Museum Newsletter

No. 32 CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION Summer 1987

CMFT NEWSLETTER

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION No. 32 Summer 1987

CONTENTS

President’s Report…. New Members… News Briefs…… Wants and Needs.. Vancouver’s Air History…….. Obituaries….. .23 Wings, Wheels & Water Part V……….12 Letters to the Editor… .24 Guardians in the Sky….. Tracing RCAF Personnel… Donations… .26 Membership Application………..

COVER PHOTO:

CMFT’s Harvard, RCAF 20419, now restored and on display at the museum site. It is traditional RCAF yellow in the City of Red Deer markings. S. Senaratne/CMFT Collection.

Board of Directors

Gerow, Earl Fraser, Doug Gardham, Fred

Anderson, Ian Boyd, Robert Robinson, Jane Ryder, Alan Smith, David Smith, Joe Stevens, Frank Hamilton, Colin Hudak, Tony Stunden, Ron Thompson, Bill Thompson, Wilma Humphrey, Phil Jackson, G.Barry Zalesky, Ed Zalesky, Rose Olsen, Jerry

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION 1987/88 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

E.V. (Ed) Zalesky, 531-2465 David Smith, 270-4452 President Vice-Pres Rose Zalesky, 531-3744 Secretary/Treas

COMMITTEE HEADS

Frank Stevens, 536-4570 Flying Joe Smith, 590-6262 April Zalesky, 531-3744 Display/Buildings Special Events Jerry Vernon, 420-6065 Sean Keating, 984-2070 Mark Zalesky, 531-2465 Research Recovery/Hauling Restoration Jerry Olsen, 687-6805 Underwater Recovery Colin Hamilton, 536-5193 April Zalesky, 531-3744 Tour Guides Newsletter/PR

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The Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation is a non-profit society dedicated to the preservation of aviation and transportation heritage. Charitable status allows for the issuance of tax deductible receipts for donations of artifacts, goods and money. It is governed by a board of 20 Directors, elected annually. Elections held in April.

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VANCOUVER ISLAND MEMBERS MEET THE LAST WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 7:30 P.M., AT THE BAY STREET ARMOURIES, VICTORIA. PLEASE USE THE FIELD STREET ENTRANCE. ANYONE INTERESTED IS WELCOME TO ATTEND.

Newsletter

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 in manuscripts which he believes will improve the material without altering the intended meaning.

NOTICE OF MEETING

GENERAL MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 1987 1/15,2/19,3/19,4/16,5/21,9/17,10/15,11/19 8:00 p.m. at 13527 Crescent Rd, Surrey. Guests OK. Entertainment, refreshments.

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Editor: April Zalesky

PRESIDENT’S REPORT Jan May 1987

1986 was a year of unprecedented growth, with involvement in EXPO 86 resulting in world-wide exposure and credibility for the CMFT.

Exceptionally high input from volunteers resulted in a record number of accomplishments, including the renovation of the gift shop, the Stampe restoration project, and the Bolingbroke and Vampire projects. It will be a hard act to follow, but activity level in 1987 is high and we may even surpass last year’s effort.

The major accomplishment so far this year has been the static restoration of the Harvard. It is painted in standard RCAF training colours and looks great. The Nelson Dragonfly refinish and restoration has been completed, and it, along with the Waco INF will be on display at the new Transportation Heritage Centre in Cloverdale until further notice. The SE5a received its 17th birthday upgrade, while the Flying Flea recover and refinish is now complete. Next project is the static restoration of the Fairchild Husky.

The Monday evening Fabric Recover Seminars have evolved into restoration seminars, with participants now carrying out minor repairs and preparatory work in addition to recover work. Also being considered, as a fund raising effort by this group, is th production of a pedal powered “Stearman” to be raffled off at Open House. Seminars will not be held during the summer months, but will start again in the Fall. CMFT has been fortunate in obtaining two Job Creation grants under the Job Development program. Both are extremely successful, with both the shop and the office projects fulfilling their mandate to provide quality training to the client, while at the same time performing useful work.

The “Summer Canada ’87” Student Employment program is providing 3 students to assist with tour guide duties, computer functions and sign making.

The New Horizons Senior’s Wing has been working throughout the winter on the Stampe project, but real progress held up for lack of parts. Work on the Member’s Lounge and improvements to the Gift Shop have begun.

Official opening was delayed till May 2, as not enough volunteers responded to the call to get airplanes out, cleaned and re-assembled in time for the project April 11 opening. As usual, weather was also a problem.

Inevitably, the costs of operation have caught up, and membership fees have had to be increased. General Membership is now $20, Family $30, Junior (under 16) $12, with the Lifetime ($300) and Corporate ($100) memberships unchanged.

Many visitors ignore the request for a voluntary contribution in lieu of admission, so effective May 2 the mandatory admission fees are as follows: Adults $2, Students/Seniors $1, kids under age 10 free. The good news is that your membership includes free admission to the museum.

Several new Directors have been elected to fill the vacancies created by mandatory or requested retirements. A list of this year’s board is included on the front page of this newsletter. Finally, the new “Adopt an Airplane” campaign has brought in some money for cleaning and maintenance supplies. Thanks to those who are contributing to this fund. Other campaigns to raise funds for specific projects will be run from time to time.

The SE5a making its test flight over the Museum after its 17th birthday overhaul. This was one of the shop projects accomplished with the assistance of a Manpower & Immigration grant.

S. Senaratne photo/CMFT collection

CANADIAN MUSEUM of FLIGHT OPEN HOUSE

SAT. & SUN. JUN 20 & 21 9-4:30

13527 CRESCENT RD. Surrey

278-9804 531-3744

FREE ADMISSION COME OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR MUSEUM BY HELPING OUT

Last year’s very successful Open House was attended by more than 10,000 people. It is CMFT’s most important event of the year, and is our best opportunity to involve the community in the function and goals of CMFT.

