Museum Newsletter NO. 38

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION SPRING, 1991

A non-profit, member-owned and operated organization registered under the Society Act of British Columbia. Dedicated to the preservation of Canada’s aviation heritage Registered with the Government of Canada as a Charitable Organization under 0487505-50-27. Tax Deductible Receipts available.

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION

13527 Crescent Road, Surrey, BC, V4A 2W1

(604) 535-1115 FAX 535-3292

GENERAL MEETINGS

General meeting are held quarterly. The first is in April, in conjunction with the AGM/Spring Dinner. The next is in July and held in conjunction with a barbecue, while the October and January meetings are also dinner meetings.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/ SPRING DINNER

The 14th Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation will be held April 18, 1991 at Yic’s Dining Lounge, 13638 104th Ave. and King George Highway, Surrey. Phone 588-1881

You will be phoned by a member of the phone committee (if you would like to help please call) to determine how many attendees will be there.

Food is good and plentiful, and includes Western as well as Chinese, and dessert. There will be a short program which will include a short President’s Report, a Volunteer Awards Presentation, door prizes of course, and the annual election for Directors (10 to be elected). Plus entertainment Suggestions solicited.

Dinner price $12.00 in advance or $14.00 at the door.

No Host Bar (you buy your drinks) at 6:00 p.m., food at 7:00, and AGM at 8:00 p.m

IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP VALID? CHECK YOUR ADDRESS LABEL

See elsewhere this newsletter for categories and fees.

COVER PHOTO

Bellanca Sr. Skyrocket CF-DOH on fishery patrol in the early 30’s on the B.C. Coast. Read about the early days of aviation in our upcoming book ‘Pioneering Aviation in the West”. Publication now set back to about June or July. Price $14.95

NEWSLETTER #38 SPRING, 1990

Editor: Rose Zalesky

Contributions are welcomed as are comments and criticism. No payment can be made for manuscripts submitted for publication in the CMFT newsletter. The editor reserves the right to make any editorial changes which he/she believes will improve the material without altering the intended meaning.

LIST OF DIRECTORS TO APR 17/91

Bethell, Michael Rempel, Brian Danyluk, Kenneth Gardham, Frederick Stacey, Brian Hudak, Tony MacLeod, Clyde Zalesky, E. V. (Ed*) Robinson, Jane Emerslund, William Sanders, Laurie Gatey, Michael Goguillot, C. R. Stunden, Ronald* Thompson, Al Thompson, W.A.* Jackson, G. Barry Vernon, Jerrold E. Zalesky, Rose* Koehler, Hank *Founding members

The Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation is governed by a 15 member board, of which 10 are elected annually in April. Members can serve as Directors for up to three consecutive terms, but Founding Directors are not so limited, but have the option to become less active by becoming a Life Governor.

NOMINATIONS FOR 1991/92 YEAR

Members who are able to make a contribution of time and expertise to the Museum are invited to seek nomination to the board. Call Nominations Chairman Bob Heakes at 856-8145, or leave a message with Rose at 535-1115. Those who would like to become involved in the operation of the Museum, but are not ready for a directorship, are encouraged to become Committee members. It is an excellent transition to a future directorship. Committee heads are expected to attend director’s meetings, may join in the discussions, but cannot vote.

The Committees listed below are those which were struck for 1990/91. Due to growth and changing needs, some restructuring of Committees and their mandates is likely, so if you have a skill which will help the Museum achieve its goals, but do not see a Committee that seems appropriate, please call Bob Heakes or Rose anyway.

COMMITTEES (present)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer E. V. (Ed) Zalesky Vernon Jerrold E. (Jerry) Rose Zalesky

STANDING COMMITTEES

Vancouver Island Peter Knowles Finance Volunteer Michael Bethell Coordinator. Brian Stacey/ Mike Gatey Public Relations. Vacant Special Events. Newsletter And Publicity Vacant . Vacant Research Jerry Vernon Computer Services Buildings/grounds *Ken Danyluk Clyde MacLeod Flying Library Mark Zalesky Vacant Transportation Sean Keating Colin Hamilton Tour Guides Meetings Entertainment . Jane Robinson Underwater Recovery Jerry Olsen Hampden (Ad hoc Restoration ). Fred Gardham Mark Zalesky

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1991

• April 18 Annual General Meeting
• April 20 through May 10th week: Prepare for opening. Please offer your assistance by calling the the volunteer coordinator Mike Gatey at 596-1365. There is a great deal of work to do.
• May 11 Opening Day for the season
• July 13 & 14 (Saturday and Sunday) “Wings & Wheels”
• July (TBA) Outdoor Barbecue / General Meeting
• Sept 8 (Sunday) British & European Car Meet .
• October 13 Exhibits close for the season
• October 17 (Thursday) Annual Fall Dinner/General Meeting – probably at Yic’s.

Other events and any changes to the above schedule will be announced in the “Mini” newsletters.

CONTENTS

• President’s Report.. 3
• Letters to the Editor.. 6
• Hampden Restoration. 7
• Three Museum Displays . 7
• 7 Adopt an Airplane program.
• Restoration Fund Program. 8
• Museum Wants and Needs.. 9
• Newsletter Production 9
• Aviation Pioneers book. 10
• Children’s Playground Project. 11
• Volunteers… 12
• Privateer.. 14
• Atlantic Helicopterh.. 15
• Hughes H-4 Spruce Goose 19
• Donor’s List .. 23

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

by Ed Zalesky

A TIME FOR CHANGE Homesite still #1 concern 1990 was the Canadian Museum of Flight’s fourteenth official year as a public aviation museum, although material was being collected for years prior. It also was to be the year, for sure, that our homesite problems were to be solved.

As of the end of February, 1991, we still did not have an official response as to whether we can operate a grassed flight operations area at the Cloverdale site. This continued uncertainly means we cannot proceed with raising funds, or make any definite plans for our future. Worsening economic times also means support originally pledged has had to be withdrawn.

In desperation, other sites are now being considered. These problems will all be resolved in due course, but the delay is taking its toll in opportunities lost and in enthusiasm.

The Museum is on the threshhold of profound change. Even if the homesite problem were to be resolved tomorrow, it is not a simple matter of moving and getting on with it. We will require large amounts of capital to build even modest structures in which to begin operations. Operating costs will be dramatically higher at the new site, and we will be much more difficult to find. It will require years to rebuild our identity.

Visitors are customers

Still, with the continued support of members and friends, it will happen. To make it happen, and to maintain the new Museum when it is achieved, means new thinking. We cannot indulge ourselves by thinking of ourselves as a museum in the ordinary sense. Museums have traditionally been supported by governments, and we are not. We would prefer to be self-supporting in any event. We must therefore operate as a business whose main purpose is how best to provide the visitor with pleasurable, exciting and challenging experience, and make him or her want to come back time and again. It will take a lot more to achieve this than passive exhibits.

1990 Statistics

CMFT continues to attract visitors from all over the world to see the exhibits, and we continue to receive good press. Proceeds from gift shop sales provided enough cash to meet operating expenses, but not enough to pay staff, so cuts had to be made. Thank goodness for volunteers!

Special Events. Programs

Wings & Wheels was well organized and by far the best yet, but the heat kept visitor numbers down. Other events such as the Thunderbird and European Car Meets and the NASA Aerovan visit were also successful. There was increased usage of the library facilities by researchers, but we staged fewer displays. No job creation projects were available to us beyond March of 1990, and as a result our school outreach and tour program was severely downgraded.

It’s Coming Up Fast

Opening day this year is Saturday, May 11. We never seem to get everything done, yet we always open on time. We will this year also, with or without such high priority items as improved exhibit signage and general appearance of the Museum. Be generous with your time, so the most can be achieved.

We Still Have To Sell The Museum

It is up to all of to promote the Museum in any way we can. Talk it up to your friends, mention it at your place of work, and pass out brochures (ask for a supply). Word of mouth advertising is still the best kind, and besides, it is the only only kind we can afford. And it works!

Abbotsford Airshow

While our share of the proceeds of Abbotsford Airshow souvenir sales was less than half of 1989’s, the amount was most welcome and was enough to cover 2/3rds of the cost of reprints of our brochure.

New Members

We were pleased to welcome a number of new members in 1990, and renewals were very satisfying. Money raised through membership fees is used to promote the museum as well (newsletters, advertising, some postage).

Casino Night A Big Help

The CMFT had a Casino night in October, which raised $10,301 which was applied to the Norseman restoration.

Donations Up

The major donation in 1990 was funding to purchase an x-RCAF Fairchild Cornell. The Cornell is another in the BCATP aircraft series, and an important part of Canadian aviation history. We are proud to have it, especially since it will be a flyer. Look for it at airshows in the future.

Smaller donations of cash, items for the permanent collection and library, office supplies, shop supplies and tools, and even some which are passed on in the hope that the Museum can trade or sell them. See list of donors elsewhere this newsletter.

Restorations

Fred Gardham carried on with the Hampden rebuild, putting in nearly 1,000 hours since March 1, 1990. Some work was done on the Cornell, while the Waco C6 Cabin is topmost for completion to meet a deadline.

