Canadian Museum of Flight

Newsletter March, 1983 No. 20

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Museum Newsletter

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION March, 1983 No. 20

Your Vote is Needed

Set aside Thursday, April 21, to attend the 8 p.m. meeting at 13527 Crescent Road, Surrey, the farm storage site.

Fifteen directors are to be elected, 10 from the mainland and 5 from Vancouver Island. Directors are required to attend monthly meetings, as well as the general meetings which are held bi-monthly except in summer and over Christmas. They must be prepared to accept the responsibility and make the commitments necessary to carry out the business of the society.

Nominations for the appointed positions of president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer are also requested, as well as for the various committees which include air show, display and gift shop, recovery and transport, newsletter, membership and a new committee to be struck for research and oral history.

Put forward your nominations immediately, or indicate your willingness to stand for any of these positions, to Eileen Weeks, who is the nominating committee. She can be contacted at 531-4566, days or evenings, or write her c/o the storage site address, prior to April 15, 1983.

Phoenix Awakes

Thanks to a grant from the Canada Manpower/B.C. Ministry of Labour Community Recovery Program, CMFT’s Phoenix Wings project is now aloft. A dozen apprentice aircraft mechanics are now working full time on the restoration of our de Havilland Tiger Moth and Mosquito. (See photo, back cover).

A tremendous boost to the museum’s efforts to preserve Canada’s aviation heritage, the program sees the apprentices receiving extended benefits and recognized credit towards their AME licences.

CMFT’s recognition as an official technical vocational training facility would not have. come about without considerable assistance from the Pacific Vocational Institute (PVI). Most of the apprentices are graduates from PVI’s Sea Island campus and were laid off from their jobs in the aviation industry prior to receiving that essential AME licence. PVI has arranged for the apprentices to receive full Transport Canada credit. Supervision is provided by a cadre of skilled professionals drawn from CMFT’s ranks.

These projects demonstrate the valuable. benefits a “working” museum brings to the community, both now and in the years to come.

NOTICE OF MEETINGS

  • March 18, Friday St. Patrick’s Day Dinner/Dance
  • April 21, Thursday CMFT Annual General Meeting and Elections
  • September 15, Thursday
  • November 17, Thursday
  • CMFT Executive Meetings are held the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m.

Welcome

With this issue of the Newsletter, we are pleased to welcome Adele Hatch and Tony Day to the editorial staff. Adele is now the museum’s Vancouver Island correspondent and Tony has contributed a personal account of Canadian flying medical evacuations in Burma.

The Newsletter invites contributions. Remember, most of the history of Canadian aviation and aviators remains unwritten.

NEWS BRIEFS 2nd Manpower Grant Aids Mosquito Rebuild Project

A second Manpower/Ministry of Labour project has been arranged to speed up work on the Mosquito rebuild. As with the Tiger Moth project, UIC recipients get extra money for participating. More important, it is an opportunity for aircraft mechanic maintenance apprentices to carry on with their apprenticeship training under an agreement with the MOT and supervising engineers. Mike Meeker and Mark Mohan are looking after the administration of the project and Gordon Keith (Chief Engineer, Conair) is the overseeing “B” engineer. Ron Bestward will continue to supply assistance and Mark Fortune and Wayne Manning complete the crew.

The museum office is in need of plain bond, 8½”x11″ copy paper for the photo copier. Any donations would be appreciated.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Fred Hemming for the donation of his beautiful -scale SE5A replica. It’s got a new license, and a place to stay over the winter courtesy of the donor. It will be a very welcome addition to our air show displays. (Photo is of QGL’s sister ship).

The results from the questionnaire mailed with the last issue of the newsletter are now in. Members voted (marginally) for meetings to be held at the farm storage site, once every other month. The alternate dinner meetings were voted down. You’ll still see full minutes reported, by request. A number of lapel pins were destroyed by the post office, so we have stopped sending them. You’ll have to attend a meeting to get yours, and remember, you only get one if you send in a completed questionnaire.

Some very good material has been coming in for our permanent collection, our office and shop. Our special thanks go out to Joseph and Bea Gregory, Ross Kimmerly, Tony Swain, Bill Emerslund, Gordon Peters, Business Aircraft Corp., Albert and Barb Rodgers, Mike Marchuk, PVI, Bill Merrikan, Roy Willis, Irene Richards, Aeropower, Inc., Gordon Emerslund, Barry Franklin, Fred Hemming, Uwe Schmidt, Jack Campbell, Brad Anderson, John Whittle, M. L. Hughes, Ted Turner, Langley Centennial Museum, lan Morrison, Art Fox, Cy F. Tinley, Lloyd Bungey, John Moutray, K. A. MacKenzie, Roy Briscoe, W. F. Maddrell, Mike Meeker, Trevor Lemaire, United Airlines, Inc., Beta Industries, Mike MacGowan, A. Christoferrsen, Ed Foster, lan Macdonald, Bill Campbell, Harry Fordham, Bruce Duncan, James Gallinger, Noralco Management, Ted Hanis, John Moore, June McEachern, Dr. A. J. Prothero, Tom Palmer, Mark Adams, Peter DeVries, Gerry van Humbeck, D. H. Reumke, Betty Wadsworth and Wayne Cromie. Donations listed here are for goods and money only. We also want to thank all of you who come out and help. Your efforts to help us grow are appreciated.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

Please check your address label, the date on the upper right hand corner is the date your membership expires. Send in your $15 annual renewal today. CMFT needs your support. Thanks to all of you who have already renewed your memberships.

The formal general meeting scheduled for March 17, 1983, has been cancelled, and in its place there will be the 3rd annual dinner dance, to be held at St. Paul’s Church Hall, 8251 St. Alban’s Road, Richmond, B.C. The bar opens at 6 p.m. and dinner will be at 7p.m.