Its fun event, with something of interest for the whole family. Food will be served all day, and there are many displays, events and activities.

There will be displays of vintage (and current) aircraft, helicopters, cars, trucks, motorcycles, models, farm machinery, steam equipment, ultralights and much more. balloon rides (weather permitting), helicopter rides, parachute drops, aircraft flypasts, the famous “Snoopy & Red Baron Show”, and other events will be featured.

Admission is free. Programs will be sold on a donation basis, which will include a ticket for the door prize draus. The success of this important fund-raising function depends entirely on volunteers to man the booths, prepare and serve food, act as guides, parking attendants, security, traffic control, gift shop sales, and many other jobs.

Members are urged to turn out on both days if possible, or at least for one day, at 8:00 AM for assignment of tasks. Better still, phone ahead of time and have a task assigned to you before the event, which helps the event run more smoothly and efficiently. Remember, the more volunteers we have, the shorter the shifts. We need your help! Please tell your family and friends to come out and enjoy the day and if you are unable to help out yourself, come out as well!

ABBOTSFORD AIR SHOW ’87

The 26th annual Abbotsford International Airshow this year will take place on August 7, 8 & 9. Though not as large as last year’s show, this year’s event looks like it is shaping up to be a major display. The main focus of this year’s show is rotary-wing, and more than the usual number of helicopters will be on display. The Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds and Brazil’s Esquadrilha de Fumaca will be featured, along with civilian aerobatics, wing walkers, warbirds, airliners and vintage aircraft. Jets this year will include the Harrier, F-4 Phantom, F-14 Tomcat, A-4 Skyhawk, F-16 Falcon, F-5 Talon, and the CF-18 Hornet.

As always, CMFT will be there with a display of aircraft as well as our usual gift shop sales booth. Lots of volunteers are needed as usual, to help run the sales booths, and to guard the aircraft against damage during the show, as well as lots of help before the show to set up the booths and move displays to the airport. Please let us know as soon as possible if you can help. Please remember that due to the limited number of passes allocated to CMFT, we must have a commitment of at least a full day from each volunteer, and everyone must leave from the museum at 7:00 AM on the days of the show.

ACP Air Boeing 747 with the Expo 86 logo making a low pass at last year’s Abbotsford International Air Show.

Mike Weeks photo/CMFT collection

LODESTAR ‘TCY

In our last newsletter we reported that CMFT had purchased ex-Trans Canada Airlines Lodestar CF-TCY from a museum in the Central U.S. Plans are to haul the aircraft to the CMFT site and restore it in the original TCA markings. We believe it is one of the last remaining TCA Lodestars in existence.

We are happy to report that funds have been building since the last newsletter for its restoration, thanks in large part to many ex-TCA employees. We still need a great deal more, and appeals are being made to Air Canada and other corporations in addition to private sponsorship to help raise the funds needed.

Remember, donations are eligible for a tax-deductible receipt. If you have a soft spot for this aircraft, then please do your part to help get TCY on display as soon as possible.

We are looking for any photos of Lockheed Lodestar CF-TCY. We prefer that photos are donated to the collection, or if you prefer we can have them copied and returned to you. If anyone has photos of this aircraft, please phone or write CMFT.

Joe Lalonde photo/CMFT collection

PHOTOGRAPHY/SCREENING

Photos used in this publication have been donated or loaned to the CMFT. A special thank you to Shamina Senaratne, our darkroom technician trainee, who gave up her free time to make screened copy prints to meet the deadline for this newsletter.

THANKS, MONTY!

Monty Montezuma has been turning up at work bees and at other available times for most of the years that CMFT has been active. He has donated a set of heavy duty mechanic’s tools, and, in earlier days, his time to help keep the cantankerous old equipment we operate in running condition.

It was Monty, who, along with Fred Gardham and Jim Mufford donated their time, fuel and the use of their vehicles to retrieve the remains of the Blackburn Shark from the Prince Rupert area, and it was Monty who folded and stamped thousands of brochures and newsletters, and has always been willing to pitch in and help with whatever needs doing.

Lately, he’s been phoning to apologize that he can’t make it out to help as much as he would like. Problems have slowed him down, but in typical fashion, he is more concerned about not being able to help than with his own health.

Monty, on behalf of all of us at CMFT, thank you for all you’ve done to make the museum the success it is, and we hope you’ll be able to continue to do so.

AERMACCHI RESTORATION

Member Joe Smith has nearly completed the restoration of CMFT’s 1956 Aermacchi single cylinder, 4-stroke, 175 cc motorcycle, which will be on display as soon as the chrome work is completed.

Thanks to the donor, Elmer Fossheim of Edson, Alberta, for providing the restorable bike, to Able Auto Body of Newton, who provided custom paint work, and especially to Joe Smith for many hours spent in research, restoration, locating and procuring parts.

CMFT SUMMER BARBECUE

The hastily organized summer evening barbecue on May 30, was held, camping style, in the “Q Shelter” which was the contingency in the event it rained, which it did, along with sun and wind. A “floor” of sorts was constructed to keep attendees out of the water, and those who attended enjoyed good and plentiful food and the camaraderie of friends old and new.

Unfortunately, 50 dinners were ordered and paid for on the strength of reservations made, but only 36 people turned up, so unless the no-shows pay for the $8 dinners ordered, the CMFT will lose money we cannot afford.

No spring dinner was held because of escalating costs. The summer barbecue (fully catered smorgasbord style) was offered up as an affordable alternative. Unforunately, the weather did not co-operate.

The Fall Dinner will be planned as usual, but may be held in a different location, and will probably cost more. Watch newsletters for information.

EXHIBITS LOOKING GREAT!