Sadly, most of the restorer’s time was spent doing yard work and maintenance, due to a lack of other willing hands to take care of these vital chores required for day to day operations.

We Keep Them Flying

The Museum’s flying aircraft carried out their ambassadorial duties well in 1990, with visits to the Kamloops Air Show, the Comox Air Show and the Abbotsford Air Show. Not enough people turned out to take Snoopy and the Red Baron to the Cloverdale parade. A pity, as they are a popular feature.

We’re Being Squeezed

Renovations on the three Atco portable buildings (connected into one 36 by 50 foot building) are frustratingly slow. Hank Koehler has almost single handedly done what has been done thus far, but there is still much to do, and the space is desperately needed.

Volunteers Carry It

And finally, volunteers put in nearly 15,000 hours during the Museum’s fiscal year March 1 – Feb 29. Congratulations to all of us for a job well done!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Old Friends

Beth McGillis donated her RCAF WD uniform to the Museum this summer. She writes:

I still haven’t found my hat but will send it on. My tie and buttons would never pass inspection and its full of moth holes if you look close but it all stood up pretty good for 45 years.

When I wore them I was L.A.W. Beth Hicks from Advocate, Nova Scotia. I was stationed at Abbotsford, B.C. from September ’44 to September ’45.

If anyone remembers the name please get in touch with me. I’d love to hear from old friends.

Beth McGillis, 3130 Shadow Springs Rd, San Jose, CA, 95121, USA

Night Witches Meet in the USSR May 1990

Marjorie Nicols, who initiated a memorable meeting in the USSR between a group of Russian women pilots who became known as the “Night Witches”, and members of the “WASP” US women pilots, under the sponsorship of PEOPLE TO PEOPLE reports:

[In response to an idea suggested to fellow WASP] the number of WASP wanting to go [on the visit] grew to fifty WASP and an assortment of husbands and friends. We assembled in New york to board Finnair flight #106 to Helsinki, Finland, then by Aeroflot to the Soviet Union.

While in Helsinki, we met Orvokki Kuorti, a “Ninety-Nine” who has flown the Atlantic seventeen times.

At the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow we were met by a camera crew, an Intourist guide and a number of “Night Witches”. A gala reception was held the following night for the “Night Witches” – fourteen of them – and us.

We visited the Moscow Aviation Institute, where pre-Victory Day celebrations were already in progress. That evening a photographer from Soviet Life met with me [for a future article}.

We had invitations to be in the reviewing stands in Red Square for the May Day celebrations. After passing through seven or eight checkpoints there was a hold up when it was discovered that one of the WASP’s passport and invitation did not match. After much argument, she was cleared and allowed to enter Red Square.

That afternoon we flew to Kiev, where we later visited the Kiev War Museum.

The following day we met with eight representatives from the Antonov Aircraft Design plant. One of the men told us the story of a remarkable rescue during the war in which a two-seater airplane carried five men, by strapping two of the men to the landing gear. All of the participants of that rescue operation are still living.

A visit to Baba Yur, the infamous spot where thousands were shot and pushed into a ravine, was followed that evening by a theatre performance of Ukrainian dancers and dinner at the Russ Hotel.

A boat ride on the Dniepper River preceded our Aeroflot flight to Leningrad the following night. The next day we visited the Hermitage Museum.

The morning of the the 14th we were told that four WASP would take the night train to Moscow to meet with the Minister of Defence, Dmitri Yazof. Barbara Lazarsky, Marty Wyall, Charlyne Cregor and I would be the ones to meet with the “Night Witches” and Minister Yazof. I had no uniform, but with the help of other WASP, I was eventually completely outfitted.

At the meeting, the Minister told us of his great esteem for women pilots, citing examples of their bravery during the Great Patriotic War. He told us of the bravery of other women during that war, particularly medical personnel. He said that his country appreciated very much the 8000 planes that were ferried to them through Alaska.

When Barbara thanked him for meeting with us she said that nothing that we did as women pilots during the war could match what the Soviet women did. We [WASP] have about 750 women still living of the thousand who graduated and we have fifty on this trip.

That evening we flew back to Lenigrad, then the long bus trip to Helsinki and our flight to New York.

I want to thank PEOPLE TO PEOPLE for the remarkable job they did of organizing this trip for us and a special thank you to the WASP themselves who proved once more what they’re made of in adapting to a very strenuous schedule. What do you expect of a group of women who were flying military ‘planes in their early twenties?

Marjorie O. Nicol, 210- 3755 Walnut St. Vancouver, BC, V6J 3R3

Early Gliding

I would like to learn more about your society (CMFT), and how I might contribute to it.

I am a member of the American Aviation Society. My area of interest is aviation before 1910. The Canadian work that I am most familiar with is Dr. Bell’s. I would be very interested to learn of other Canadian pioneers in early gliding and powered flight.

Nick D’Alto, 2462 Marie Ct., Bellmore, NY, 11710, USA

406 Fiftieth Anniversary

406 Squadron is planning its fiftieth anniversary celebration for May 10, 1991. Anyone who has served with 406 Squadron is asked to contact: Commanding Officer, 406 Maritime OTS, CFB Shearwater, NS, BOJ 3A0, Attention: 50th Anniversary Committee. Telephone 1-902-466- 1655 AV 479-1655, Capt Bill Ropp or WO Doug Davies

Mike Gatey’s “Bucket Brigade” clean up the “Flying Banana” in preparation for opening day. The “Banana” is a favourite with school groups.

Grade 5 Students Write

The following excerpts are gleaned from thank you letters received from the Grade 5 Division 8 Class at Lord Selkirk School, Vancouver, who visited the Museum on a tour last summer. This class will long be remembered – they were a joy to have on site, and were a great example for others to follow.

“I have never in my life seen airplanes as close. I thank you for letting my class visit the Museum of Flight.” Nga Pham

“I like the U.S. Air Force airplane the best. The ones that have guns, bombs are good. The banana airplane was weird.” Tommy Ng

“What I liked the best was the part when we went to the place where there were clothes. I liked feeling the paper material. I hate what the salt water does. It does a lot of danger to the planes. I have never been on an airplane.” Adam Cheng

HAMPDEN RESTORATION

The Hampden is slowly rising, like the Phoenix, from its own corroded and smashed former self, one section at a time. The tailplane arrived here in late December. Fred Gardham, with virtually no assistance installed it on the airplane, and it looks great. See the February and March issues of “Wingspan” magazine, each of which carry a photo on the project.

There are no words to express how much we at the Museum appreciate the effort and caring that Fred has put into this project. He’s on the job five days or more a week, with little help, but could sure use a hand.

Much appreciated also is the support provided by Jerry Olsen, the owner of the shop in downtown Vancouver in which the work is being done, and the work that John Gilmour and others have done over the years. Thanks also to lan Morrison who is now putting in many, many hours working up drawings (There are none available, so they are made up as work progresses using the mashed up airplane and the assortment of damaged parts from other Hampdens that we have managed to accumulate over the years).

Fred and lan are nearly finished building a shed in which to work, having been evicted from the main shop due to other urgent need for the expensive space. When some working drawings and jigs have been set up, work can begin on the wing outer panel. Fred is looking for help – preferably on a semi-regular basis. Fred is probably the world’s easiest man to work with, and what’s more, he has a wealth knowledge and experience to pass on. Call Fred at 681-6886

THREE CONCURRENT DISPLAYS

The Museum set up an information display at the Semiahmoo Mall in White Rock on Feb 21 – 23. Staffed by Norah Klett, Bob Heakes, Jane Robinson, Colin Hamilton, Brian Stacey, Ingy Wikene, Ken Danyluk and Hank Koehler. Videos of the Museum’s Senior’s Wing activities, and the 1990 Wings & Wheels were shown, along with a number of historic aviation videos.

At the same time, another display was being manned by Ed Zalesky at the Pacific Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s (PAMEA) Symposium, in the Delta River Inn in Richmond.

Also at the same time, yet another small display was set up at the Surrey Public Library in Newton, B.C. In conjunction with this display, Jerry Vernon led an Aviation Pioneer’s Night on the 21st. Fred Gardham and Lock Madill entertained an audience of about 20 people until thrown out at closing time at 9 p.m. A number of phone calls were received from people who attended indicating how much they enjoyed it.

Jerry Vernon is our official travelling dinner guest speaker, and represents the Museum at various functions throughout the year.

ADOPT AN AIRPLANE

There are two categories in this program, which allows individuals or corporations to provide physical or financial support to help keep exhibit aircraft in clean and in good display condition.

PHYSICAL CARE PROGRAM

Individuals or groups take on the cleaning and waxing of one or more of the exhibits.

CONTRIBUTOR CATEGORY

A fund to enable the purchase of materials and supplies required to keep exhibit aircraft in good displayable condition. Tax deductible receipts issued for donations over $10.

Airplanes available for ADOPTION under the PHYSICAL CARE category are listed below.