The meal will be Chinese food, buffet style, after which a short fun auction will be held, and then on with the dancing. Price is $8 per person in advance. Make your reservations early by calling John Moutray at 277-9439 or Rose Zalesky at 531-3744. Last year’s no-shows created problems as food was sold at cost and we ordered for many more people then turned up. Please bring a small item, with a value of about $3, to be auctioned off. Time for the auction will be limited to 40 minutes so as not to interfere with the other festivities.

Heat for the shop is provided by a double-barrel heater, which uses a lot of wood. The thanks of the 14 or so people who work in the shop in comfort go out to Mike and Gary Thompson of Pender Harbour and Bill Thompson for the delivery runs. Our appreciation also to Big John Rentals of Richmond for the free use of a portable “John” for the duration of the project.

Work bees will be scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 10-3 starting in mid-March. Phone first in case of last-minute changes.

Someone saw fit to pop open all the hatches on the Beech at Abbotsford, and generally do damage, including the theft of the astro-dome. We’re looking for a donation of a replacement with the attaching ring. We also need the special Beechcraft wrenches used to take the wings off. The PVI disassembly crew were thwarted in their efforts to render it roadable by the lack of these tools.

A great idea to raise the money for an initial payment for the Fort Langley Airport has been put forth. We now have 670 members. If one quarter of the members loaned, interest-free, $1,000 or more to CMFT, we would have a substantial down payment, allowing us to proceed with the purchase. The loan would be repaid at some time in the future when funds became available. Or you could make it an outright donation and take advantage of a tax-free deduction. Your name will go on a permanent plaque as one of the originating benefactors, indicating your faith in the museum. Send in your money today. It will be put into a trust fund and refunded in full if the purchase does not go through.

Ted Wixted, the librarian at the Brisbane Museum, Australia, is looking for any information relating to the period of time spent in the Vancouver area by Frank Kingsford-Smith in his younger days. Please pass on any leads to Jerry Vernon, at 420-6065, evenings, or write CMFT.

We Repeat…

you can be a part of the effort to insure that our priceless relics are preserved and properly cared for through future generations if you include in your will a bequest to the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation. You may bequeath cash, securities and real or personal property to the permanent Endowment Fund where the income from your memorial will continue helping to support the museum. Or you may choose a special purpose such as constructing buildings, acquiring important relics, the reference library, or renovation or restoration of an exhibit.

You will find that a living trust will secure your wishes while providing income for you or your designate for the rest of your lives.

Think of the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation as you look to the future.

FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND Storage Shed Now Complete

Vancouver Island chapter is pleased to announce the completion of their new storage shed.

Situated on Gary Moonie’s property in Saanich, it is a good-looking, 48’x24′ woodframe building resting on a concrete pad.

Work started in February, 1982, and it has taken about 8 months to build with the help of many museum members. The weather was extremely cold in the early stages of construction and a two- inch overnight snowfall covered the freshly poured concrete pad. The shed has two 16’x10′ doors for easy access and features wooden roof trusses for strength.

Our current star, a 1952 Auster, is presently housed in the shed alongside a vintage Gruneau Baby Glider and other sundry items. Thanks for help on the project go to Gary Moonie, Dave and Peter Knowles, Ron Stone, Tom Palmer, Ward Stocker, Charles Knowles, Phil and Geoff Spencer-Davies, Val Hirch, John King, Howie de Graff, John C. (Grizzly) Lyne, Brent Palmer, Bruce Hopkins, Laurie Wicks, Geoff and Lou Wyner and Bruce Jubb.. We would like to say a special word to Tom Palmer who made an extremely generous donation which purchased the tin roof.

Gary Moonie deserves thanks for his astute horse trading, as do Betty Wadsworth and Jack Sanderson who helped so much to defray costs.

A wine and cheese party was held Dec. 11, 1982, at the Pacific Centre for Human Development. A good turnout of members enjoyed the large array of goodies.

A Christmas toast was proposed by President Dave Jones and a very impressive cake was cut to round out the evening. Thanks to all who helped to organize a happy and successful event.

A work bee is to be held at Gary Moonie’s property. We are looking for volunteers to build a lean-to behind the storage shed to house, cover and protect the Fairchild, helicopters and other parts.

If anyone can help, please call Dave Jones at 479-4582 so we can set up a date.

We would like to express our thanks to Spencer Davies for the donation of a cash register.

NOTICE OF MEETING

Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation, Vancouver Island Branch, holds meetings on the last Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m., at the Bay Street Armouries. Please use the Field Street entrance. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Boeing Factory Tour Scheduled

Vancouver Island members are planning a weekend trip to Seattle and tour of the Boeing 747 and 767 plant in Everett and the Red Barn Museum at Boeing Field for the weekend of March 18-19-20.

The cost is around $80 which will include two nights accommodation at the Mayflower Hotel in Seattle and bus transportation to and from the Island.

They have room for 44 persons on the bus and 20 have already been booked. If you are interest- ed in going, call Dave Jones at 479-4582 soon.

DIG THAT CRAZY NAME!! Is It Waco, Wacko, Wah-co??

By Jerry Vernon

In 1921, Clayton J. Brucker and Elwood J. Junkin founded the Weaver Aircraft Company in Advance, Ohio, and hence the brand name “Waco” was born, not in Waco, Texas, as many have thought. The company was so named in order to capitalize on the name and popularity of wellknown barnstormer George “Buck” Weaver, who started out as a minority partner in the firm, along with aircraft designer Charlie Meyers.

As to the pronunciation of the make, is it “Wayco”, “Whacko” or “Wah-co”??? In spite of this writer’s careless pronunciation, and to the disappointment of many airshow and radio announcers, it is properly enunciated as “Wah-co”.