Due to lack of covered or indoor display facilities, all airplanes on display are located outdoors. This is hard on the airplanes but we have little choice if we are to share the pleasure of viewing the collection with visitors.

Many hours have been put in to make the yard sparkle. There is now a roped-off “public viewing area with nearly 25 aircraft on display at one time; arranged to provide great photos; and, nearly all the airplanes now sport their own informational sign.

Mark Sonef has been trying to cope with more than 8 acres of convoluted and tree/ shrub/garden-dotted lawn, flower beds and hanging baskets to maintain. It looks great, but its fuzzy around the edges. Mark Zalesky has been helping in a determined effort to keep ahead of it, but at the expense of running the restoration shop and his other responsibilities.

Surely, there must be some members who would enjoy a “bit of yard to keep up”. Sorry, we can’t offer to pay. Please call us at the museum if you can help. Page 6

PHOTO REPRODUCTION

The CMFT darkroom is “up and running”. We can now produce black and white copies of photos in the CMFT collection, or make copies for the CMFT collection of photos which owners do not wish to part with.

If you have photos to donate, we would be pleased to add them to our growing collection. We can offer a tax-deductible receipt for their value if you wish. If you can’t bear to part with them, loan them to us so that we can make a copy for CMFT. Or, preferably, CMFT keeps the original, while you get the new, (longer lasting) copy.

The huge task of producing a catalogue of available prints has just begun. It will be a binder of photocopies of all prints in the collection, along with a short description of the print. Help to carry out this massive project would be most welcome. The fee schedule for prints is as follows:

SIZE PERMISS- PRICE/ ION FEE PRINT TOTAL ADDITNL COPIES 4″x5″ 5″x7″ $ 4.00 4.00 + $1.00 – $5.00 $2.00 + 3.00 = 7.00 3.00 8″x10″ 4.00 + 5.00 = 9.00 5.00 11″x14″ 4.00 + 11.00 – 15.00 16″x20″ 4.00 + 21.00 = 25.00 21.00 11.00 Add $2.00 postage/handling fee per order. SLIDES from CMFT prints – Please ask.

FOR STUDENTS, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

PERMISS PRICE/ TOTAL ADDITNL SIZE ION FEE PRINT COPIES 4″x5″ $ 3.00 + $ 1.00 = $4.00 $ 1.00 = 6.00 3.00 5″x7″ 3.00 + 3.00 8″x10″ 3.00 + 5.00 = 8.00 11″x14″ 3.00 +11.00 14.00 11.00 5.00 16″x20″ 3.00 + 21.00 = 24.00 21.00

BE YOUR OWN TOUR GUIDE

For the first time, visitors can spend as much or as little time as they wish at each exhibit, so long as they stay within the cordoned-off viewing areas.

We still offer tours for those who prefer more detailed information, but on a much reduced schedule. This has resulted in our overworked staff having much more time to keep up with never ending office tasks.

CMFT has published an 83-page booklet which describes the 25 airplanes on view, in storage or under restoration. Great for those who want to know more than the basic information given on the signs. Price $5.

Along with the freedom to be your own guide, we have finally imposed a formal admission fee. The modest sum charged is necessary in order to cover the cost of materials and supplies needed for daily operation.

Admission is as follows: $2. Adults $1. Seniors and Students FREE for children under 9 (must be accompanied by an adult) $20 for Season’s pass with includes a membership in the CMFT.

REMEMBER YOUR CMFT MEMBERSHIP NOW ENTITLES YOU TO FREE ADMISSION TO THE MUSEUM.

HOURS OF OPERATION

113 DAILY, INCLUDING HOLIDAYS

TOURS (ABOUT 40 MINUTES) LEAVE TWICE DAILY AT 11:00 AM AND 2:00 PM

AERONCA CHIEF ORESTORATION

It has been proposed that the CMFT Aeronca Chief be restored to flying condition, then transferred to a newly formed NPO which would allow CMFT members to rent it.

Frank Stevens, 536-4570 is collecting funds to do the work in the CMFT shop, and has offered $1,500. to start the fund.

Anyone wishing to donate to this worthwhile project is asked to call Frank or leave a message at the CMFT at 531-3744

KIDDIE’S PEDAL AIRCRAFT

A volunteer/shop project to raise funds is producing a pedal-powered toy Stearman biplane to be raffled off at the museum to raise funds for restoration projects. Tickets are available for $1.00 each, which gives you a chance to win this beautiful aircraft, valued at $250.00 (not including volunteer labour). Purchase your tickets today, as only a limited number will be available.

VANCOUVER’S AIR HISTORY

by Jack Stepler

Behind a neat oak desk immediately under the control tower of Vancouver Airport sits a quietly spoken man whose grey-blue eyes seldom miss a take-off or landing on the expanse of runways and infield outside the broad windows of his office.

He is a man whose memory in the history of aviation is long, but whose vision rests firmly on the future of air travel and on Vancouver’s role in the development of air routes.

The slight, iron-grey man is William Templeton, manager of Vancouver Airport. For 38 years, since he left his Irish home for the new World, Bill Templeton’s mind has stayed on aviation’s main line.

Four-engined DC-4’s from Australia and the United States, T.C.A. Lodestars from over the Rockies, and R.C.A.F. Cansos, waddling like awkward ducks along the perimeter track, never cease to provide Bill Templeton with a thrill. For, unlike the younger generation, they are not commonplace to him.

Bill Templeton knew aircraft when they were flying machines, and built one when baling wire and old bicycle parts seemed to be the essential materials. And when Vancouver, in this Jubilee year, looks back on her record in aviation, he is her link with the beginning and her learned counsel for future development.

Mr. Templeton looks with great personal pride on the $3,000,000 airport stretched before his office windows. He gleans justified satisfaction from figures showing new records for the airport each year. And the airdrome’s remarkable record of not one accident causing serious injury is his pride and joy.

