard and his group are now taking steps to educate employees about the company mail system, which they hope will result in less abuse. Notes will be attached to items identified as personal or non-company in nature advising employees to change their mailing address. If employees fail to comply within a reasonable time period, the material will not be delivered.

Our cartoon is another by Dave Mathias and appeared in the 'Between Ourselves' magazine issued September 1967.