After building one aircraft (the Waco Model 4) in 1921 and three (Waco Model 5) in 1922, the partners reorganized their company in 1923 as the Advance Aircraft company in nearby Troy, Ohio. Their first product was the Waco Model 7, of which five were built and sold in 1923. The model 8 was an 8-passenger cabin biplane, followed by the steel-fuselage Model 9, of which 164 were sold in 1926 at a price of $2250. 1928 production soared to 635 aircraft, and was now centred on the popular Model 10, most frequently powered by the OX-5 engine. In 1929, the Model 10 was redesignated as the Model GXE-the first of their confusing 3-letter series-and the company was renamed the Waco Aircraft Company, to at least ease a little of the confusion! 1929 also saw the introduction of the Taperwing model, an out- and-out acrobatic aircraft (for that day and age). Apart from the Model 8, all the other early Wacos were open-cockpit 3-seaters.

It would take an entire book to elaborate on the complicated Waco letter designation system. Suffice it to say, the first letter denoted the engine type, the second letter the wing design and the third the Waco series. Consequently, the museum’s Waco INF is part of a family of RNF, KNF, INF and MNF, set apart from each other by the engine installed at any given time.

The Waco ‘F’ incorporated many new features, such as a 50% stagger of the upper and lower wings, greatly improving pilot visibility. The Model Falso featured the innovation of the modified Heinkel truss in the wings, which simplified the number of exposed wires.

The first ‘F’ model was the Model RNF, powered by the 110 hp Warner Scarab, which was granted Approved Type Certificate 311 on April 7, 1930. The first Waco RMF was s/n 3222.

As in previous years, Waco continued their policy of offering their customers a choice of power plants. Thus, on April 12, 1930, Approved Type Certificate 313 was issued for the Model KNF, powered by the 100 hp Kinner K-5. This aircraft was s/n 3223.

In order to provide more power, the Model RNF was soon upgraded to the 125 hp Warner Scarab with no change in model designation- while the Kinner version was re-engined with the Kinner B-5 of 125 hp, thus becoming the Model INF, due to some minor changes involved. Approved Type Certificate 345 was issued to the first INF, s/n 3320 (NC133Y) on August 2, 1930.

There was also a Model MNF, powered by the 125 hp Menasco C-4, in-line engine, but only 4 are known to have been produced. The price of the Waco ‘F’ series was in the order of $4100- $4300, and production continued from 1930 to 1933.

The museum’s Waco INF, s/n 3324 (NC605Y), was produced in July, 1930, as a Model KNF, and modified several years later to its present INF configuration.

WACO NOW A SHOWPIECE CMFT Classic a Survivor Of Numerous Accidents

By Jerry Vernon

The museum’s Waco INF, at age 52%, ranks among the oldest half-dozen aircraft still flying in Canada. A visitor to Vancouver and Victoria when just two months old, it continues to please crowds with its vintage lines.

NC605Y, s/n 3324, was produced in July, 1930, as a Waco Model KNF, carrying a 100 hp Kinner K- 5 engine. Since that time, it has spent over 50 years based in Washington, California and B.C. The initial owner was Lee O. Cox, of Seattle and Chicago, vice-president of the Conlon Corporation, producers of “electric washing and ironing machines for the home.” The Waco was used as a ‘corporate aircraft’, flown by Lee Cox or hired pilots.

The first of many accidents to NC605Y occurred on September 27, 1930, at Victoria, B.C., necessitating new landing gear, new wing, new struts, new spars, etc. from the factory. Further mishaps took place in Seattle on June 18, 1931, and Sunnyside, Wash. on November 18, 1931, the latter requiring a further shipment of spars, ribs and other wing parts from Troy, Ohio. During March, 1932, a low-flying incident at Enumclaw, Wash. brought about some lower fuselage repairs and a 6-month suspension for pilot Tommie Taylor for low flying and flying with an expired licence. Total airfame hours had already mounted to 480 by February, 1932, and 640 by August, 1932.

An accident on March 12, 1933, at Seattle required the fabrication of a plywood motor plate. This was followed by a further Seattle crash on May 7, 1933, that required not only another motor plate but also complete new spars for the upper and lower right wings, centre section, and considerable repair and straightening to the fuselage and motor mount. In 1933, a radio was installed in the aircraft.

In February, 1935, NC605Y was converted from a Model KNF to an INF by Northwest Air Services of Seattle, using a Waco factory kit-motor mount, oil tank and a Kinner B-5 engine (125 hp). One result of this was an increased empty weight and reduced payload. A Hamilton steel propeller had been installed in 1933, and there was some argument at this time with the CAA over the extra weight involved, and the possibility that either some equipment should be removed or the passenger capacity be reduced to one. This was not sorted out until 1940, when the Waco was “restored to original specifications” by installation of a wooden prop and removal of battery, landing lights, radio, etc.

In March, 1938, the aircraft was sold to Lana Robert Kurtzer, of Kurtzer Flying Service, of Seattle, who had been flying the biplane for Cox since at least 1933. By this time, the total recorded hours were 2305:40. Kurtzer kept the aircraft until August, 1940, when he sold it to Albert Griffith, president of Southern California Flyers, San Diego, California, to be based at Peiks Airfield, San Diego.

Over the following years, the aircraft changed hands many times within the State of California. Further damage was caused to the lower left wing in an accident on March 15, 1943. During this repair, the front cockpit was changed from 2-place to single place, using a seat from a Fleet 2. Between 1943 and 1970, there were 13 changes of ownership, several rebuilds and 5 recoverings of the airframe. Unfortunately, the owners’ records. and logbooks were lost around 1953. The next recorded accident was in 1970, resulting in spar repair to the lower right wing and the fifth stripping and recovering job.