But he also looks back over the years to the day when, an inquisitive spectator, he saw Charles K. Hamilton fly the first craft to take to the air in the city’s history. That was on March 25, 1910, and Hamilton’s pusher-type biplane was airborne for ten minutes at old Minoru racetrack (now Brighouse).

The pilot was knocked unconscious when a tire was blown off in landing, but flying had started in British Columbia.

He saw the first air show, that disappointing Easter week-end display the same year, when Jack De Pries and the Manning brothers, Jack and Brownie, failed to perform the promised “spiral glide and zigzag whirl”.

1910. Curtiss Pusher, the first aircraft to fly at: Minoru airfield.

Ben Valerie /CMFT collection.

The Minoru Park audience saw De Pries attempt a “cross country” – and end up against a fence 300 yards from the start; attempt again, and suffer a scalp wound and concussion in a second crash two miles from the race track. They saw Browni Manning attempt an altitude record and rise four feet before a fence got him.

It was on April 28, 1911, that Bill Templeton and William McMullen flew the first successful airplane built on the Pacific Coast. It was constructed in the winter of 1909-1910 in the basement of the McMullen home at 1263 West Eighth Avenue. The craft’s 35-horsepowerr engine and seven foot propeller finally pulled the plane into the air for a 260 foot flight, but power was insufficient for further distances. The 28 foot biplane finally came to grief against a railing of Minoru, and the air-frame was later destroyed in a Georgia Street fire.

Although C.F. Walsh made several fine flights at Victoria, it was not until April, 1912, that flying was resumed in Vancouver. William M. Stark demonstrated the first aerobatics by displaying “climbing and gliding spirals”. And on April 20 he took up the first passenger to fly in B.C., James T. Hewitt, sports editor of The Vancouver Daily Province. Hewitt sat on a piece of board lashed to the lower wing just to the left of the pilot and grasped whatever was available to hold on to. Mrs. Stark was the next passenger, the first woman to fly in B.C.

The first woman pilot in Canada was Alys McKey Bryant, who piloted a Curtiss biplane at Minoru on July 31, 1913. Her husband of ten days, John Milton Bryant, was killed on August 6 when his seaplane crashed on the roof of the Lee Dye Building in Victoria. Bryant’s was the first seaplane flight in the province, and it was followed on June 14, 1914, when William Stark flew a seaplane through the First Narrows from Coal Harbor and around Stanley Park.

Ready for take-off: Vancouver’s first airmail flight.

VPL/CMFT Collection.

With such pioneers – and there were many more aviation came to Vancouver. They were the daredevils, the “screwballs” of their age. But none was more daring than “Professor” Charles Saunders, who made the first Canadian parachute jump the fourth successful one ever accomplished at Hastings Park on May 24, 1912.

Dressed in red tights, Saunders jumped with no harness fastening him to his chute. He held on to a bar attached to the parachute with only his strong hands and arms between him and eternity. But he landed safely in soft mud. A second jump put him down in the park oval to the delight of the spectators.

World War 1 came and Vancouver’s airmen went overseas. With them was Bill Templeton, in 1915 Sub-Lieutenant Templeton, R.N.A.S., stationed in Malta. But fever struck him and he was invalided home in 1917.

Following the war the flying machine was still a novelty in the city’s skies. It was still a string-bag affair, but literally stretching its wings.

March 3, 1919, saw Eddie Hubbard take off from Coal harbour to deliver the first airmail to Seattle. Slightly more than a year later the first Trans Canada airmail Flight ended here with delivery on Oct 13, 1920, of specially marked letters from Halifax.

The first large, multi-engined aircraft to operated from Vancouver was the ill-fated tri-motored monoplane of B.C. Airways. Its first flight was in July, 1928, from the temporary “vest-pocket” airport established that year at Lulu Island. This plane disappeared on August 24 with six persons on board during a routine Vancouver-Seattle flight.

The city’s temporary drome, with William Templeton as manager, served until the $600,000 airport was opened on Sea Island In 1931. On May 1 of that year Mr. Templeton was the first passenger to fly from the new airport. Barney Jones-Evans was at the controls.

Official opening celebrations took the form of a large air show on July 22. The famous R.C.A.F. Siskins, combat planes, thrilled the crowd of 12,000 with their aerobatics. The show contained everything from “flivers” to transports, an autogyro from Montreal, the 489 Bombardment Squadron from the U.S. Army Air Corps, and a display of “how not to fly” by Bernard Martin, Montreal mail pilot.

RCAF Siskin aircraft.

R.N. Cowaard collection/CMFT collection

On January 19, 1939, Vancouver’s airport became a 24-hour ‘drome with the installation of night lighting. But already the city led all Canada in the air services.

Trans-Canada Airlines made their first survey flight from the new ‘drome east to Winnipeg on July 7, 1937, and on September 2 started the Vancouver-Seattle service, first of the new airline’s operations. Passenger service with Montreal started on April 1, 1939.

Yukon-Southern, Canadian Airways and Ginger Coote Airlines operated feeder services which were amalgamated under Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1942.

The pre-war air-mindedness of the city’s young men was to be proven in the first few months of World War II.

The Aero Club of B.C., Canada’s oldest flying club, joined the Empire Air Training Plan and started No. 8 E.F.T.S. at the Sea Island airdrome. On July 5, 1940, the first Tiger Moth arrived and soon the airport’s circuit was crowded with everything from small elementary trainers to bombers and transports. Traffic eventually reached the high of 700 landings and take-offs per day.

Aero Club Tiger Moths at Vancouver Airport in the early 1940’s.

Ben Valerie collection via A. Seller/CMFT

In mid-war a Canadian statesman paid tribute to these men when he remarked that not only did the best pilots in the war come from Canada, but the Dominion’s best came from the test.

