MUSEUM Members of CAPA The Canadian Museum of Flight Glidepath News CMF’S SIKORSKY S-55
ROSE OF THE ARTIC
By the time she had turned 28, “Rose of the Artic” had traveled from the Gulf of Mexico to the far corners of Ellesmere Island in the Northwest Territories. She had played nursemaid to two polar bears cubs, studied most of the undersea plant life of the Arctic Islands, helped devise an instrument to measure ice thickness, been stranded in the middle of the Barrens and acted in a Japanese movie. Rose, however, can’t talk about her life. She leaves that to the man who knows her best, her owner, Bob O’Connor. Rose, you see, is a helicopter, a Sikorski S-55 to be exact, and her call letters “CF-AAQ” deserve a prominent place in the annals of Artic aviation.
“I first saw her in 1972” says Bob, co-owner and operator of Aero Artic in Yellowknife. “At the time she already had 7,000 hours in the air and had spent most of her time in and around the Gulf of Mexico, flying for Petroleum Helicopters of Louisiana. I bought her through a broker in Vancouver and had her fitted with a turbine engine so she’d be able to handle the colder climate”. For Bob it was a dream come true. As a kid he’d fallen in love with the Sikorsky S-55, when he saw one as the centerfold spread of an aviation magazine. That was in 1949, the year Igor Sikorsky, the famous helicopter designer, put the S-55 on the market. When Bob purchased Rose 23 years later he had her name written across her nosecone in Ukrainian in honor of her Russian-Ukrainian inventor.
Over the next 12 years, “Rose” became a familiar sight to miners, doctors, firefighters, scientists, researchers and broadcasters across the North. She’d been as far west as you can travel in the NWT, as far east as Baffin Island, as far north as Ellesmere. Rose could hover, take off and land vertically, move backward as well as forward and carry as many as 10 passengers in her lower deck or a cargo load of 2,280 pounds. She was sturdily built, could produce 850 hp with her refitted turbine engine and climb as high as 12,000 feet.
The S-55 was the first helicopter to make a transatlantic crossing, the first to be used in anti-submarine warfare and the first certified for scheduled passenger operation as well. Most helicopters, says Bob O’Connor lead a pretty mundane life if they are lucky and he feels that Rose was no exception. That viewpoint however, depends upon what you mean by mundane. Playing nursemaid to two polar bear cubs while scouting the countryside for their lost mother doesn’t sound very dull. Nor does spending five days in the middle of the Barrens, weathered in. Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere and having her tail boom chopped off sounds even less boring.
“There is a peculiar problem with the S-55” admits Bob “for some reason the fuel gauges never read accurately. In all the years of research they’ve done they still haven’t dealt with that. When we realized we had a problem we rigged an instrument to help us keep a pretty accurate reading.” Rose’s nosecone reads like a Who’s Who of the North. Her red paint is plastered with stickers; Poole Construction, NCPC, British Petroleum, Canadian Pacific, Air Research and CBC, just to name a few. And every so often you see a tiny speck of green paint. Could it be? Yes it is! Make-up!
“That was from her acting days,” laughed Bob, “We got a call a couple of years ago from a Japanese film company. They were filming a story in Resolute Bay. Apparently a group of Japanese researchers had been evacuated by ship somewhere in Antarctica, years ago. Weather forced them to leave before they could rescue the dogs they had at the station. When they returned a year later some of the dogs had actually survived. The ship had used an S-55 helicopter for the rescue and it was easier to film at Resolute than in Antarctica, so that is how Rose entered the acting business.”
The Japanese director asked that Bob paint his aircraft green, and a special ink was used which would be easy to remove. Japanese letters were painted on her side. Rose performed beautifully, Bob, however, was a problem. He did not look Japanese. His nose was too big. Finally, it was decided to cover his face with an old fashioned leather helmet and goggles. The disguise worked. The movie was a great success in Japan says Bob.
While it’s difficult to agree with Bob that Rose of the Arctic has led a mundane life, it was a rather mundane job that brought about her early retirement. The Sikorsky S-55 lost power while attempting a simple lift operation. Hovering at a mere 50 feet, Bob managed to maneuver Rose away from people below before she slammed into the ground. Damage was extensive and the cost of repairs exceeded the cost of replacing the machine but, like the lady she was, she saved her pilot. The cause of the accident was not certain, but similar failures have occurred before in other S-55’s. A fuel control problem may have caused the crash.