The last U.S. owner, Don “Kinner” Brown, found the Waco in a chicken coop and owned it from 1959 until he sold it to Canadian Specialties, Langley, B.C. (Russ Clancy) in September, 1972. Clancy then sold CF-CJR to CMFT supporter Mike Meeker, of Mission, B.C. in June of 1975. Following a ground loop incident in 1976, and yet another wing rebuild, the Waco was donated by Mike Meeker to the museum in December, 1979.

The aircraft currently flies in the original 3-seat configuration, 2 in front and one in the back.

Ownership Record Waco INF NC605Y/CF-CJR

  • 30 Jul 30: Lee O. Cox, Seattle, Wash.
  • 04 Mar 38: Lana Frank Kurtzer, Seattle, Wash.
  • 14 Aug 40: Albert Griffith, San Diego, Calif.
  • 27 Sep 41: Southern California Flyers, San Diego, Calif.
  • 16 Nov 42: Chaffey Junior College, Ontario, Calif.
  • 06 Dec 43: Willis Maxon and Leslie Shuck, West Covina, Calif.
  • 10 Nov 44: Willis Maxon, West Covina, Calif.
  • 09 Jul 45: Robert Moran, Altadena, Calif.
  • 24 Aug 45: G. McEuen, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • 07 Aug 48: W. H. Coffin Air Service, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • 07 Aug 48: Kirk Hime and Joe Hitch, El Centro, Calif.
  • 16 Jun 49: Noel Arthur Sharp, Mecca, Calif.
  • 20 Mar 50: Donald Bunnell, Desert Centre, Calif.
  • Jul 53: Neville Ghyst, San Bernadino, Calif.
  • 21 Jan 56: Dan Davis, Banning, Calif.
  • 14 Apr 56: Joe Pfeifer, Santa Susana, Calif.
  • 11 Dec 56: Robert Sherwood, Santa Susana, Calif.
  • 01 Aug 59: Don Brown, Santa Paula, Calif.
  • 19 Sep 72: Canadian Specialties, Langley, B.C.
  • 11 Jun 75: Michael Meeker, Mission, B.C.
  • 21 Dec 79: Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation

New Members

Bruce Guest, Vancouver; Ted Turner, Pender Island; Ken Higgins, Coquitlam; Brad Kerr, Burnaby; Brian Crooks, Kelowna; Randie Diston, Fort St. James; Harry Stephens, Surrey; James Gallinger, Lazo, B.C.; E. S. Booth, Richmond; Neil Croft, West Vancouver; Kenneth Reid, Coquitlam; Sharyl Brown, White Rock; Gordon Emersland, Vancouver; Mrs. Bruce MacDonald, Islington, Ont.; Bill Hosford, Edmonton, Alta; Derek Copeland, Surrey; Dave O’Bryne, Victoria.

The following is a newspaper account of one ofthe many accidents that befell the museum’s Waco INF. It is taken from the September 28, 1930 edition of The Daily Colonist in Victoria.

Three Escape Injury When Plane Crashes Into Roller And Overturns at Airfield

Miraculously escaping serious injury, a trio of visitors arriving to spend the weekend in Victoria, received only cuts and bruises when their plane overturned at Lansdowne Road Airport shortly before 6 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

The propeller was torn off the machine, the engine badly twisted on its base, the covering torn off and the tip of one wing broken.

Flying from Vancouver Airport, which they left at 4:45 o’clock in a Waco F type plane, pilot Lee Cox of Seattle, accompanied by J. J Martin and C. G. Hooper, both from Tacoma, arrived over the Lansdowne Road field in good time and made a perfect landing. Being a stranger to the field, pilot Cox missed the runway and, coming down to one side of it, ran into two empty gasoline drums made into a roller and left out in the open.

Crawled From Under

The occupants of the plane did not see the roller as the plane sped over the field, the drums being rusty and the colour of the ground. Turning completely over on the impact, the three men were underneath the machine but managed to extricate themselves without trouble.

The plane belonged to pilot Cox, who was making the round of northwest cities to familiarize himself with the available landing facilities.

Following the smashup, the plane was placed in the hangar by a wrecking car and crew from Eve Brothers. Pilot Cox was undecided last night as to just what would be done to the machine. It was a 1930 model, two months old, and carried no crash insurance.

Restoration Now Underway On Bolingbroke Turret

By Wayne Cromie

Restoration has begun on the gun turret from the Bolingbroke Mk. IV which arrived from Dauphin, Manitoba, last fall.

Ron Krywiak and I removed it from the fuselage after sweating it out for a day, and transported it to Rob Kennedy’s home for a complete overhaul.

Dismantling of the numerous components which make up the turret was a fairly straight-forward operation until the crew came to the elevation ram. After so many years out in the open, farm dust had settled into the upper brass ram bearing and this, combined with rain, snow and what have you, had severely corroded the upper portion of the ram, causing it to seize in the bearing. Even with liberal applications of numerous types of releasing agent, it refused to budge, so the decision was made (with great apprehension) to saw through it. This done, it came out like greased lightning.

At this stage, the turret was now totally dismantled and work started to repair all components. Through the generous donation of machinery and time by Gerry Peabody of Westinghouse of Canada Service Division in Richmond, all parts were beadblasted and cleaned. New main bearings were gratefully donated by Wilf Rice of Bearing Supply Ltd., as the originals were cracked in the outer races. Friends of mine were instrumental in machining a new elevation ram after it had been determined the original was mild steel and not some exotic tool steel. I was constantly turning new pins and shafts on my own small lathe at home and drilling out broken ones.