The war brought rapid expansion to the city’s airport. The Department of Transport took over control of the airport and it swelled from 482 to 600 acres; runways were lengthened to 5000 feet; the R.C.A.F. station sprang up on the north side of the field, and Boeing Aircraft’s huge plant saw the town of Burkeville spring up beside the field.

The Jericho Air Station, for many years a familiar landmark on the south shore of English Bay, and laid out in 1919 by Bill Templeton, became Western Air Command, and the gold braid of high-ranking officers became familiar in the city.

A Curtiss HS 21, being rolled out at Jericho Beach in the 1920’s.

Cordon Croucher collection/CMFT collection

Today the city is awaiting return of its airdrome, now estimated as worth $3,000,000, as compared with its pre-war value of $1,000,000. And it is ready to take its part in the tremendous post-war expansion of aviation.

Indicative of its role is the establishment of service to Australia by Australian National Airlines. T.C.A. will join this service, probably late in 1947. Air connections with Mexico are predicted, and United Airlines, who started service July 1, 1934, now have four-engined aircraft serving the city.

Vancouver has come of age in air travel. Through the portals of the administration building in 1945 passed 104,052 passengers on 9871 scheduled flights.

The inadequacy of present facilities in this age of rapid expansion is keenly felt by the grey-haired man in the manager’s office. But he has never been one to sit back and grumble rather he has planned for the future.

Bill Templeton recently presented plans for a three-year expansion program for the airport, expansion that will soon be recognized as imperative by all who study the aviation picture here. It provides for expenditure of $9,000,000 to make the airport one of the most modern on the continent.

The ‘drome would be enlarged to cover 1000 acres. Runways would be 7300 feet long and capable of being extended to 10,000 feet. Buildings would be designed to handle 75,000 passengers a month. Hangars would house seven four-engined transports.

A four-lane highway would run directly from the south foot of Granville Street to the administration building. A hotel and two restaurants would serve through passengers and provide accommodation for passengers on early departures.

With such development, Vancouver’s airport would take its place with the ultra modern ‘dromes at Dublin, Dorval’s trans-Atlantic airport, Le Bourget, La Guardia and Croydon.

And, like the growth of Vancouver itself, the airport has emerged to its present status in record time. It is only 15 years since, in the words of Bill Templeton: “We had an airport- but no night lighting, no weather bureau, no radio aids, and, of course, no business.”

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This bit of history came from the booklet of “Vancouver’s Diamond Jubilee” published June/July 1946, donated by Joe Lalonde.

Vancouver Airport, Mar 2, 1939, when a runaway Hurricane chewed through Grant McConachie’s Ford Trimotor,

Ingwald Wikene photo/CMFT collection

Bequests To CMFT

The subject has been brought to your attention before, but it’s important, so here we go again…

If you have something that is illustrative of aviation or transportation history, be it large or small, that you treasure, please give some thought to providing that it be bequeathed to CMFT in your will. There are two very good reasons why you should not put it off.

First, changes in the tax laws allow for the appreciated value of the goods to be used for issuance of an income tax receipt, which might have beneficial effects when computing succession duties on your estate. You might consider this an important enough factor to make it worthwhile to part with the item during your lifetime.

Secondly, if you do not specify disposition of this material, and your executors or trustees are not interested, irreplaceable items may be lost or dispersed to insensitive people who have no interest in preserving our heritage. The Department of Supply and Services, who dispose of properties not otherwise provided for, has no heart.

It is not in bad taste for those who are in a position to advise clients that a bequest be made to CMFT. A donation of goods or money, no matter how small, helps in our efforts to preserve our heritage for future generations.

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Please check the membership expiry date in the top right corner of your address label. If membership has expired, or is about to soon, please send your renewal as soon as possible. CMFT can only afford operating costs through membership funds and we rely on prompt renewals. It will also ensure that you will continue to receive your newsletter.

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Your advertisement in the CMFT newsletter helps to defray publishing costs. A bigger and better newsletter depends on paid ads, as does virtually every other periodical. Full page is $100, half page $50, business card size $10. Don’t forget – your ad doesn’t have to be aviation-oriented.

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The CMFT supports all organizations who have as their aim the preservation of any form of Transportation Heritage for the benefit of the public. Send in your newsclips. We’ll publish items of general interest.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Jan. 3, 1987 Dear Sirs,

A few days ago I received the Winter 1986 edition of AIRMAIL, the magazine of the Royal Air Forces Association. On page 400 appears a small item: “HAMPDEN TO SURFACE”. This item refers to the possibility of salvaging a HAMPDEN which crashed into Sannich Inlet when on a torpedo strike exercise. I was one of the many aircrew who passed through 32 OTV RAF at Patricia Bay (as we knew it) and (officially I believe it should be RAF Sidney, BC, Canada.) The course I took part in ran from 26th May to 3rd August 1942. I was an Observer (Nav./B) and while at 32 OTV I crewed with Pilot: P/D Walker and 2 Australians M OP.AG’s Joffre Tutford and Claude Sanders. Two special happenings took place during my time at 32 OTV.

First a film “COMMANDOS STRIKE AT DAWN” was made on the airfield and on Sannich Inlet. Star of the film was Paul Murri and its theme was the Norwegian Resistance.

The second was one in which I played a part. On the night of 27th/28th July 1942 the air raid sirens were sounded in the Seattle/Tacoma area and defence forces were alerted. I have tried to obtain details of the event and its consequences without success, but you may possible have some documentation. The story as I know it is as follows:

Seven Hampden crews were briefed to carry out an astro navigation exercise at 7000 feet over the Pacific. The first leg of the exercise was a straight line track from Patricia Bay roughly southwest for a couple of hours. At the end of this leg there would be a short one southeast, then a return leg approximately northeast to touch the north-western most point (Cape Flattery) of flashington State before making a final change of heading to return to Patricia Bay.