For Bob O’Connor the accident meant an end to a long-time love affair. There are more advanced helicopters on the market now and he will probably replace Rose with one of them. Meanwhile Rose sits alone, her rotor blades are dismantled, her engine removed, her cabin open to the elements.
You get the feeling when you look at her and she deserves something better; a place in a museum perhaps, or a plaque in the Aviation Hall of Fame. Her logbook alone is a history of the North and its constantly changing way of life.
This story of Rose was taken from the 1984 edition of UP HERE and was written by Bonnie Dickie.
Does anyone know where CF-AAQ is today, if so, write us a story of what happened to Rose since 1984 and we will publish it in our next newsletter.
ISSUE 80
Winter 2003/04
HANGAR #3 5333-216th STREET LANGLEY, B.C. V2Y 2N3
TEL: 604-532-0035
FAX: 604-532-0056
museum@direct.ca
INSIDE
- PAGE 1 Rose of the Artic
- PAGE 2 Dinner Meeting
- PAGE 3 Volunteer of the Quarter/ Rose of the Artic continued
- PAGE 4 New Members/ Members who donated to INF
- PAGE 5 CMF recognition
- PAGE 6 Anniversary of Flight/ Special News and Reminders
- PAGE 7 What’s Happening in the Hangar
- PAGE 8 Classifieds
THE NEWSLETTER
The CMF Newsletter is published quarterly by the Canadian Museum of Flight. Contributions in the form of articles, news items, letters and photos are welcome, as are comments and criticism. No payment can be made for any manuscripts that are submitted for publication in the CMF Newsletter. The Editor reserves the right to make changes in the manuscripts without altering the meaning.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Sandy Tinsley at the Museum by calling 604-532-0035. Museum is open daily from 10:00 am – 4:00 p.m.
CMF BOARD OF DIRECTORS & STAFF
- George Preston President
- Terry Wadhams Treasurer
- Ken Knutson Secretary
- Bob Fowles Director
- Gogi Goguillot Director
- David McIntosh Director
- Hardy Staub Director
- Capt Bill Thompson Lifetime Director
- Sandy Tinsley Executive Director
- Teresa Rhodenizer Gift Shop/Bookkeeping/Collection
QUARTERLY DINNER MEETING Saturday, February 14, 2004
Doors Open: 6:00 pm Dinner: 7:00 pm Meeting: 8:00 $20.00 Per Person
RSVP by 4:00 pm Thursday February 12, 2004 We require 48 hours notice of cancellation or you will be charged for the dinner
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Come out and celebrate Valentines Day at the Museum with friends. We will have a special something for the sweetheart in your life.
All proceeds from this evening will be split between the Canadian Museum of Flight and the 801 (Vancouver) Wing Air Force Association. They are raising funds for various air cadet squadrons around the lower mainland so they can purchase the necessary computer hardware and software to participate in the new “Simulator Wings” program. This permits cadets to earn “Simulator Wings” at the squadron level before going on to qualify for Gliding and Flying Scholarships at summer camps. The cost of each computer & software (Flight Simulator 2003 from Microsoft) is approximately $1600 CDN.
Members from 801 Wing will be attending and there will also be a silent action
We look forward to seeing you there, call to reserve today! pm
VOLUNTEER OF THE QUARTER
We are very pleased to present the 2003 Winter Volunteer of the Quarter to a very dedicated longstanding CMF volunteer, Mr. Roy Willis.
Roy is our resident” Helicopter Expert” and has for years worked with CMF to restore our Rotorcraft. For the past year Roy’s main focus has been the Sikorsky-55 displayed in the Museum courtyard. Almost every morning you can find Roy either working inside the shop or inside the S-55. Roy along with Cal Booth and Don Lefever are diligently working on getting the S-55 restored complete with a new transmission so that it can be displayed for six months at CFB Cold Lake to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.
Roy’s expertise, leadership skills, and personality make him a very respected and important part of our CMF family. Congratulations Roy on being the Volunteer of the Quarter, it was definitely a 100% YES vote by all polled.