Mignet Flying Flea Noorduyn Norseman Piasecki HUP3 Piasecki H21 Piasecki/Vertol 44 Piper J4A Piper L4B Prospector Radioplane (drone) Replica Plans SE5a Rutan Quick Republic Seabee Saunders ST27 Schweizer TG3 Sikorsky S51 Sikorsky $55 Sopwith F1

Spezio Tuholer Stampe SV4C Stinson 10 Stinson L1 Vigilant Supermarine Stranraer Taylor Monoplane Thorpe T18 Volmer Sportsman Waco C-6 Waco INF Westland Lysander EQUIPMENT Ariel Leader Motorcycle Aermacchi Chimera Motorcycle ’49 LaFrance Ladder (Fire) truck ’38 Mercury Mule ’53 Bullmoose Mule ’61 Edsel ’60 Plymouth ’27 Chev truck

The Nelson BB1 glider is only one of the aircraft we cannot display outdoors. Adopt this one or any of the others listed.

’40 1.5 ton Ford truck ’40 Northwestern Mule Austin A40 Aeronca 11AC Auster AOP6 Champion Lancer ’60 White Refueller truck Corcoran TG1 Avro Anson II Avro Anson V Dageling Glider deHavilland Gipsy Moth Queen Mary Trailer Avro CF-100 Beech Expeditor deHavilland Tiger Moth deHavilland Mosquito FB26

deHavilland Vampire

Bell 47J Bensen B8 Gryos Fairchild 71 Bellanca Skyrocket Fairchild Cornell II Bergfalke III glider Fairchild Husky Blackburn Shark Fleet Finch II Boeing Stearman Found Centennial (loan) Boeing Vertol H44B Grunau Baby II Bowers Flybaby Handley Page Hampden

Bowlus Bumblebee Handley Page Hurricane Bristol Bolingbroke Canadair T33 Howard DGA-15 Lockheed Lodestar Lovings’ Love CCF Harvard 8

RESTORATION FUND PROGRAM

This program is designed to build up a fund for each of the aircraft requiring restoration. Some of the airplanes are already on display, but may require restoration or may not be complete. Donors names will be included in a permanent sign at each aircraft. Tax Deductible Receipts are available.

If you’d like to help by ADOPTING an airplane, first decide if you want to provide physical labour, or make a cash donation for its upkeep to the ADOPT AN AIRPLANE PROGRAM.

HAULING EQUIPMENT NEEDED

The Museum now has a large flat deck type hauling trailer, but the truck to pull it has yet to arrive.

We have found that most trips are short haul, and require a much smaller trailer and a van or pickup, neither of which the Museum has. Having worn out three trailers and three trucks belonging to members over the past 15 years, the time has come to get our own equipment or find other members willing to loan theirs for daily use.

A basic chassis and two-wheel axle, without wheels or brakes has been donated, but we need to buy the materials to finish it up to meet our requirements. Cost is estimated to be about $1,500. Any donations to offset this cost would be welcomed, as would the labour to do the job.

AVIATION MAGAZINE BONANZA!

The Museum has accumulated thousands of aviation magazines, some dating back to the early 1930’s. Volunteer(s) are needed to sort them and ensure that any gaps in our own collection are filled. The residue can be offered for sale or trade to help build the permanent library or other urgent need

NEWSLETTER PRODUCER NEEDED

Producing this deal of work. When the task must be tacked on to an already overflowing agenda of work, the inevitable occurs. This is why the “quarterly” newsletter appeared only once last year.

We are looking for someone to take over the production and publishing of the newsletter. It is done in-house, using word processing, “Ventura” Desktop Publishing, and Laser printer. Photos are produced and screened in house, or sent out for screening, and completed “pasteups” sent out to have aluminum plates made for the inhouse offset press. At present, all this work (excepting photo reproduction) is being done by one person, but tasks could be spread amongst several people.

Once printed, volunteer “folding bees” are organized to assemble and mail the newsletter to members and selected recipients all over the world.

Can you help? Tasks could be broken down as follows, if you don’t want to take on the whole job.

• Museum News Section: Some material is gleaned from prior newsletter and updated. New activities and plans, special events, gift store specials, etc. Members and staff badgered for information.
• Donors And New Members Section: Information retrieved from Databases, and in some cases retyped into word processor.
• Obituaries: Report on members’ or notables passing.
• Book Report Section: Report on books being featured in the Bookstore.
• Community News Section: Glean news of reunions, etc.
• Historic Section: Old magazines, newspapers and other publications are scanned for interesting items to reproduce. Bits of historic information are collected for “fillers”.
• Original Articles: Members are asked to provide original articles. These are edited as necessary and typed into a word processor.
• Make Up: All material is typed into a word processor.
• Photo Choice And Reproduction: Photos are chosen to illustrate text. In some cases, text is chosen to make use of the photos. Must work closely with editor.
• Photo Reproduction: This is the only area that is well in hand. Don Olson and Brian Rempel ably process photos as needed.
• Desktop Publishing: Final changes, rearranging, further editing, and insertion of photos, and a table of contents made. Product to laser printer.
• Can’t Or Don’t Want To Do Word processing? Some of the specific tasks can be done by hand or on a typewriter if you are not comfortable with computers. The word processing phase can be done by the:
• Word Processing: See immediately above.
• Offset Press Operation: We have the inhouse use of an elderly but still reliable A.B. Dick model 350 with chain feed. Mechanical aptitude, lightning quick reflexes, and an ability to think fast and work fast a must, but prior experience would also be nice.
• Collator Operation (page Assembler): Elderly but still functional electric collator still requires an operator who can work fast with his or her hands to keep up with the machine.
• Folders And Mailers: Work bees organized for this one or two day job. Easy and can be fun. No experience necessary.

TEAM WORK NEEEDED FOR PRODUCTION

Tasks described must be done in roughly the order as listed. There can be no breaks in the chain if the newsletter is to go out on time, and as a quality ambassador for the Museum.

BOOK ON AVIATION PIONEERS

The search for an appropriate title for the Museum’s book on aviation yielded a number of excellent suggestions. The name chosen is “Pioneering Aviation in the West”.

The book features B.C. events and incorporates lots of old photos. Many pioneers are mentioned, and wherever possible quotations are used from our library of taped interviews. It has been a long time in the writing, and still longer in the production, but it will happen. See also back cover.

Ingy Wikene chose and researched the bulk of the photos, while Don Olson and Brian Rempel. reproduced the photos. Rose carried on with the Desktop Publishing work begun during the summer.

We are saddened at the death last Fall of Arnold Feast, who had so capably taken over the project. The job of organizing the work needed to get the book to press fell to Rose Zalesky, but because of time constraints, the final work had to be passed on the good people at Hancock House, who will be publishing the book. The work is being done on a spare time basis to keep costs down. We are now hoping for a June, 1991 delivery.

There are over 330 pages and 150 photos in the book, which will be soft cover. Please bear with it. It will be worth the wait, and please keep your orders coming in. Price is still $14.95 postpaid, but we now must add GST of $1.05 for a total of $16.00. See order form elsewhere.

Curtiss Pusher at Nelson, B.C., 1912. Photos such as this one provided by Henry Stevenson are featured in “Pioneering Aviation in the West”

CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND PROJECT

The kids (and their parents) want a reactive play regularly. helicopter or airplane in the playground-something they can sit in and “fly”. Any offers to build a play helicopter and/or airplane (biplane (?) for play use?

The Children’s playground is a popular spot during the open season and at special events such as Wings & Wheels (above). Cap’n Flap’Jack entertains.

ENDOWMENT FUND

It has come to our attention that organizations such as the Vancouver Foundation can match funds donated to an Endowment Fund, thus doubling our future ability to remain or attain self-sufficiency.

Left untouched for a period of years, such a fund can grow at an astonishing rate.

To set up an Endowment Fund, we need only to take our initial deposit to a trust company or bank to set up the formalities.

Donations to this fund won’t help in the short run, as we still need donations if we are to proceed with restorations and other special projects. An Endowment Fund is a way of building for the future. The pledged amount need not be large, but it builds up quickly if that small amount comes in once or twice a year

Think also about providing for the Museum in your Will, with either a donation to the Endowment Fund (remember the matching grant), or aviation related items that you may have in your possession.

Discussing your Will and finances is not a popular subject but remember that rarely are a potential donor’s wishes carried out unless specific written instructions are made, and the institution loses out on good material.

Flowers wilt but a plaque on an airplane or building lasts forever.

You may also wish to request that donations to the Museum be made in your name in lieu of flowers.

Whatever your decision, and whether or not you choose to provide in some way for the Museum, be sure to leave a Will the Public Trustee has no heart.

AIRCRAFT EXHIBIT SHELTER

Through the generosity of member Ed Foster, we now have the funds on hand to buy materials to build a very simple temporary roof structure to shelter four of the fabric covered aircraft on exhibit. Construction options are being explored, but nothing is yet decided – except that it is as urgently needed as ever.

Envisioned is a roof supported by poles, capable of sheltering four airplanes tailed together, but other designs that will fit the landscape will be considered.

We need someone or perhaps a few someones to take over the project all of it, including procuring the materials (we have some $) and erecting it – ready to roll the airplanes in.

VOLUNTEERS ARE EVERYTHING

Volunteers are the backbone of the Museum. Without them, there would be no museum as we know it today. Volunteers sit on the board of directors and guide its growth and direction. Management is by volunteers, and several of the on-going jobs are handled by volunteers.