The next job to be tackled was the dismantling of the turret top. All the sections of perspex were smashed, but our Vancouver Island chapter came through with an observers’ top in A-One condition (Thanks, guys!). All the panels look as if they were just made-no scratches, cracks or crazing. Evidently our top had sliding doors which slid sideways when the guns were being fired, but have disapeared with the passage of time. Anyone got two spares?

All the hydraulics were overhauled and tested by the competent crew at the Pacific Vocational Institute under the direction of Gordon Peters.

Refitting of the various components is currently at a standstill, pending arrival of a turret manual from England. Also expected from England is the gunner’s seat.

Upon completion of reconstruction, the plan is to mount the turret on a wheeled base to use at mall shows, until such time as the whole aircraft is restored. For this purpose an electric motor- driven hydraulic pump, capable of 400 psi, is required. We would also like to put in a couple of dummy guns, but cannot find any real ones or drawings from which we can copy. Can anyone out there help with these two needs? Please write Wayne Cromie at 8580 Osgoode Place, Richmond, B.C., V7A 4M5, or call 277-3394.

COVER PHOTO:

Lockheed 10A Electra, CF-AZY, is pictured here at Sea Island in December, 1936. Standing in front of the aircraft (1. to r.) is the Canadian Airways crew of First Officer Harry Winnie, Captain E. P (Billy) Wells and Flight Engineer Gordon C. Bolger. CF-AZY was purchased in July, 1936, for Canadian Airways Vancouver-Seattle passenger service.

Delta Air Park To Remain Open

Latest word is that Delta Air Park will remain open on a limited basis, with very strict and confining traffic patterns and radio reporting enforcement, for an indefinite period.

Ev and Larry Morgan, who have been instrumental in creating the friendly atmosphere at Delta these past 4 years, left for permanent residence in Palm Springs, Calif. We’ll all miss them. They were on call 24 hours a day and always ready to help. During the past 2 months, Ev put in a small stock of tee shirts and assorted china in the coffee shop, and sold more than $2,000 worth. Thanks for your volunteer efforts. Ray and Colleen Tekano have taken over the caretaking job, and we wish them well.

Belvedere 1929 Gypsy Moth

“Gypsy” was built by the DeHavilland Aircraft Company in England for The Royal Canadian Air Force. She was taken on strength by the RCAF in Toronto in September, 1929. After assembly and test flying, she was then sent to Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. Here she was fitted with floats and used in forest patrol.

After 225 flying hours, the aircraft was returned to Toronto for refurbishing and disposal.

She was then bought by Dr. Alexander Scott of Bassano, Alberta, who used her to take care of his wide-flung practice until 1946, when she was put in mothballs with a total of 977 flying hours. Dr. Scott was one of the original “flying doctors” in the west and through the years the plane carried many emergency cases to far-off hospitals.

The fuselage and badly-damaged wings next turned up at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology at Calgary in 1963. During many years in storage, a number of parts had been lost or damaged. With the assistance of the Antique Airplane Association and the DeHavilland Aircraft Company in Hatfield, Great Britain, “Gypsy” was reconstructed. Inspired searching turned up needed parts around the world. An undercarriage was found in the Phillippines and other pieces were discovered in Australia, South Africa and Britain.

DeHavilland supplied the original drawings and plans, and from these the reconstruction was begun. All parts were repaired and assembled and all wooden wing components were replaced. The aircraft was so completely restored to original specifications that the Ministry of Transport certified it under the normal aircraft category. “Gypsy” was purchased by Belvedere Cigarettes in late 1972 and delighted audiences throughout Canada at fly-ins and special events until it crashed on July 22, 1974, at Banff, Alberta, after participating in the Great Belvedere Air Dash from coast to coast. Written off by the insurance company, it was purchased by Airplane Supply Ltd., and will eventually be donated to CMFT by Ed and Rose Zalesky.

Specifications:

  • Wing Span 30 ft. (9 ft. 10 in. folded)
  • Length 23 ft. 11 in.
  • Height 9 ft. 6 in.
  • Maximum weight 1,750 lbs.
  • Aerobatic weight 1,550 lbs.
  • Engine Gypsy Mark 1, 98 HP (4 cylinder in-line)

Performance:

  • Climb speed 50 MPH indicated
  • Cruise 75 MPH indicated
  • Stall, power off 35 MPH indicated
  • Stall, power on 40 MPH indicated
  • Take-off run 500 ft.
  • Landing roll 400 ft.
  • Gas consumption 5 gal. per hour cruise (any top grade of automotive gasoline may be used according to original manual)

Birth of Commercial Aviation Along British Columbia Coast

The start of aviation on Vancouver Island’s west coast took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s when the Department of Fisheries hired occasional aircraft to patrol the fishing fleets that operated off the island’s rugged coast. Other flights were made by RCAF aircraft, checking on the whereabouts of the rum-runners that operated freely between Canada and the U.S. shores during that period.

By Elwood White (The Daily Colonist, July, 1967)

In 1936, gold was discovered at Zeballos, situated at the head of Zeballos Arm, an arm of Esperanza Inlet, approximately halfway up the west coast of Vancouver Island. These fiord-like inlets are flanked by nearly sheer mountains on either side and a good deal of the time are fogged in by low clouds and mist. Nevertheless, the cry was “GOLD” and the call to the motherlode knows no boundaries.

Normally the journey from Vancouver to Zeballos was a six-day trip by the CPR steamer Princess Maquinna, but this proved too slow for many, so float-equipped aircraft were chartered for the 3- hour flight to the diggings and this in turn was the start of B.C. commercial aviation’s greatest boom as more and more aircraft were withdrawn from other areas to cope with the traffic.

Ginger Coote was one operator to quickly realize the potential. For many years this popular bush pilot had been flying prospectors and mining engineers to remote interior claims and his name became a by-word among them. It was only natural he was there when this new camp opened.