Take off time of my aircraft (P5427) was 01:00 hours (local time) 28th July 1942. The flight was uneventful. We were in clear air above 10/80 cloud at a lower level (“Oktus” were not known then). At ETA Cape Flattery the cloud was still unopen and after discussion we continued on the same heading. In a short while we found a break in the cloud. I identified our position as over the Olympic Peninsula and considerably south of our intended track. We turned northwards to make an approach to Patricia Bay and as we did so the W/OP handed over a message which read “All aircraft over U.S. Territory will be considered hostile”. Fortunately, the cloud base was right down to ground level and so no pursuit planes were able to take off. We landed at 05:15 hours local time to be met by several of the permanent staff. Our plane was the first back and we learned that the US defence system had picked up at least 15 planes heading toward the Seattle/Tacoma area. It was clear from our experience that we had drifted south of our intended track and that as we crossed the US coast our heading would have taken us over the sensitive area of Seattle/Tacoma, had we not found a hole in the cloud. The other aircraft may have been on similar headings, though at least one failed to locate the break in the cloud layer and free landed at Everett, Washington. As an inquiry was to be set up I had my navigation log impounded. Whether or not an inquiry did follow I’ve never found out and we were all posted within a few days to 31 P.D.C. Moncton to await movement to the UK. (My first operational sortie was on Christmas Day 1942). Have you any details of the affair?

The US reaction was understandable if the radar operators were unable to determine the number of aircraft in the air. However, as we were IFR equipped I can only conclude that the competence of the radar stations was at a low level because of lack of operational experience. We were glad that the weather had prevented the US forces to send off pursuit planes, as we were also relieved that AA guns (antiaircraft) were not fired (as they were some short time before in the Los Angeles area).

Currently I have family connections with Vancouver. My younger sister, Mrs. Patricia Frank lives there and has a small hairdressing salon in the Shell Building.

Hampdens I flew in at 32 OTV (16 in all) were: AJ 988, 989 AN 108, 106, 109, 110, 141 P. 5399, 5400, 5421, 5422, 5427, 5428, 5431, 5433 and 5435. Perhaps the ditched aircraft is one of them?

A Canadian Air Force pilot on the course was a Mexican actor MANUEZ DEL CAMPO.

The wreckage of a Hampden crashed in shallow water by one of the crews on our course was used as a “prop” in the film “COMMANDOS STRIKE AT DAWN.

Signatures in my logbook show G/Capt Waring as Chief Instructor and Sqdrs M.K. Loyd and J.A. Piddingtons as OC’s B and D Flights.

With all good wishes Yours sincerely David H. Withey 21 Brookfield Avenue Waterloo, Liverpool L22 3YE England

In answer to Mr. Withey’s questions: this is the first we have heard of the incident (Readers?), and our Hampden (since recovered) is P5436. – Editor.

WING, WHEELS, AND WATER PART 5

Rutledge

by Lock Madill

In my last article I mentioned Keith Rutledge, an engineer who formed Okanagan Helicopters in 1951. It was him who suggested I join Okanagan Helicopters as they were looking for experienced engineers.

My interview with Carl Agar and Alf Stringer was short. “Do you want to fly or twist nuts”. I said nuts. They said, “Start tomorrow”. I started the first of the month.

Keith had quite a bit of experience in aviation before going to Okanagan Helicopters. He was in the RCAF from July 1940 to September 1945 as airplane ground crew and air-crew – service and overhaul of PBY’s with #4 Repair Depot in Scoudouc N.B. It was ironic that at the same time I was flight testing PBY’s on the west coast, he was fixing them and flying in them on the east coast.

I first met Keith after the war when I was a ground school instructor with Brisbane Aviation, and Keith took a six month course in Aero Engines which when added to his time as Air Frame mechanic allowed him to write for his AME license.

He was an engineer for Queen Charlotte Airlines from May 1948 to July 1951 when he joined Okanagan Helicopters. He spent time at Kemano and Tahtsa working with Don Poole and Pete Cornwall as pilots. He was also on a survey job at Telegraph Creek with Don Poole and Tom Gurr. It was a rush job, dawn to dusk flying so it required two pilots for the Bell 47 helicopter. He was engineer on many other various jobs in B.C.

Keith was posted to Newfoundland and spent 2 years there with United Helicopters (a subsidiary of Okanagan Helicopters). There were many other jobs across Canada that Keith was involved in and he was one of Canada’s top helicopter engineers. Maybe that’s why they picked him to mother the turbo powered Sikorsky S61 on the first unescorted flight across the North Atlantic to England.

The job was to deliver the helicopter to England for use on the North Sea Oil Rigs. The pilots selected were Ross Lennox and Tom Schear, with Ross supervising the navigation and Keith as engineer, and Tom Harrison as Technical Representative for Canadian Pratt and Whitney.

A long range fuel tank of 2,500 pounds capacity was installed in the cabin at the Sikorsky Factory in Stratford, Conneticut. There was a little controversy on how to get the fuel from the spare tank into the main tanks under the floor. Lots of elaborate ideas with transfer valves, pumps, relays, switches etc. were suggested but Keith said “Here’s what were going to do” – Cut a hole in the floor and the top of the main tank at a suitable position, install a shut off valve in the bottom of the spare tank and a flex hose from there to the main tank, and feed the fuel in by gravity. It was so simple and nothing to go wrong. All the pilot had to do was holler for more fuel. Keith opened the valve to fill the tank and that was it.

Keith Rutledge and crew with the Sikorsky S-61 Helicopter.