The Hampden restoration is a volunteer project, and is recognized as an outstanding achievement worldwide, as were the Lysander, Norseman and Stampe exhibits at Expo 86.

Volunteers organize and run the several special events put on yearly by the Museum. They help keep the yard groomed and the office running. They help keep the buildings and equipment in operating condition, and they help to transport, restore and maintain aircraft and automotive. exhibits.

A special thank you to each and every one of you who has committed time, money, materials or artifacts.

VOLUNTEER AWARDS

The Volunteer Committee is charged with choosing 5 people to receive a special award. Choosing only 5 volunteers from the many who helped out is no easy task. Nominations for the award are accepted year round.

The 1990 awards will be made at the Annual General Meeting on April 18th. Please attend to help us thank them for their work.

VOLUNTEER JOBS

The Museum has two part time paid office staff. One is a general clerk, the other a librarian. Together, their work comprises about 10% of the work required to operate the Museum. The rest is made up by a few volunteers working long, long hours, a few who come regularly and thus make a real difference, and a few who turn out occasionally.

There is much to do, if we are to survive. We need more volunteers who are willing to put in, say, 8 -10 hours per week. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

Following are a few of the jobs that need a caring volunteer:

• Office Assistants No experience necessary. Work includes word processing, computer data entry (maintaining gift shop inventory, volunteer hours, collections information), working with donations.
• Janitorial The Museum desperately needs someone to wash windows, sweep floors, dust, help keep parking lot tidy, and general cleaning.
• Grounds Maintenance Grass cutting, weed eating, gardening, parking lot repairs.
• Equipment Repair Person Repair grounds maintenance equipment, build shelves, and/or general building and equipment maintenance.
• Exhibits Maintenance Wash and clean aircraft and auto exhibits, keep signage clean and tidy, keep stanchions and ropes looking good.
• Yard Surveillance Wander the grounds during open hours to ensure that visitors do not bend the rules. Some “nerve” is required.
• Parking Lot Attendant Desperate need for someone to see that visitors park cars correctly. The parking lot is tiny but functions well if parking is controlled on weekends and peak hours.
• Gift Shop Sales Clerk Sell aviation related items in the gift shop.
• Ticket Seller Sell admission tickets to visitors, talk to visitors and generally act as a tourism promoter for the area and BC.
• Data Entry Clerk Help maintain the various computer data bases. We’ll teach provided you show an aptitude for computer work.
• Special Events Jobs Ticket sales, security, preparations, cleanup, food service, parking, traffic, and much more.

Phone or write, please.

Volunteer Coordinator Mike Gatey has a full time job as a pilot. He flies irregular hours and is often away from home. In spite of being able to devote so little time, he has done a superb job.

In years past, the task of assigning work and training volunteers in the Janitorial, Grounds Maintenance and Equipment Maintenance jobs has fallen, in Mike’s absence, to Mark Zalesky.

This year, Mark has major work to carry out and cannot help. Mike therefore needs an assistant to help organize the work and train volunteers. Please offer your help.

WACO RESTORATION

This restoration project has been de-railed time and time again. The extent of damage and work required proved to be much more than originally estimated, and it was originally therefore decided that welding required should be done at another shop. When no action was taken, the aircraft was brought back to our shop, and an attempt made to bring a tradesman in – again with disappointing results. In spite of these delays, the work finally got done in house, under supervision.

Many years of being moved from one storage location to another, and several false starts at restoration by a series of prior owners resulted in many parts being lost. Sorting out the jumble of parts we have, and trying to locate replacements for those which are missing is a time consuming and frustrating task.

The object is to restore this airplane as closely as possible to its 1936 factory delivery condition, exceeding the Norseman CF-BSC restoration. Researching the right materials and cabin furnishings is another time consuming task, and wool velours and carpeting don’t come cheaply.

The airplane has a unique history-first with the Department of Transport, then with B.C. Airlines, as a workhorse for Malpass Logging, and finally, as a flying ambulance out of Alert Bay, BC while owned by Dr. Jack Pickup. The restoration was considered to be of sufficient historic value and qualified for a grant from the B.C. Heritage Trust, subject to completion by June 30. There is a lot of work to do, so it must be done on a full time basis, which pretty well eliminates volunteer work, so will probably have to hire a restorer. Please contact Rose Zalesky at 535-1115 if you can offer assistance or can recommend anyone qualified to work on this airplane.

MARCH 9TH WORKBEE

8 workers turned out for the #3 hangar cleanup workbee on Saturday, March 9, with noticeable results. There is still much to do, and more bees will be scheduled until the material is organized and space made to accommodate items which are now out in the weather. Phone Mike Gatey at 596-1365 to offer your help.

WINGS & WHEELS

July 13 and 14 is set for this year’s event. It takes the combined efforts of a lot of people to make it happen. Hundreds of hours of preparatory work is involved, from word processing, data entry, and organizing prizes, services, exhibits, through to yard cleanup, cleaning aircraft and yard work, food booth and equipment and much more.

Office work is now in progress, while outdoor work begins several weeks ahead. Unless more help is offered the event will have to be discontinued. Please phone in your offer to help

PRIVATEER

The Museum once had a Consolidated PB4Y2 “Privateer”; purchased in 1977 after sustaining damage in an accident off Port Hardy, B.C. airport. It sat at Port Hardy Airport for several years subject to the local’s vandalism. Eventually, it was “move it or lose it”, and the Museum was forced to dispose of it. An offer of some cash, plus a 1981 1 ton crewcab pickup on duals was accepted. The new owner dismantled and hauled it to Michigan, where the Yankee Air Force Museum took on its restoration. The same organization is also restoring a B- 17, and a flying C-47.

Work is progressing well, as evidenced by the photo just received, and periodic reports.

And what happened to the truck? In our innocence, it was not imported in 1981, the year of manufacture, so it became ineligible for export, and has been stored all these years. It can now be imported and soon will be..

ATLANTIC HELICOPTER

by W. Keith Rutledge.

Okanagan Helicopters decided to go into the operation of Sikorsky S61 helicopters in 1965 and began sending their pilots and engineers on training courses at the Sikorsky plant at Stratford in Connecticut. The company was the successful bidder on an off shore operation on the North Sea. and were the successful bidders. Then the British Government said you will take a partner and this is who it will be – British European Airways.

Each company was to provide a helicopter. B.E.A shipped theirs by deck cargo from New York. After much thought Okanagan decided to fly their helicopter to England by the North Atlantic route. Mr. Sikorsky was very interested as was his helicopter design and would be the first unescorted flight of a helicopter across the Atlantic. He asked to see the crew and learn of the proposed route and plans. He was a very interesting man to talk to. The helicopter was picked up at the plant and flown to Montreal to the Pratt & Whitney plant. They were in the process of building 36 military versions of the machine for the Canadian Navy.

The helicopter would require much more fuel capacity than the normal configuration. This project was carried out at the Sikorsky plant. They wanted to put in flow meters, on/off valves, etc. and were well equipped to do all this. But the more complicated the equipment, the more possibility of a problem. The fuel cells of an S61 are in the belly of the machine. The final decision was to remove one of the cell covers which are located on the cabin floor in the fuselage, bore a hole in the cell cover and put a bulkhead fitting in it, and from there a flex line to an on/off valve connected to the auxiliary fuel tank. The auxiliary tank was an aircraft wing tank which was mounted in two supporting frames. The frames were secured at all four corners by double cables to anchor points on the cabin floor. The tank had capacity of 2500 lbs. This was a simple gravity feed system to supplement the main fuel system and monitor the fuel transfer on the main quantity gauges on the flight panel.

With all up fuel it would give about seven and a half hours range. P & W were very helpful to us and gave us all the men we needed to check everything. All gear boxes were drained, oil and detector plugs checked for metal, and all gear boxes were now filled with new oil.

Ross Lennox, who was the P & W test pilot, started doing some shake down flights to see that all was normal. The helicopter had a vibration device which was weight mounted in a container on two big springs. There were about fourteen of these which weighed about 20 lbs. each under the cabin floor. The problem of all up weight was a topic of much discussion. The Americans had flown from a Navy base just outside of San Francisco to the Atlantic coast in Florida and had used 23,000 lbs. It would have been hopeless to go to the M.O.T. as they are not known for innovative decisions or change. I expressed my thoughts to Ross Lennox. I said: “If it takes this much vibration equipment to make this machine smooth in flight it sure must have some weird shakes”. We decided to remove them, do a good hover check, and if things felt normal we would fly. We flew the helicopter for a while and landed back at the plant. Ross said he really couldn’t tell much difference. We decided to leave them out, pack them and ship them to England. This would be a good weight saving and would be used to carry extra fuel. This was very important for the long ferry flight. We did some more shake down flying until we were ready to go.

The route was to be the North Atlantic Route. The crew consisted of Ross Lennox and Tom Scheer the pilots, Keith Rutledge the Engineer, and Tom Harrison who was a Technical Representative. The refuelling of the helicopter would be done at airports when possible, otherwise from previously spotted fuel caches from barrels. The first leg took us to Baie Comeau. The next stop was Schefferville, also known as Knob Lake in Labrador. We had to stay a couple of days before we could start the next leg because of inclement weather.