He established the first scheduled service from Vancouver to Zeballos, using an elderly Fairchild, and it wasn’t long before he acquired a new Norseman and a Waco to cope with the rush. A post office was established in this wild-west-like town, and the mail came by air, as well as passengers of varied types, whisky to quench the thirsty miners and ladies of the night to make them think of other then gold, all at $25 one way.

At first the flight was made non-stop, but it was not long before stops were made at Port Alberni and other settlements along the route. Competition was soon forthcoming in the form of Canadian Airways, which also inaugurated a scheduled service from Vancouver. The first pilot on this company’s flights was N. E. Molly Small. Still the demand for air transportation mounted and planes of Grant McConachie’s Yukon Southern Air Transport were frequently seen moored along with six or eight other aircraft about Zeballos harbour.

Of particular interest were the pilots and machines that took part in this evolution of Canada’s air transport. Mentioned earlier in this article, Ginger Coote learned his art in the Royal Flying Corps during WWI and did a good deal of barnstorming during the 20s before forming his Bridge River and Cariboo Airways, later changing the title of this to that of his own name. For some time, he was closely tied in with McConachie’s United Air Transport, but finally sold out to the Gibson brothers and retired to a farm at Chilliwack.

Other well-known pilots on the run were Don Lawson, later a TCA captain; Jack Hames; one of the famous Lee twins, Mel, now a CPA captain; Bob Goldie; Ralph Oakes from Edmonton; Sheldon Luck, one of the early United Air Transport pilots who set many firsts in early airmail flights in B.C. and Alberta and later went to Ferry Command and Bristol Freighters in the Maritimes, and is still flying as chief pilot for Water Bombers in B.C.; Tommy Laurie; Howard McDonald, who later was with the RCAF in the Aleutians then became H. R. McMillan’s private pilot on a Grumman Goose; Walter Gilbert who for many years was superintendent for Canadian Airways, later managing his own flying school at Sea Island, was also a Zeballos pilot.

J. Spillsbury, who became president of Queen Charlotte Airways was another, but he did his flying in a Waco, selling and installing radio-telephone equipment. N. E. Molly Small, later flew Catalinas on Atlantic patrol and was awarded the DFC for his part in destroying a German U-boat. He was later killed in a crash off the Newfoundland coast. W. R. “Bill” Holland, reputedly the greatest weather pusher on the B.C. coast who: later ferried bombers across the Atlantic and was killed in a TCA crash on Mt. Cheam near Hope, B.C.; E. Kubisak, another ex-Zeballos pilot, was killed in the same disaster. Ted Dobbin, well known on all B.C. runs met his death walking across the street in Montreal.

Russ Baker, another well-known personality in B.C. aviation flew for Ginger Coote and later flew the same run for Canadian Airways, going on to become head of Pacific Western Airlines. The names of the pilots mentioned here are far from complete, but it is hoped that the few mentioned will bring back memories for some.

Many of the machines used on the run made their mark on Canada’s aviation history, such as Fairchild.FC2W2 G-CARM; Fokker G-CASQ; Ford Trimotor CF-BEP; D. H. Dragon Rapide CF-AYE, christened Zeballos Express; Fleet 70K CF-BDX; Norseman CF-AZE; Belanca Pacemaker CF-BFB; Waco CF-AZN, plus the well-known Boeing boats to name the more frequent machines seen at Zeballos.

DEHAVILLAND DH.89 Dragon Rapide CF-AYE was christened the “Zeballos Express” while flying to this gold mining town for Canadian Airways. Photo: C. Gordon Peters.

Well’s Air Transport and Air Travel and Transport were two of the charter companies working at Zeballos using respectively a Stinson Jr. and a Waco. Mercy flights were commonplace, most of the pilots at one time or another, flew sick or injured loggers and miners and expectant mothers in a race with the stork to Port Alberni or Vancouver hospitals.

Despite the primitive communications of the time and the forbidding terrain, there was only one tragedy in those early years. In late spring, 1938, Len Waggen in Coote’s Fairchild 51 disappeared with three passengers. Although a massive search was mounted, including the RCAF and USCG, nothing was found till almost a year later when timber cruisers came across the wreckage in the bush. It was recalled that on the day they went missing, Alberni inlet was almost completely closed in by fog and it was surmised that the pilot made a wrong turn off the canal into the rising land.

In 1938, Ginger Cootes amalgamated with Yukon Southern Air Transport with Grant McConachie as president and the Zeballos service continued until this company in turn was taken over by the formation of Canadian Pacific airlines in 1942.

Throughout the war years CPA served the west coast and when, in 1947, Queen Charlotte Airways was formed, it took over this franchise using surplus Supermarine Stranraers which although slow, provided an excellent means for the inhabitants of the remote country to commute to the outside.

Since its humble start 40 years ago, commercial aviation in B.C. has never taken a backward step due mainly to those men with foresight, who saw the needs of the province and flew those wonderful machines.

Punch Dickins Honored On Wardair Aircraft

The delivery of Wardair’s first Boeing 707 in April, 1968, brought some of the world’s most popular destinations within range. The aircraft was named after the outstanding Canadian bush pilot, C. H. “Punch” Dickins. Today, the name still flies on a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registration C-GXRB, which replaced the 707 in November, 1978.

A native of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Punch Dickins was educated in Edmonton, Alberta. He was the first person to cross the Arctic Circle in Canada by air and the first pilot to fly from upper Hudson’s Bay, across the unmapped barren lands to Lake Athabaska. It was Punch Dickins who first stood on the radium-rich shelf of Great Bear Lake and first logged a million miles flying across the uncharted north without radio.