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS
Michael Brown Langley, BC Stuart Bedard Aldergrove, BC Jeff Jivani Langley, BC Scott Paik Surrey, BC Brandon Gibson Richard Karon Langley, BC Andreas Bernauer Surrey, BC Richard & Kellie Warnock Langley, BC Langley, BC Burnaby, BC Victor Rhys-Williams Vic Nordquist Port Coquitlam, BC Geoffrey Boardman Langley, BC Edward Susheski Delta, BC Robert Steeves Phil Mulholland Surrey, BC Langley, BC Carl Vannourt Brian Sewell Aldergrove, BC Delta, BC Michael MacRae Surrey, BC Langley, BC John Dunn Surrey, BC Manual Erickson Jesse Olson Langley, BC Sharon & Paul Maclure Abbotsford, BC Chris & Scott McLean Surrey, BC
WACO INF
In the last newsletter we asked you the members to help us raise enough money in order that we would be able to fix the WACO INF Collector Ring along with the fabric for the centre section. Well, we reached the $1,800 mark and then some, actually for a total of 4,200!!
The restoration volunteers thought that since the INF is 74 years old it would be best to check the entire aircraft, so all the fabric came off including the wings. They found that the top wing centre section was in very poor condition and has to have almost a complete restoration along with the tail section frame found to be corroded quite badly. Good news though, the wings are in very good condition and will only require covering. Work on the centre section and tail section have started and are progressing well. The collector ring is on its way to being re-assembled and the fabric and materials required to recover the aircraft have been purchased. This has used up the $4,200 raised by you the members and we still need to purchase the paint. If you would like to help in these costs, all donations of $100.00 or more not only receive a tax deductible receipt, but your name will also be displayed on the plaque being designed to hang in the Museum entry way recognizing your generous donation.
To date the following individuals have made a donation towards the INF restoration fund making it all possible;
- Muir Adair
- Steve Gordey
- Jerry Olsen
- Barney Biggs
- Peter Harraway
- Paul Poulin
- Robert Barker
- Jack Howe
- Hardy Staub
- Cal Booth
- Howard Havies
- George Serviss
- Hermanna Booth
- John Clark
- Norman Kirk
- Harold Kenney
- John Spronk
- Phillip Unrau
- Basil Cooke
- Hank Koehler
- Harvey Williams
- John DeVisser
- Bill Marr
- Ingy Wikene
- Bill Findlay
- Doug Moan
- Ross MacKenzie
- Harvey Webb
- Bob Fowles
- Gil Fanslau
- John Wetmore
- Kenneth Macgowan
- Fred Gardham
- John Murphy
More about what is happening in the Hangar can be found on page 7.
Tour Guide Workshop
Saturday February 7th, 2004 10:00 a.m. – Noon in DC-3 Club House This workshop will focus on reviewing the past year and talk over suggestions of how to improve and enhance the tours in 2004 Everyone welcome!
Ken Thompson and Helen Daley from the Langley Association for Community Living volunteer every Tuesday afternoon dusting the Gift Shop and the Hangar.
Over the years CMF has worked closely with the community in helping and training individuals who are trying to get back into the work force, or are on specific volunteer programs including High school students who as part of their curriculum have to put in a set amount of hours volunteering.
The members of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers would like to sincerely thank Jeff Jeffrey for his dedication and hard work while serving on the Board for the past three years. Jeff was the Director of Aircraft Operations and during this time was instrumental in putting together an Aircraft Policy Manual which outlines CMF pilot and ground crew requirements along with the maintenance and upkeep of all CMF aircraft in accordance with Transport Canada and Insurance regulations.
Jeff received not only a promotion with the RCMP but also a new job and as of January 1st he is now residing in Ottawa. Shown in picture is Capt. Bill Thompson presenting Jeff with a plaque recognizing his time spent on the Board of Directors.
Congratulations Jeff on your promotion although everyone at CMF will miss you.
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday April 17th, 2004 in the Museum hangar. More information will be forwarded in the next newsletter.
Elections for the 2004/2005 Board of Directors will take place that evening along with a meeting highlighting the Museum operations and Financial statement from 2003.
We have two members who have already let their name stand for election of the new board, but we hope it does not stop there. You have a say in your Museum. If you would like to play a role, please think about letting your name stand for the Board.
If you have an item you would like to have put on the agenda, or would like to submit your name to be placed on the ballot please contact Sandy at the Museum prior to the March 17th, 2004 Board Meeting. We would like to highlight each nominee in the AGM newsletter.