Schefferville is a mining town with big deposits of Iron Ore. There was about 300 miles of railroad built to haul the ore out from here. It was the middle of May and the lake was just starting to get a bit slushy with a little bit of open water. The growth around there is very sparse with scrub about two to three feet high. A few miles north it no longer exists and it is barren as far as the eye can see.

Our next leg took us to Fort Chimo. It has an airstrip, weather office, and a few buildings out in the middle of the barrens. We had our lunch at the Mess Hall here, fuelled the helicopter and took off on our next leg which would take us to Frobisher on Baffin Island. It was a pleasant trip and quite a sight as we approached the Arctic coastline. There was quite a snow squall going on as we approached Frobisher. We landed, tied down the rotor blades, put on the engines covers and fuelled up so as to be ready for the next leg. Frobisher has an airport with a weather office, a Hudson Bay Post, a hotel and many other buildings. I believe a lot of it was built during W.W. 2. The weather man showed us satellite pictures of the day before. This was 1965 so it is an indication of how weather would be forecast in the future.

We were now holding for suitable weather. There was a considerable amount of fog between here and Cape Dyer which is on the east coast of Baffin Island just inside the Arctic Circle, and with quite high mountains. Ross was quite familiar with Cape Dyer as he and I had spent a winter there at this airstrip which serviced the DEW [Distant Early Warning line of radar stations] line there. A couple of days later Ross thought the weather was good enough to take a look. If we had to, we could return to Frobisher but we were lucky. As we approached Dyer the sun had burned a hole in the clag and the runway was in sight. The ground was clear in the camp but there were huge piles of snow all around the buildings.

We fuelled the helicopter and checked thing over ready for the next leg which was across the Davis Strait between Baffin and the west coast of Greenland. Ross checked the weather but it was not suitable, so we found bunks for ourselves and prepared to wait. Ross kept in contact with the radio room and the forecaster. About 3:30 the Danish weather man from Sonderstrom called and said that if we flew at 4000 to 5000 feet we would be over the cloud layer and in the clear, and the last 30 miles to the Greenland coast would be C.A.V.U. We quickly gathered our gear and took off as we didn’t want to miss a break like this. There were some large ice pans visible through breaks in the overcast and lots of drift ice.

The coast of Greenland is a very rugged looking piece of real estate. The approach to the coast line was quite an impressive sight. We had clear blue sky with brilliant sunshine. The cliff faces are almost vertical and there is no beach. The faces are very deeply scored and eroded from very high winds and inclement weather. A big radar dome was on top of a high plateau right at the coast. We flew right past it and down the fjord to the airport at Sonderstrom.

After landing, we fuelled up and checked the machine ready for the next leg. The glacier starts at sea level and goes up to about 11,000 feet at the lower end. At the northern end it reaches about 14,000 feet.

The next day turned out to be perfect. It cleared by noon with beautiful sunshine and C.A.V.U. condition. This leg would take us across the ice cap to the east coast of Greenland to Kulusk where another radar site was located. We were lucky to be able to fly over the glacier because to go around the coast line would be an extra 900-1000 miles. From the time we left the airport we were climbing. The glacier is very deeply gouged which is an indication of very high winds and erosion. At just over 11,000 feet it levels off to a plateau.

There is a radar dome right on top which is mounted on big legs down into the ice. Everything was brought here by air with a Hercules 130 ski wheel job. It takes off on wheels from Sonderstrom, and lands on skis on the glacier. We could see the tracks quite clearly where it had been landing. We were just below 12,000 feet so we were quite close to the site.

With such a clear sky and brilliant sunlight, camera setting is a problem because of so much reflected light. We now start to descend to a sea level on the east coast. The approach to the landing strip is by a long narrow fjord. This strip has two directions. You land into it and take off out of it and there is no turning around. With a fixed wing job you had better be right but with a helicopter you can slow down and stop where you want.

The radar site is about eight to ten miles from here. The road has many switch-backs along the cliff faces until you arrive at the site which is probably 5000-6000 feet above sea level. You look out from here towards Iceland. The road from the airstrip to the site has emergency shelters built along the way. If you are part way along and are caught in a storm you stay in the building. If you are caught between sites you stay in the vehicle which is all radio equipped and there are emergency supplies on board. They have recorded winds up to 180 miles per hour, so there is a very real need for the emergency precautions. Can you imagine a howling blizzard with conditions like this? Mistakes here could cost you your life. The accommodations are good but it is certainly an isolated existence for the staff. The next leg of our trip is from here to Iceland about 500 miles over ice and water.

Our navigation equipment was a Magnetic Compass and an R.D,F set which worked very well. We carried a back-up set just for insurance, in the event that we had a malfunction on our main set. As we left the east coast of Greenland, Ross was in contact with the station in Reykjavik so the radio communication was good and the weather was good. The Americans operate a flying Radar Station to cover the gap between Greenland and Iceland. There is an aircraft in the air 24 hours a day. Ross called the air craft and there checked our position for us and confirmed that we were where we thought we were. We spotted them and they also saw us and were quite surprised to see a helicopter crossing. We saw some of this crew when we were checking in at Prestwick in Scotland a few days later.

The pack ice ran out from Greenland for about 100 miles. We saw a few fish boats before we saw the coastline and flew on to Reykjavik. The approach here is quite impressive. Everything here is painted and clean but you see no chimneys or smoke. Iceland is still quite volcanically active and the city is heated with hot water as a result of this. We were here for about three days and one of the Loftleider pilots drove us out to see the bubbling and boiling mud flats and pools about twenty miles out and from here it is piped to the city. They have acres of greenhouses that are heated this way so have lots of fresh vegetables.

We were in Reykjavik for three days and a very pleasant time it was. The place is spotless and so is the air, and the hotels and eating places are good. We met Hugh Mann one night at supper. He is a captain for P.W.A. and was in Q.C.A. when I was there. We were both surprised. He was based here for about four to six weeks at a time. One crew would fly from Vancouver, then this crew would fly on to wherever the charter was going in Europe. The weather was quite mild and it was almost midnight before it was dusk. The Gulf stream is responsible for this weather. but I believe you would not go very far in from the south coast and things would be much different. They are at 64 degrees north latitude.

We had a fuel cache at a little fishing village called Hofan on the south east corner of Iceland. This seemed like a good plan originally but it had its drawbacks. We flew along the south coast but the ceiling was low with considerable rain. You could see small farms, but as you looked inland to where the rivers were running out from under the ice the terrain looked quite rough. The beaches are all black sand because of their volcanic origin. We landed beside our fuel cache and fuelled up, but now the weather was not suitable to go on. We were now out of contact with Reykjavik and could not work Varga in the Faeroes where we were going. We could phone back for forecasts but had to hold here for two days.

A few miles off the coast there is an island called Surtsie. We were unable to see it as we flew along the coast because of the limited visibility. This island was formed in 1963. I guess you could say that a volcanic phenomenon took place before their eyes. The fisherman in the area saw the water start to bubble and boil and with tremendous force heave up rocks of pumice and cinder in great quantity. This activity continued for several weeks and formed a good sized island. I talked to people in a little general store here and it was interesting to hear their stories. They were able to go out by boat and also to fly around the area. I inquired about pictures and was told that there were coloured slides for sale. That is how I acquired the pictures of this event and I have a paper that recorded some of the statistics about it. It was said to throw up 400,000 tons an hour with 100,000 times as much energy as Niagara Falls. The pictures certainly show the great ferocity of it with it’s great column of smoke and steam. With the molten lava spreading out to form the island, what a massive inferno of a furnace it appeared to be. The activity has all died down for now but I guess more of this could happen at anytime in an area like this. This must have been very startling to the fishermen and there probably were many boiled fish.

We once again had pretty good weather conditions so we were off to a place called Varga on the Faeroe Islands. There is an airport there which I believe was put there during W.W. 2. It was used by the R.A.F. as a base for escort and patrol work in this area of the North Atlantic. The German U-boats were a deadly menace to the convoys bringing supplies to the U.K. and allied forces. As you fly towards Varga you go down long fiords. From the shoreline the rock faces of the mountains rise very steeply and there is no beach in most places and there is no tree growth. They have a green colour which is all their own and the water has a green colour. There were some shorelines which sloped back with good looking grass for sheep grazing. Buildings looked clean and well painted with small villages along the shoreline. The trip to Varga went well and we were able to fuel here from a truck. Ross went out to check the weather but it was not suitable to proceed so we tied the machine. down. The Faeroes are Danish possessions. They have a bank at the airport so we proceeded to change some money. I made some enquiries 18 and found that there were two types of currency: Danish Kroner for international use and Faeroes Kroner which are good only oin the Island. One of our big shots said “Oh, I’ll have Faeroese”. When we got to Scotland he couldn’t change his Kroners so I guess he still has them.

The village of Varga is a few miles from the airport, located at the upper end of a big inlet, in the middle of which is a big mountain which looks like a huge haystack. The houses and all building were well painted and very clean. We checked into the hotel and after supper we went for a walk around the village. Everything is quite green and the gardens looked pretty good with a few small shrubs planted around them. From our position we now had two choices. We were at the apex of a triangle and could proceed on to Norway or veer southeast and fly across the Outer Hebrides Islands and on to the northwest coast of Scotland. The Hebrides and the northwest coast of Scotland have very rough terrain.