Rutledge family photo

This was in May 1965. The Okanagan Helicopter boys took delivery of the helicopter at Stratford, Conneticut, flew to Montreal to get the formalities settled and then started the ferry trip. Fuel stops were made in Northern Quebec, then to Labrador, to Fort Chimo, to Frobisher then on to Baffin Island across to Greenland and over the ice cap to the East coast. The next stage was across 500 miles of open water to Iceland. From there on to the Faroes Islands, down to Northern Scotland and on down the coast of Scotland and England to London.

The trip took 35 hours flying time at an average speed of 110 knots.

I don’t think enough publicity was given out here on the West Coast to this epic flight after all, it was the first unescorted flight over the Atlantic by helicopter.

Escorted flights for helicopters with aircraft carriers and other escort ships were done by the United States prior to this.

Hats off to our Canadian helicopter pilots and engineers, they’re not afraid to tackle anything!

Keith left Okanagan Helicopters in 1969 and was one of the owners of Deltaire Industries at Vancouver Airport who specialized in the overhaul of helicopters.

He retired in December, 1979 and lives in Richmond with his wife Margaret who was also very active in aviation. Margaret Rutledge, formally Margaret Fane has had a notable career in aviation. She received her private pilots licence in Edmonton in 1933 and 1934 and obtained her Commercial pilots licence in 1935. She was on of the renowned “Flying Seven” – a group of women pilots in the 1930’s who were very active in many aviation events before and during the war. They operated a ground school giving training to women for four years (1939-43) in parachute packing, fabric work and general ground school activities.

Marg flew as co-pilot with Ginger Coote airways and was the first licensed woman Aviation Radio Operater in the world. She operated at Zeballos on the West Coast of Zeballos on the west coast of Vancouver Island when that area was booming.

She spent a number of years with C.P.A. (1937-1968) and is retired but still active in aviation events locally.

At present Keith and Margaret Rutledge are members of The Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation. As well, Keith is a director of the Quarter Century in Aviation Club and Marg is the hardworking secretary of the Club.

Margaret Fane (now Rutledge) in Cirrus Moth. Margaret was one of the original “Flyding Seven” women pilots

Rutledge family photo

DEN DYN CESSNA “WELL, THAT’S THE LAST OF ‘EM!”

REUNIONS

WACO REUNION Annual reunion, Hamilton, Ontario, June 25, 26, 27, 28.

GUARDIANS IN THE SKY

The following excerpt is from the article “GUARDIANS IN THE SKY” which appeared in the March 1986 issue of the “Whistle Punk”, published by Currie’s Forestgraphics Ltd. with their kind permission and that of the author John Parminter.

Although the use of aircraft for aerial forest fire patrols was considered as early as 1911 in Texas and, closer to home, examined by the Western Forestry and Conservation Association in the Pacific Northwest in 1913, the first such patrols were not made until the summer of 1915 in Wisconsin.

BRITISH COLUMBIA MAKES PLANS

The successes in Wisconsin resulted in a growing interest which spread throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In fact, the Minister of Lands, the Hon. T.D. Pattullo, received an “inspiration” after conversing with an air service veteran who had returned from the European front. Such veteran flyers could, in Pattullo’s opinion, provide an invaluable service in forest fire detection by aerially patrolling a territory three to four times as large as that which could be handled by one man on a ground patrol. A suitable aircraft and a willing pilot were all that was needed to test the scheme.

THE FIRST PLANE

A contract was let by the Department of Lands to the Hoffar Motor Boat Co., a Vancouver boat-building firm which had made the transition to flight in 1917 with the construction of a single float seaplane known as the H-1. The Department of Lands’ aircraft was to be a flying boat, popularly referred to at the time as a hydro-aeroplane,” and based on a Glenn Curtiss design. Consideration had been given to obtaining a surplus machine from the Royal Air Force but this was not feasible.

The aircraft, known as the H2, was a twoseater biplane flying boat with a pusher configuration–the propeller faced the rear and pushed rather than pulled the plane. Construction took place during July and August of 1918 and, with the exception of the engine and some hardwood components, utilized local materials. The frame was of Sitka spruce; the fuselage of one layer each of mahogany and Sitka spruce rivetted together with a layer of linen glued between; and the wings of the Royal Aircraft Factory “Six” design, made of unbleached linen and finished with four coats of dope and two of varnish.

The wingspan was 42 feet, the chord width (or width of the wings) was 5 feet, and 6 feet separated the upper and lower planes. The struts were also of Sitka spruce and on the underside of the tips of the lower planes, or wings, were two watertight metal cylinders to aid in balance and prevent the wingtips from dipping into the water. The six cylinder water-cooled Roberts engine developed 100 horsepower and could sustain speeds of up to 78 mph. When loaded with two passengers and fuel for 225 miles of flight, the aircraft weighed 1,900 pounds. Climbing ability was rated at 3,000 feet in ten minutes. Construction costs of the plane were estimated at between $7,500 and $8,000.

EXPECTATIONS DASHED

Initial test flights of the H-2 for the B.C. Forest Branch were carried out in late August by Flight Commander Capt. W.H. Mackenzie of the Royal Air Force. He pronounced it to be a “really excellent machine” which “will fly herself.” Without hesitation the Forest Branch signed a one year lease with an option to purchase but their hopes proved to be short-lived.

While flying above Vancouver in view of thousands of spectators the H-2 crashed and was utterly destroyed during another test flight in the afternoon of September 4, 1918. The latest word from the European front took second place as the Vancouver and Victoria newspapers gave extensive coverage to Vancouver’s first major and highly public air crash. At this time the mere sight of an aircraft overhead was still an event, an incident like this even more of one.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

In the spring of 1919 the Dominion government came under pressure to employ some of its “mostly idle” aircraft in patrolling Canada’s forest. The Hon. C.C. Ballantyne, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries and Naval Affairs, remained unconvinced of the desirability of such a proposal until pressed by the Hon. Jules Allard, the Quebec Minister of Lands and Forest; the St. Maurice Forest Protective Association; the Canandian Forestry Association; and the Aerial League of Canada. In response, two Curtiss HS-2L flying boats were flown from Nova Scotia to Lac la Tortue, Quebec and forest fire patrol operations began.