Welcome to the new volunteers who have come on board, work is progressing in many areas of the museum from artifact preservation and inventory to library coding complete with new computer software to input all books.
December 17th, 1903 the Wright Brothers made history by being the first to achieve controlled powered flight. One hundred years later on December 17, 2003 people around the world marked this commemorative day in many special ways.
The Canadian Museum of Flight hosted an Open House which saw over 300 people walk through the Gift Shop doors and experience Canadian Aviation History up close and personal. There were many tour guides available to give personal tours of our displays including the DC-3, along with the SE5a, Tiger Moth and Fleet Finch flying circuits throughout the day.
We were very pleased with the media coverage it received, both local Langley papers and the Vancouver Sun / Province published articles before and after the event bringing much attention to the Museum. CBC radio (BC Almanac) invited Sandy Tinsley and Rick Church to their studio in Vancouver for an hour long live call-in show encouraging the audience to call and share their special memories of flying.
During the day at the Museum our visitors enjoyed anniversary cake and coffee while watching the aircraft fly. Many people commented how much they appreciated having the opportunity to have such a unique experience on such a special day.
One lady who was at the school track across from the airport made a special trip to the Museum to give our pilots the following note:
TO THE PILOTS OF THE VINTAGE AIRCRAFT!
What a beautiful day to be celebrating flight!
Just a short note to let you all know what a thrill it is to see such elegant aircraft take to the skies. I watched with excitement as you flew over the track giving me a little extra energy as I did my laps.
I have always loved airplanes of vintage style and the sight and sound of your planes was truly a thrill today.
Thank you
Yours truly,
Andrea Tulett
Sometimes the most important people are forgotten about and in this case there are a group of individuals who without their help and support we would not be able to fly all the events we do such as Canada Day and Member’s Day. We would sincerely like to express our gratitude and thanks to the Township of Langley Airport Control Tower for their continuous support. On Dec 17th with the Museum aircraft along with others flying on that day kept them very busy with movements. To Kevin Swanson, Olivia Hilscher, Darrin Linders, Kris Johnstone and Kim Morris….THANK YOU
SPECIAL NEWS AND REMINDERS
- The volunteers have been actively looking for a 4′ or 6′ Brake for the restoration shop. If you know of anyone who may be willing to donate one to the Museum for a tax deductible receipt, please call Sandy, •
- Flight’s Bistro is under new management and Mike and Carol welcome you to visit them for breakfast or lunch. ⚫
- Thank you to Myrt Fanslau and Marge Carr for making fabric table covers and skirting to give our event displays a more polished professional look and save the Museum money in rental charges
- In order for the Muscum office to send the newsletter out to the membership via email we must have the software programs to convert documents to .pdf files. For most of you this is probably Greek. But for those of you who know what I am talking about, can you help?
- You may or may not be aware of the Museum having a small social or meeting facility adjacent to the DC-3 aircraft. This building has been used for various functions for 50 or less persons over the years, but without running water or washrooms was very inconvenient. Thanks to Gil Fanslau and other members of the Langley Acro Club the “DC-3 Clubhouse” now has two washrooms, running hot and cold water, and kitchen facilities. Do you have a small group that is looking for a meeting room, or having an anniversary party or birthday party and looking for a unique place to host it? Call Sandy to have a look at the “DC-3 Clubhouse” and book your date today. Reasonable rental rates available with all revenue going to the Museum.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE HANGAR
FLEET 80 CANUCK
The interior paneling has been sent out for re-upholstery. Due to work on the WACO INF and the S-55 the Fleet restoration has slowed for a short time, but watch its progress!
At the time of writing this newsletter two gentleman came into the Museum saying that they had heard that a Museum in BC had purchased and was restoring a Fleet 80 and asked if we knew where it might be. It turned out that one of the gentlemen was a previous owner of the aircraft and is looking forward to giving us the history and many photos so that we can tell her story. For all you restoration volunteers, his first comment when he saw the magnificent workmanship on the aircraft was, “I am very impressed with the work being done by your Museum volunteers, and if you ever wanted to sell it, I’d buy it.” Of course our reply was, “she will be part of our Museum for many years to come, but we would love to have you as a member and you could have a ride in her”!