We flew to the airport at Prestwick, fuelled up, checked the machine and cleared customs. We now proceeded to a bank window to change Danish Kroner to British currency. We wore flying suits which were of a fire retardant material and a bright red colour. You are easy to spot in a crowd. A couple of American fellows came over and asked “Did you fellows come in on that S61 helicopter?” They were the crew from the airplane which was on picket duty between Greenland and Iceland. They figured we must be crazy when they spotted the helicopter across that stretch of water.

The weather the next morning was good so we were ready for the final leg of our trip. We were going down the west coast of Scotland and England to come in south of London to Gatwick Airport. The maps which had been procured for here were 16 miles to the inch and were certainly not very satisfactory with the density of villages, cities, and the terrain of southern England. Even with the best of weather there is always an industrial haze in that part of England. Ross asked me if I had any maps. I had road maps which I was going to use later for driving. He asked me to get them out and see what I could identify. I saw a place with many railroads coming in to it and said I thought it was possibly Reading. He said we would use that and we seemed to be right. We arrived at Gatwick and touched down in front of the B.E.A. helicopter hangar. The first unescorted helicopter trip across the Atlantic had been successfully completed. We were met by Fred Snell who was in charge of operations for Okanagan Helicopters for their North Sea operation.

The reason for us being in England was to service drilling rigs in the North Sea. Fred Snell had made reservations for us at the Old Bailey Hotel close to Sloan Square in London. Travelling the underground from here to Victoria Station and then a change and out to Gatwick was a daily routine. After a couple of days Ross Lennox and Tom Harrison went back to Montreal and Tom Scheer back to Vancouver. I was to be there until our helicopter was cleared to B.E.A. for some extensive modifications for British certification for operations on the North Sea.

Okanagan’s crews returned to Vancouver after six months. You can’t work with a Crown Company and make any money, you just help absorb half the loss. Okanagan said “This partnership has to cease, either we buy you out or you buy us”, so the taxpayers in Britain now own our share of this operation. I believe it could have been successful had we not been forced into this partnership. I enjoyed the Atlantic flight, the Paris Airshow, and our holidays, so I guess for me it was a success.

Now retired, Keith Rutledge is a pioneer helicopter engineer. He has many stories from his days with Okanagan Helicopters.

THE HUGHES H-4 Biggest Wooden Airplane Ready

Reprinted from October 1945 Canadian Aviation

The story of the Hughes H-4 originated in 1942 at the height of the submarine menace to allied shipping. Cargo carrying needs to transport vital war material overseas were mounting. Realizing the value of aircraft for this purpose the Government showed interest in the development of extremely large flying boats that could handle the enormous quantities and units necessary to an army in the field of combat.

The experience in mass production of ships by Henry J. Kaiser and the interest in aircraft development of Howard Hughes were combined into the Kaiser-Hughes Corp. for this undertaking. With the selection of the Hughes Aircraft Co. to do the design and construction of the experimental airplanes, the corporation was started on the vast project – the completion of the biggest airplane on record.

Design proposals were submitted to the Government in late summer of 1942 and on Nov. 6 a contract was let by the Defence Plant Corp., as the governmental agency, to design and construct airplanes.

Financing was done by the Government through the Kaiser-Hughes corporation with a contract to build the airplanes.

The original proposal called for a single hull flying boat of approximately 250,000 lb. When the builders considered the airplane was to be designed around an Army 60-ton heavy tank, the present size and gross weight of 400,000 lb. were established.

Other plans for the world’s largest airplane (land or water) decided on at this time were the following:

• Wingspread-320 ft. (20 ft. longer than a football field), 13 ft. thick at hull.
• Hull 220 ft. long, 30 ft. high (equal to a three story building),25 ft. wide.
• Power-Eight engines, 3,000 h.p., with 4-bladed propellers, each 17 ft. 2 in. from tip to tip.
• Fuel-14 tanks, each to hold 1,000 gallons of gas (approximately 42 tons of gas).
• Speeds High speed at sea level, 218 m.p.h.; cruising speed of 175 m.p.h.; landing speed 78 m.p.h.; distance of take-off about 5,500 ft., or just more than one mile.
• Gross Weight – 200 tons plus (Martin Mars is 72 tons).

When Finished this airplane could carry one 60- ton tank or three light tanks. It could accommodate 350 hospital patients in stretchers with doctors, nurse and surgery.

One of the unusual aspects of the Hughes H-4 is that it is built almost entirely of wood. Regular birch of the middle west Wisconsin and Michigan was selected because of past experiments with other woods and the strength weight ratio. Also, spruce of the quality desired was difficult to obtain. Hughes Aircraft used the Duramold process of wood lamination.

Aircraft construction never before had required the handling of such large components, especially with wood design. Extreme precaution had to be taken and maintained to prevent the parts and assemblies from being affected by moisture 20 and temperature changes. Outmoded methods and materials were found to be unsatisfactory and many new wood handling techniques were developed.

NACA engineers at Langley Field were consulted on the design of the hull. Their recommendations were used to give the best results in hydrodynamic characteristics. Preliminary designs of the hull were combined with the rest of the airplane and a 1/16 scale dynamic powered model was built for tests in the NACA tank. Results of these tests were found to be equal in good water characteristics to any model that had ever been tested and by comparison with other airplanes much better than the average.

Although birch was used mainly in the airplane other woods such as spruce, poplar, maple and some balsa, for fairings, were employed.

All birch parts are made from veneer varying from 1/64 in. to 1/8 in. thick and laminated together with glue. Because of the great lengths of most parts, it was also necessary to scarf ends of veneers together before lamination. Birch billets for the wing spars were 6 in. x 8 in. x 90 ft. Most spruce parts were made from solid stock, however, the longeron billets were 10 in. x 10 in. x 100 ft. and were built up of 3/16 in. laminations.

As glue lines over a few thousandths thick are detrimental to long life, every glue line was carefully checked and parts showing excessive lines were rejected.

It was found that the larger the part, the greater became the necessity of accurate moisture control during manufacture. All wood was preconditioned before use, then gluing was done in buildings held at constant humidity and temperature between 72 and 80 deg. F.

Part of the skin on the horizontal and vertical stabilizers is made of poplar plywood. Plywood skins with sharp or double curvature were made in Hughes’ own presses or by outside contractors to Hughes specifications which are more rigid that Army-Navy specifications. Extensive use is made throughout the ship of plywood angle sections developed by the plant.

Three different types of resin glues are used throughout the airplane. The plywoods used on outside surfaces, as well as in other parts of the structure, are bonded with a phenol formaldehyde resin which is cured by heating to 300 deg. F. The laminated members, such as spar caps, stringers, longerons and stiffeners were built up from veneers using a urea formaldehyde resin of the type curing at 70 deg. F. or above. This same resin was also used for most of the assembly work. Another resin, the medium temperature resorcinol formaldehyde type, became available after the project was well under way and was used in making the joints in the hull skin.

The task of ensuring that the millions of glued joints in the ship would all be of the same necessary strength was no mean one. A great deal of test work was done in developing the gluing procedures, many of which were originated for this project. In addition large numbers of production parts were destroyed in testing to ensure that quality was maintained. Colouring was added to identify the types of glue after use.

Extensive tests of major joints in wooden members were made over a period of three years. They were subjected to heat and cold and high and low moisture. Conditions in all their variations were tested until a completely stable joint was obtained. And no deterioration was noted in the final tests.

Hull is Temporarily Nailed

The hull is of all wood construction with the exception of a few metal fittings. The skin bulkheads and frames are of all birch construction while stringers are of composite birch and spruce design. The upper longeron is a 10 in. x 10 in. piece of spruce almost 100 ft. long.

Parts such as bulkheads and frames are fabricated by gluing the component parts together, using clamps for pressure. Glue pressure for skinning is obtained by nailing skins in place with thousands of small nails which are removed after the glue is cured. Approximately eight tons of these nails have been used. Single skin panels often require over 20,000 nails. To accomplish this task of driving and pulling nails, special nailing guns, and nail pullers were developed by company engineers and shop men.

The cargo floor was designed to carry a load of 125 lb. per sq. ft. The supporting frames have been designed so that by laying the proper planks across the floor any heavy piece of equipment up to and including the Army’s 50-ton tank can be rolled in under its own power and transported without dismantling.

The bottom skin is 1/2 in. thick and is designed to take much higher bottom pressures than those used on smaller flying boats.

The hull below the cargo deck is divided int 18 watertight compartments. If 2/3 of these were flooded, the ship would still remain afloat. The main gas tanks are housed in these compartments so that if a tank should leak the gasoline will not spread to other parts of the ship.

The exterior of the ship is finished with a special process developed by the company. It consists of one coat of wood filler, one coat of sealer which acts as a cement for a coat of thin tissue paper placed over it, and two coats of spar varnish and one coat of aluminized spar varnish. tissue paper was applied by regular paperhangers.