During WWI, he was recommended three times for decorations and in 1918 was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He founded the fabled Atlantic Ferry Command in WWII, became vice-president and general manager of Canadian Pacific Airlines in its early years, and emerged as a world authority on bush flying and the bush aircraft of his day.

Today, Punch Dickins is a “living legend”, revered by the generations of bush pilots who have benefitted so tremendously from his northern explorations.

How To Beat The High Cost of Flying

With the price of fuel going up and the value of a dollar going down, have you been giving serious thought to giving up your airplane? Consider donating it to CMFT. If it is a classic or antique, it will go right into the collection. If it is a contemporary model, CMFT, with its power to sell and trade, can swap for airplanes more suitable for a permanent collection. The advantage to you is that you receive a tax-deductible receipt for the full market value of the plane (as established by an independent appraiser) and this can be carried forward for up to 5 years to reduce your taxes. You save tax dollars, and CMFT receives the benefit of money that would otherwise go into that bottomless pit in Ottawa. Keep the money here, and get your name on the list of benefactors of CMFT.

Tour Guides Needed

An increasing number of calls to visit the storage site are coming in. On the days that Harry Fordham, or Bill McGarrigle are supervising the Tiger Moth project, this is not a problem, as they have been doing the tours. But that still leaves the weekends. Regular “open” hours will be from 10. to 2 Saturdays and Sundays starting about the middle of March. Please offer your help.

Hurricane Lost to Overseas Museum

By Jerry Vernon

According to press reports out of Calgary, a WWII Hawker Hurricane fighter, allegedly the property of the City of Calgary, has been sold out of Canada by the Regina group that has been restoring it in recent years.

The Canadian-built Hurricane was formerly owned by the now-defunct Air Museum of Calgary, who leased it to the Regina group in 1970 for the sum of $1 for 20 years, on the condition that it be restored and never be exported from the country. In 1972, the City of Calgary became owner of all the former assets of the Air Museum of Canada, and later provided a rare early model Merlin engine to the restoral group. In more recent years, the Aero Space Museum Association has been formed in Calgary, to carry on aviation museum work in that area.

In November, 1982, the Aero Space Museum Association learned that the Regina people had sold the aircraft to a private collector overseas, for the sum of $153,000. The purchaser is described as living in Switzerland, but having his collection in England, which would seem to indicate warbird collector Stephen Grey as the beneficiary of this sale.

It is understood that the Canadian Warplane Heritage, after learning of the sale, which the Regina group describes as “just part of a great big misunderstanding”, attempted to match the offer. CWH did raise the funds, in less than a week’s time, but were advised that the aircraft had already left.

At last report, Hamilton and Calgary RCMP, along with Calgary Police, were trying to trace the whereabouts of the Hurricane, valued at around $500,000 when it reaches flying condition. Unfortunately, the only legislation that protects heritage items such as this (the Cultural Property Export and Import Permits Act) only protects artifacts 50 years old or more, and the Hurricane still falls a few years short of qualifying for this.

This past autumn, two rare ex-RCAF B-24 Liberator noses were exported from B.C., and within the past year, a Lancaster, Spitfire Mk. 19 and a second Hurricane have left the country. Did You Know?

MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING

The Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation held at 13527 Crescent Road, Surrey, B.C.

Call to order-8:04 p.m. with 42 members and guests present.

Treasurer’s Report-Cash on deposit approximately $5,000, in addition to $11,600 in various rebuild funds.

Old Business-Public Relations: Jerry Vernon reported having made a presentation at Sullivan Community Hall. Suggested CMFT produce a travelling slide show for such events. Taped interviews: Jerry Vernon accepted appointment as Committee Head. Tiger Moth Rebuild Project: Harry Fordham reported work proceeding well with good rapport amongst crew. Several men are working on a voluntary basis. Questionnaire Results Reports: Meetings will be bi-monthly at the farm. Schedule to be printed in newsletter. Vancouver Island Report: Val Hinch reported that the overhaul of the Auster coming along, and show cases donated by Spencer’s Stores being refurbished. Christmas party a success. Plans for Mayfair Mall display underway. Name Tags: John Moutray agreed to get some prices on member name tags. Harvard Purchase: Bruce Duncan reported that purchase on hold due to increase in price.

New Business-March 17 meeting cancelled and replaced by March 18 (or closest) available hall date for dinner. Food will be Chinese, buffet style. John Moutray to arrange for hall use in Richmond. Tour Guides: Bruce Duncan is in charge of scheduling tour guides. Tours to start April 1, or if call for earlier, about March 15. Shopping Centre Displays: Offer of assistance requested. Old airport reconnaissance scheduled for early March or late February to look for rumoured parts. Mosquito Rebuild: A second Manpower/Ministry of Labour grant has been obtained for three men to continue with restoration through the end of March. Computer input volunteer wanted. Three or four hours per week. Volunteers? Tools Needed: Prefer donations of hand drills, sanders, routers, planers chisels, C-clamps, paint guns. Truck and trailer loan needed for PVI haul of helicopter from Los Angeles. Chiliwack Airport site offered as location for CMFT. Will be considered as alternate for Fort Langley. Bob Bamford of CANSTEAM (Canadian Steam Preservation Society) gave short talk on accomplishments and plans of their group, which includes restoration of the Samson V. Ron Schwenger made a short presentation on an Audio-Visual presentation, which will feature the CMFT. Requested co-operation in photographing CMFT airplanes. Being developed as promotion for Expo 86. CMFT welcome to use film afterwards.

Intermission-Earl Gerow gave a slide presentation of very early Canadian aviation photographs. A copy of the presentation will be given to CMFT by Earl for use at displays and at guest appearances. Draw: A miscellany of CMFT sale items given out as door prizes, along with a set of CPA prints donated by John Moutray.