SIKORSKY-55
As mentioned in the Volunteer of the Quarter article, Roy Willis – Cal Booth – and Don Lefever have been working for the past year on the S-55. Their hopes were to have it restored sometime in 2004. Things have sped up a bit since then. In late November the Museum received a phone call from CFB Cold Lake explaining how the base will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary starting in April and going through until September 2004 with many events planned over this time. They were working with Museums across Canada to acquire on temporary loan aircraft that were used in Cold Lake over the past 50 years and asked if we would be interested in participating with our S-55. When asked, Roy and Cal’s first response was “It would be great”!. The Board of Directors voted yes to sending the helicopter for a total of 6 months with the Department of National Defence paying all transportation costs and insuring the helicopter. Now the pressure is on to have it restored and in good display condition by the middle of March. By the time you read this newsletter the helicopter will have been picked up from its current location in the courtyard by a crane truck and believe it or not, rolled into the Hangar where extensive work will be done. We are all very excited at the opportunity of sharing in CFB Cold Lake’s anniversary and the exposure it will give our Museum. If you have any extra time to donate and help on this restoration, come on in and talk to Roy!
Below is a picture of our volunteers taking the rotor blades off of the helicopter to allow the removal of the old transmission
SIKORSKY S-55 (H-19B-S1) HELICOPTER
- USAF 53-4414
- One 800 hp Wright R-1300-3 radial air-cooled engine
- Maximum speed 112 mph
- Empty Weight 5,250 lb., Max. Weight 7,900 lb.
- Rotor Diameter, 53′, Fuselage Length 42’3″, Overall Height 13’4″
The S-55 dates from 1949. The first S-55 in commercial use in the world went into service in BC to build the Alcan project in Kitimat, where the building of power lines by helicopter was another first.
This one was assembled from spare parts donated by MF Helicopters, Larry Skidmore, Deltaire, Delta Rotorcraft, Roy Willis, and others, under a Job Creation project called “Heluvacopter”. It has been restored to static display condition, and painted to represent one of the 15 RCAF S-55’s used on the Mid Canada Radar Line. The Royal Canadian Navy also used 13 of this type on Search and Rescue and aircraft carrier plane guard duty.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The first transport helicopter to receive C.A.A. approval for commercial operation and enter scheduled passenger service, the S-55 carries seven passengers in commercial form and ten passengers as a military transport. Sikorsky manufactured a total of 1,281 S-55’s in ten years of continuous production commencing in 1949. Three commercial models were built, the S-55 (600 hp R-1340), the S-55A (800 hp R-1300-3), and the S-55C (similarly powered to the S-55 but featuring the S-55 inclined tailboom.)
Page 8 GLIDEPATH NEWS Semple issues $4 each WW1 AERO (1900-1919) SKYWAYS (1920-1940) The Museum welcomes donations of used AVIATION BOOKS for the Library and to sell in the Gift shop. Support the Museum by donating your previously read material. You will receive a Tax-Deductible Receipt. information on painoor aeroplanes, engines, perts your wants and disposals antomation on current p news of museums and shows technical drawings and dat photographa scale modeling material news of current publications BUILD ONE! A REAL ONE! Sole detributors for P3V a computer program to generate a 3-ew from a photograph Published by WORLD WAR 1 Geroplanes, INC. 15-Cicers Fost, Pough NY 12901, USA 884475-3879-
It’s time to renew your membership.
All memberships are due on February 28th, 2004. Fill out the enclosed form, send it with your payment (cheque, Visa, MasterCard) and your 2005 membership card and receipt will be sent to you.
General $37.45 Family $48.15 Senior $26.75 Student $26.75
You may wonder where your membership dollars go. Although we produce and print the newsletters in house, the cost to purchase paper, photocopy and mail is approximately $400.00 quarterly along with two days of folding, stamping and stuffing the envelopes (many thanks to all the volunteers who although always get roped into helping, hardly complain). We have 1/2 of our membership’s email addresses and hope by this summer to be able to email the newsletter to as many as possible to cut down on cost. It would help us greatly if you would like to receive the newsletter by email to put your email address on the Renewal form.
The rest of the Membership dues go directly to the Property Lease payments for land the Museum sits on. Although the membership dues substantially help, it does not cover the entire costs of the lease but with the lease due at the beginning of the year, it would not be possible without your help.
We realize that there are many other aviation related organizations vying for your membership dollars and we would like to sincerely thank you for supporting the Canadian Museum of Flight.