Even Nacelles Are Plywood

Eight of the largest air-cooled radial engines ever used are installed on the leading edge of the wing. Through a passage in front of the front spar, and then through the nacelles and firewall doors, the flight mechanic may inspect and make minor repairs and adjustments on each engine. All fuel, oil, hydraulic and pneumatic plumbing is routed along the spar providing for quick inspection. The Nacelle structures are all- wood and are mounted from the front spar by welded steel tube adapters. All cowling and other structure forward of the firewalls are all- metal.

Cooling air for the oil coolers and carburetors charge air are taken into their systems from a scoop underslung on the nacelle. The scoop fairing also encloses the oil coolers. A small oil tank sufficient to supply the engine for a reasonable time is located in each nacelle and may be refill at any time from a central oil reservoir by a semi- automatic control system.

Hydromatic, full-feathering, four-bladed propellers, 17 ft. in diameter are used, with the four inboard propellers also capable of being adjusted to produce reverse thrust. This feature will provide greater manoeuverability in water and assist in reducing speed after landing if necessary. To provide engine cooling conditions, such as taxiing, the propeller spinners include a blower fan.

The fuel system for the airplane produced several problems which are not prevalent on smaller aircraft or are of such proportions that they could be disregarded. Fourteen huge fuel tanks of over 1,000 gallons each store fuel in the hull. Two transfer pumps supply fuel from these tanks to a service tank in each wing. Each tank supplies fuel to four engines selected to give a lateral balance of power in the event that one tank, its booster pump or system fails.

In addition to this regular fuel supply system, a complete and separate system providing enough fuel at all engines for maximum power at the required pressure at the carburetor, from the hull storage tanks, is immediately available for emergency use.

The control of eight engines, all of them located at greater distances from the flight engineer and pilots than ever before, was a serious problem considering the delicacy of adjustment and accuracy of motion required by engine controls.

The engineers responsible for this task went to the railroading practice and borrowed from it the Pneudynes, with a long record of reliability in brake control. The Pneudynes are devices using compressed air for precisely transmitting very small motions at long distances. Furthermore, any position of the lever on the transmitting Pneudyne is maintained accurately on the receiving Pneudyne, for indefinite periods of time, even if the atmospheric temperature and pressure change during flight, provided of course that compressed air is available.

To secure the supply of compressed air, the ship is equipped with electrically driven compressors but does not depend on them during flight. These compressors provide the air supply and are operated automatically to maintain desired pressure in the air bottles. In event of compressor failure the air bottles have sufficient capacity to outlast a normal flight.

The pneumatic system is completely enclosed, requiring only a small amount of make-up air and is equipped with moisture absorbing devices to safeguard against freezing. All engine controls 22 are actuated by the Pneudynes from an impressive flight engineer’s station, the pilots controlling only the engine throttles.

Controls Hydraulically Moved

Due to their immense size, the control surfaces cannot be operated by the human effort of a pilot alone, but are actuated by a hydraulic telecontrol system which transmits the pilot’s controlling motions, and amplifies his efforts many times.

The operating power is supplied by electrically driven, high pressure, hydraulic pumps which provide oil to sensitive relay valves actuated by the pilot. The valves are operated by conventional piloting controls making the pilot unaware that he is controlling the ship indirectly.

To safeguard the safety of the ship during flight, each control surface is operated by two completely independent self-contained and individually sufficient telecontrol systems supplied with electric power from separate generators. In case of failure, due to any cause, of one of the hydraulic systems, the remaining one is designed to be completely capable of operating the control surfaces under all conditions of flight.

The trim tabs are operated electrically. In the cockpit there are toggle switches which move in the direction in which the plane will respond. Attached to the trim tabs are electric linear actuators which move the tabs.

(Editor’s Note: The CMFT owns several mahogany plywood corner beads made by the “Duramold” process which were manufactured for the Hughes Flying Boat.)

DONATIONS

The Museum gratefully acknowledges the receipt of the following donations of goods and cash received since publication of our last newsletter, and covering the period April 12, 1990 through February 28, 1991. (TR 3513 to 4142)

LARGE ARTIFACTS

Bennett, Len Craven, Harry Etzkorn, Jane Gardham, Fred Garner, Ollie Gatey, Mike Lyle, Daniel Pfoertner, R Royal BC Museum

SMALL ARTIFACTS

A & B Associates Jensen, Ken Aerospace Museum Assoc Johansen, Al Aviation Artifacts Johnson, Grant Bain, Mrs Douglas Klett, Inky Barnes, John R Krywiak, Ron Bell, Art Lang, Keith Bell, Mrs D Le Comte, Paul Boyko, Eugene Lee, W D Brett, Doug McTaggart, HD Browne, Jack Browning, WC Malet-Veale, Neville Martin, Ken Burrell, Al Martin, Patricia romie, Wayne Meyer, Andrew S Dadey, Don Morrison, lan Danyluk, Ken North Shore Museum Dines, Don Petit, RS Duthie, James Egeland, Andy Pigou, Jack Pitts, Michael Foulkes, Jim Goodall, Ken Porter, Charles Rothwell, Jack Goodyear Tyre Stevens, Colin Gregory, Ross Stewart, Ron Guilliford, Robert Sturgess, Ron Hancock, Mrs G Torjanowski, Marian Hedley, John Totem Amateur Radio CI Henry, Donna Turnaeck, Ivan Hewins, Margo (Lile, GH) Tyler, Mrs D M Hill, John Washington, Helen Hutchison, John D Weatherby, Sonny Irving, Hector Willis, Jack Jackson, Stoney Zalesky, Rose

BOOKS, MAGAZINES, LOGS, BROCHURES

Adams, Jim Adams, John Heakes, Bob Hedley, Slim Adams, Harry Hannay, JD Air Canada Hornsby, Cathy Hough, Cal Anderson, Jack Antonelli, Joe Hoye, Norman Apps, Tom Jackson, Stoney Avocett Books Johnston, Grant Baldwin, Robert Klechner, L Barnes, John R Klett, Inky & Norah Barry, Doug Blaugher, Michael A Knowles, Peter Maser, Madelaine Blenimi Publishing Macintyre, L Boisvert, Don McKenzie, Roy Bradford, John McLachlan, Jim Brandlmayr, Mrs P McLean, Don Bricklebank, Bernie McMann, Vic Briscoe, Roy Miden, Mrs. “Bobby” Burnett, George Molson, Ken Butzelaar, Barb Morrison, lan Canadian Milit Eng’s Mus National Aviation Museum Carnwath, James North Shore Museum Clark, John Nygren, Mrs. Violet Claxton A C Olson, Donald P Coates, Ralph Orphan, Mel Condit, John Paise, Mark Cornwath, Jim Palmer, Tom Cromie, Wayne Papenfus, John Daniel, Robert Peters, Allan Danyluk, Ken Powley, Dennis Davies, TE Rooke, Ken DesRosiers, Gerald Rotary Club of White Rock Dougen, Aileen Rowell, Fred Dunn, Tom Royal Canad. Air Cadets EAA Aviation Foundation Ruemke, Mrs D Edwards, Harold Rutledge, Keith Elkan, Charles Rutledge, Margare Foulkes, Jim Shelley, Irene Fordham, Harry Sissons, Wayne Fossheim, Elmer Skehor, Peter Foster, Ed Skolovy, Fred Foster, Shannon-Leigh Smith, Robert Frankish, Dick Smithsonian Instit Press Fraser, Archie Southerby’s Gardiner, William Skowronski, Robert Gatey, Mike Stevens, Colin General Store Publishing Strange, Douglas Gerow, Earl Sutherland, Shirley Gilbert, Mrs PR Thomas, Dan Gilmore, John Thomas, Don Goodall, Ken Turnaeck, Ivan Gordey, Steve Tyler, Mrs D M Griffith, Iris Vincent, Gary Grisenthwaite, JW Walkley, Terry

War Amputees of Canada Williamson, George Windrom, W Warwick, Mrs Barbara Watkins, Ted Wingspan Publishing Wodz, Steve Watling, William F Williams, Barbara Shearwater Aviation Mus Shelley, Irene Simmons, Dennis Skowronski, Bob Smith, Bill Smith, Joe Stacey, Brian Stevens, Harry Stevens, James C Stewart, Malcolm A Studio Colleen Thompson, Wilma Transport Canada Vacher, Daphne Watson, Christine Weeks, Mike Wikene, Ingy Williamson, George Wodz, Steve Yankee Air Museum Zalesky, Rose

UNIFORMS, MEDALS, CRESTS

Bennett, Stephen Hamilton, Mrs. Colin Binno, Paul Lingham, John Brouwer, TJ Matthews, Michael Brown, Gordon McGillis, Beth Bricklebank, Bernie MacKinnon, lan Buonanotte, Antonio Moir, Mrs. C D Nygren, Mrs Violet Coates, Ralph Coulter, Ann Tarnowsky, Mars Duthie, James