Adjournment-10:45 p.m.

Burma War Casualties Airlifted From Battle Site

By Tony Day (CMFT Member No. 627)

In the popular TV show M*A*S*H, the reception end of casualty evacuation by light helicopter is accurately portrayed in the Korean War, but the forerunner of this type of operation was developed by the Americans on the Northern Front in Burma in 1943. Using light aircraft such as the Piper L4 Grasshopper, which had an early form of STOL capability, they evacuated their sick and front-line casualties by the use of small strips, either hacked out of the jungle or, in the inhabited areas, by levelling the “bunds” between rice paddy fields.

The British picked up this innovation in casualty handling during the very decisive, but relatively small scale battle known as “The Battle of the Admin Box” in which elements of a British-Indian division were surrounded by Japanese forces on the Arakan Front. Instead of fighting their way out, the beleagured force was instructed to stand firm, as they would be supplied by air. Two or three squadrons of Dakota aircraft were instrumental in supplying all the complex and varied needs of the personnel and animals in “The Box” for over two weeks; in addition to which, most of their battle casualties were evacuated from a small strip fashioned within the perimeter of “The Box”. Two aged deHavilland Fox Moth aircraft which had been impressed into military service, were among the light aircraft used for this evacuation..

The success of this type of evacuation in the successful defence of “The Box” led to its use both on the Arakan Front and on the more vital Central or Imphal Front. Dehavilland DH82 Tiger Moth aircraft were pressed into service, the fuselage from the rear cockpit back being fashioned into an area large enough to accommodate a stretcher case. However, there are cases recorded of casualties; anethetized with morphia, being flown out of small strips, strapped to the lower wing of the Tiger Moth. Gradually these adapted aircraft were replaced by the Stinson L5 Sentinel, which was designed to take a stretcher case and two sitting wounded. The British Taylorcraft Auster, used primarily as an Artillery Spotter, was at times pressed into service as an ambulance aircraft.

For the young Air Ambulance pilots, not inured to medical work, the ambulance task was a grim assignment. Typhus or advanced malaria cases were frequent and the pilots could hear the progress of the patient’s delirium above the noise of the engine. At other times, pilots carried with them men who were suffering from precisely the type of torture which they themselves might endure if their engine failed over enemy territory. One Gurkha was found alive, tied to a tree with strips of his own flesh cut from his thighs and legs by the Japanese. The pilot could hear his screams each time the Tiger Moth bumped into turbulence. On the solitary trips, without armour, with only one engine-and that usually overworked- pilots’ minds were inevitably directed more frequently to the enemy and the jungle below them, so that the task of the light ambulance plane pilot was among the most uneasy in the Burma skies.

Pilots saw stray enemy fighter aircraft, but they found that their own low speed and camouflage made them indistinguishable from the jungle as they flew at tree-top height. A greater danger was the enemy mortaring of the small strips as they came in to land and pick up casualties. The Japanese mortar-men were noted for their speed in bringing their mortars into action and zeroing in on a target. Carrying the wounded and sick passengers, pilots could not save themselves in an emergency; no one ever bailed out!

Light aircraft usually took their passengers to a supply strip where they were picked up by the ever-present Dakotas and flown to base hospitals.

The spectacular employment of two Short Sunderland flying boats to rescue sick and wounded Chindits from the jungle where the Chindit columns far behind the enemy’s lines were out of range of light aircraft, was unprecedented. Flying from the Brahmaputra River they alighted on Indawgyi Lake, closed to the Chindit columns and between them flew out more than 500 casualties.

How many of you are aware that we have an aviation artist within our group? John Moutray does aircraft and animal portraits. He works in watercolors or oils, and his fees start at $500. A sample of his work is illustrated. John can be contacted at 277-9439.

Letter to the Editor

Editor,

Dear sir,

Re: the Westland Lysander mentioned in the December issue. I have the following comment in regard to the picture caption:

It is not quite correct to say it was a “spy” plane. The Lysander was originally a private venture, but was designated as an Army Co-operation plane and carried bomb racks on both wheel fairings.

It was used as an observation aircraft and had a minor role as a target tug.

Yours sincerely, A. Christoferrsen.

Policy

Every letter, newsletter or other communication throughout the year contains a return envelope or other form of solicitation. We urge you to use these forms to recruit new members and to make memorial, tribute, anniversary or other additional contributions. Remember, in order to help build and maintain the Museum, and to acquire outstanding exhibits, we will remind you of the need for funds in every mailing.

OUR FUTURE HOME?

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION Has been searching for a home for 5 years.

An option has now been offered on Fort Langley Airport. This is an excellent location for the following reasons.

  • 1. Already an existing airport
  • 2. Waterfront facilities on the Fraser River for float planes
  • 3. Trackage for railway and steam buffs.
  • 4.50 acres. Room to relocate and amalgamate all transportation museums
  • 5. Hanger storage and tie downs for those who wish to rent or lease.
  • 6. Coffee shop (planned)

$1,000,000 IS NEEDED!

A benefactor or group of benefactors who could come up with the sum of $1,000,000 plus. Time is of the essence. Monies to be paid in over a period of 5 to 10 years.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!

This is a chance of a lifetime! Please help out your museum by letting as many people as you can know about our endeavors.

… All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE and receipts will be issued.

PICTURED HERE is CMFT’s “Phoenix Moth” team, consisting of supervisor Bill McGarrigle and Rocky Centola, Larry Cooper, Paul Johnson, Dan Karr, Jim Loewen, John Maggs, John O’Flynn, Kerston Pilz, Harry Vogt, Ron Neri, Rick Hillier and Rick Eckstein. Absent are instructors Harry Fordham, Roy Willis, Gordon Peters and team member Paul Rusk.

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