PHOTOS, PRINTS, MEMORABILIA

15th Field Regiment Adams, Bob Hoare, Vera Hutchison, John D Anderson, Cliff Johnston, Grant Anvid McBeaver Kapty, Nick Armstrong, Beryl Apps, Tom Klechner, L Klett, Inky & Norah Barry, Doug Beautyway Knowles, Peter Krywiak, Ron Bell-Irving, D Gordon. Larkin, LP Bennett, Stephen Leak, Norman Long, Ed Berntsen, Bernt Biesbroek, Digna Mallet-Veale, Neville Macgowan, Michael Blakey, Richard Brandlmayr, Mrs P Burke, Brian McConnell, Ron McDonnell Douglas Burns, Ed McKay, John McLeod Road Elementary Sch Canadian Airlines Christoffersen, A MacMillan Bloedel Clark, John McMullen, Cindy Claxton MacPherson, Ken Coates, Ralph Conair Aviation Minaker, Russ Martin, Ken Condit, John Miden, Mrs “Bobby” Crawford, Gary Moore, Lin Currie, Robert Morda, Louis Danyluk, Ken Morrison, lan Dong, Donald National Defence Duthie, James Nichol, Marjorie Fane, Roly Nikiforuk, Blair Fawkes, George Niven, Larry Feast, Arnold Oakhouse Publishing Fleet Industries Olson, Donald P Forrest, Charles Paise, Mark Foster, Ed Papenfus, John Fraser, Doug (Nfld) Patten, DJ Gardham, Edna Palmer, Tom Gatey, Mike Gerow, Earl PPI Publishing Pratt, Ross W Goguillot, Gogi Gough, Bill Quay Publications (UK) Radziul, Diane Gregory, Ross Rempel, Brian Haan, Kevin Ruemke, Mrs D Hedley, Slim Rutledge, Margaret Henry, Donna Sabena Airlines Hinch, Val Sainsbury, Mark

TOOLS, EQUIP, FURNITURE, FIXTURES, SUPPLIES

Industrial Formulators A&B Rail Klett, Inky & Norah Anderson, Cliff Krywiak, Ron Anderson, Jack Arctic Covers Little, Darryl Loewen, Hart Beale, Richard Meadows, Jack Botting, Allan Miden, Mrs “Bobby Brett, Doug Bricklebank, Bernie Miller, William Montezuma, Mont Clark, John Moore, Lin Coles, George Morrison, lan Daniel, Robert Ness, CA Dines, Don Pacific Avionics Fairlane Fire Prevention Pearson, Doroth Fraser, Archie PPI Publishing Gatey, Mike Scott, Al & Eileen Gerlach, Walter Semiahmoo Sr. High Goodall, Ken Skowronski, Rober Graham, Keith Smith, Robert Gregory, Ross Stevens, Colin Hamilton, Colin Stacey, Brian Hampton, William Thompson, WA Harding, Roy Turner, William Ronald SJ Coles & Sons Sheet Met Hedley, Slim Vernon, Jerry Helmer, Norm Wallace, Laurie Holmes, Vince Wragg, Graham Hough, Herb Wilks, Ed 24

CASH

MODELS, PLANS, DRAWINGS

Japan Airlines Atlee, Mrs Aviation Artifacts Johnston, Grant B & B Scale Models Martin, Ken Brandlmayr, Mrs. P McCartney, Denny Bricklebank, Bernie Morrison, lan Crawford, Garry Gatey, Mike Pinz, John Rozen, Edward Sealand Imports Hoye, W Norman Power, Peter Prothero, Bert Rempel, Brian Rennie, Charles Richardson, Bernard Robinson, Jane Ross, Lois M Royal Canadian Legion Rozen, Edward Scott, Mike Small, C S Sorko, Ken Spencer, William Stacey, Brian Stampe Club (U.K.) Stevens, Mark Street, Sheila Tarnowsky, Mars Tobias, Cyril Thompson, WA Van Humbeck, Gerry Vernon, Jerry Wagner, Gordon Watson, Don Wells, Ronald White, Thomas D Williamson, George Wikene, Ingy Wrightman, D, and Greene, L Zalesky, Rose

SERVICE

This is a new category, and therefore does not include all the names of people and organizations who have provided a service

Betz, Alan R Garner, Ollie Harding, Roy Rogers Cable TV Goodyear Canada Thompson, W A CASH Anderson, Ed Argue, W J Heather, Bill Hewlett, Frank L Aveling, Ed Ballentine, Gordon Hilton, Edith Hinch, Val F Bertalino, Joe Hitchens, F G Bethell, Mike Horswill, J B Boyd, Ewan Hughes, W. Bjorge, Kenneith E Bomber Command Assn. Irving, Arthur Jackson, Barry Kamm, Richard Bricklebane, Bernie: B.C. Ambulance Service B.C. Tel Empl Com Fund Klaholz, John Kennedy, James Buckham, Greg Cameron, Robert B Klatt, Gary Klett, Norah Champniss, Bev Knowles, Peter Chapple, Gar Koehler, Hank Chester, CA Krywiak, Ron Coates, W B Coles, George Langford, Mike Lannon, Walt Lee, Graham Craven, Harry Crawford, Ray Lee, W. Douglas Curry, Dave Legg, William Lions Bay Ambul Servi Danyluk, Ken Davis, C.J. Logan, Jeff Dewberry, Mary McClenahan, Marilyn. Dryden, Peter McVicar, Don Madill, John Eustis, Al Estate of James Camden Miller, Phyllis Marshall, lan Emerslund, Bill Fairview Sheet Metal Maser, Donna Moffoot, Dr A G Farren, MD Feast, Arnold Morrison, lan Fossheim, Elmer Muir, Keith Foster, Ed Nadort, Ed Fox, Thomas P Fraser, Archie Neville-Smith, Ken Niven, Larry Fraser, Doug Nutter, Ralph Nygren, Violet Gardham, Edna Gatey, Mike Ophan, Mel Gay, G Gerow, Earl Palmer, Tom Paxton, Lawrie Gilmore, John Petite, Robert Pickup, Dr Jack Hampdon, Bert Hayward, Alvin Pierce, RE

Special Events such as the British and European Car Meet (above), and Wings & Wheels are an opportunity to promote the Museum.

This Sopwith Camel replica is another exhibit that we cannot display outdoors.

The Museum’s Waco INF CF-CJR, presently on loan to the Transportation Museum of British Columbia in Cloverdale

The followng item comes from the San Francisco Chronicle, Aug 19, 1986

ROCKET RIDE IN TURKEY IN 1633

A Norwegian firm said yesterday that it will try to salvage the wreckage of what Turkish historians say is a manned rocket that fell into the waters off Turkey in 1633.

Svein Kjar, a managing director of Marest Ltd., a firm specializiang in maritime maps and ocean surveying, said it will search for the rocket this winter if a partner for the venture can be found.

The Air Museum in Istanbul asked Marest to undertake the search. According to historical records cited by the museum, Lagari Hasan Celebi, a Turk, flew the gun powder-powdered steel rocket to amuse the daughter of Sultan Murad Khan IV on her birthday.

Celebi is said to have jumped from the rocket 300 yards above the Bosporus, the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and landed with the aid of what the records describe as “eagle wings.”

IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP VALID?

The address label lists your expiry date at the top right hand corner. If it’s due or overdue, please renew it right away.

If there is a mistake in your name, address or expiry date, please call or drop a note, and include your label so we know what has to be fixed.

GST is included in your membership fee, so your total cost for general membership is still just $20.00.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP benefits include:

• 10% discount on most items in the Gift Shop Free admission to the exhibits during open season
• Free admission to special events (provided you have your valid membership card ready)
• Invitations to attend all Museum functions
• The opportunity to work with the Museum to make it grow and succeed.

Other membership categories include:

• FAMILY MEMBERSHIP all members of immediate family residing at the same address. When applying provide all names for card issuance. $30.00 including GST
• LIFETIME this has to be the greatest bargain of all time. Of the $300. fee, $200. is considered a donation, so you will be sent a Tax Deductible Receipt for $200.
• FRIEND designed for those with limited funds, or simply want to keep in touch but not become involved. Friend members receive the newsletter, free admission to the exhibits during open season, but are not entitled to a discount in the gift shop or other benefits. $10.00 including GST

NEW EXHIBIT HOURS IN 1991

Exhibits re-open for viewing on May 11, and close October 13 as usual, but hours will be 10 to 4 rather than 9 to 4.

NEW ENTRANCE FEES

We are now self-supporting, like it or not, and must raise out entry fees.

• General Admission…. (adult, seniors, youth) .$3.
• Children under 6……. free.

These rates will also apply at special events such as Wings & Wheels, etc.

FREE ADMISSION

Your membership includes free admission to the Museum. Bring a friend or a relative (admission fees apply), and come often. Members are also offered free admission to special events, but in this case, you must have your valid membership card ready. Ticket takers are too busy to give you special consieration.

Members of other aviation museums also receive free entry on showing a current membership card.

John Rutherford’s painting of Norseman MKII CF-AZE against a background of the North Shore Hills (Vancouver, BC) as it might have looked during its operational years on the B.C. Coast in the 1930’s graces the cover of CMFT’s upcoming book “Pioneering Aviation in the West”.

John now resides in Comox, BC, and takes commissions for any aviation subject. Contact him direct at 1505 Dogwood Ave, Comox, BC, V9N 5W9, (604) 339-4335