Meanwhile, civil aviation was growing apace. In British Columbia a forest fire was detected from the air for the first time in late September of 1919. The aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4 named Pathfinder No. 2, was over Duncan on Vancouver Island when the pilot spotted a mass of smoke emanating from dense woods. After proceeding to the spot he circled to ascertain the nature of the fire and its exact location, then landed at Duncan to turn in a report to the Forest Branch which then took suppression action.

DOMINION AIR BOARD ACTIVITIES

Coincidental with the June 1919 acquisition of the two HS-2Ls by the St. Maurice Forest Protective Association was a $5,000 gift by Great Britian to Canada consisting of 80 land-based aircraft, 14 flying boats, 12 airships, 300 motors, hangars, and other equipment used during the Great War. The United States also donated 12 HS- 2Ls. A sizeable air fleet was suddenly at Canada’s disposal.

Accordingly, air stations were established at Vancouver, B.C.; High River, Alberta; Victoria Beach, Manitoba; Sioux Lookout and Ottawa, Ontario; Roberval, Quebec; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. While a number of the was surplus planes were sold to private concerns, the Air Board retained the majority for use at the bases across Canada. Private enterprise was left free to develop the potentials of aircraft use without hindrance but also without a great deal of help from the federal government.

VANCOUVER AIR STATION

The Vancouver Air Station was established at Jericho Beach in February of 1920 on land which had been a naval reserve belonging to Great Britain and subsequently ceded back to the province which then donated it to the Dominion government for use as an airbase. Canvas hangers, a concrete platform, and slipways were built in 1920 and 1921 and in the following year permanent wooden hangers and workshops were built.

As the creation of the Canadian Air Force by Order-in-Council soon followed on February 18, 1920, the flying from Jericho was actually carried out by members of the CAF. The officers and men of the CAF were interchangeable with the Civil Operations Branch, which administered non-military civil flying.

Martin Mars water bomber as used today.

MacMillan Bloedel/CMFT Collection.

Two types of flying boats were based at Jericho–the Curtiss HS-2L and the Felixstowe F.3. The Curtiss HS-2L was a pusher type biplane and carried a maximum of four people–usually just an observer forward in the nose seat and pilot and flight engineer side by side further aft. The craft weighed 3 1/2 tons, had a payload of 600 700 pounds, a wingspan of 75 feet, and the 12 cylinder 330 horsepower Liberty motor could sustain a top speed of 65 to 70 knots. Although somewhat temperamental (the engine would occasionally overheat and cascade hot water into the cockpit) the HS-2L gained the admiration of its crew. The riggers had a maze of bracing wires to keep in tune and used to joke that if a bird released in the midst of it all could find its way out then something wasn’t quite right.

In January of 1918 Frithiof Ericson, the Chief Engineer of Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. in Toronto, went to England at the request of the U.S. Air Board to study the Felixstowe flying boat. Upon his return the factory was contracted to build thirty of the craft, known as F.3s or Great Americas, for the U.S. government. With a wingspan of 102 feet they equalled that dimension of the Lancaster bomber and nearly matched that of the Canso flying boat of later years. Two 12 cylinder Rolls Royce or Liberty engines were capable of propelling the aircraft to 87 mph although it took 10 minutes to reach 850 feet in altitude with four crew and a 1,000 pound payload. Twelve people and their gear could be accommondated.

No planes were assembled in time for active duty during the forest fire season of 1920 but in that fall an HS-2L was shipped by rail to Mara Lake near Sicamous and reassembled for ten days of testing. The initiative was taken by Vancouver Air Station superintendent Major Clarence MacLaurin. The purposes of the excercise, according to MacLaurin’s report, were to demonstrate to the Dominion and provincial forestry officials the potential uses of aircraft in transportation, ascertain which type of plane would be best suited to the area, study mountain flying conditions, test the performance of the HS-2L at different altitudes, and select a site for a possible subsidiary base.

After the last flight on November 15 the HS-2L was dismantled for shipment back to Vancouver. This trial, the first operational use of an aircraft for forestry in B.C., was judged to have been very successful in spite of the cold weather. In MacLaurin’s words in all of 1,728 miles flown “no unusual conditions were encountered and at no time did the machine approach being unmanageable or cause the slightest alarm.”

THE 1921 SEASON

In April of 1921 two more Great America F.3s arrived at Jericho for assemble and general use. The station’s complement would then be four F.3s and six HS-2LS, only two of which were assembled and in use, although that number increased to five by the fall. Both types of flying boats were to prove their worth in a variety of operations: forest fire patrols, fire suppression, forest reconnaissance and inventory, and aerial photography for the Geodetic Survey Branch; drug smuggling patrols for the Department of Fisheries; and a number of different surveys for other government departments were carried out in 1921. The provincial government was the major customer between May and October for forestry work and contributed $20,000 towards the operating costs of the base.

The provincial Forest Branch and federal Department of the Interior both employed the Dominion Air Board flying boats for detecting forest fires and transporting men and machinery to as near as possible to the site of forest fires. Pilots and aerial observers would determine the fire’s location, size, and rate of spread as well as the timber type in flame or at risk. Topographic features which might influence the behaviour of the fire or be used to advantage during suppression actions were noted, as were access routes and availability of water. When possible they tried to estimate the number of men required to fight the blaze.

Additionally, flights were made over fires being subjected to suppression action in order to size up the effectiveness of measures taken and to assess the possibilities for improving further work. With no means of radio communication available yet, messages were either dropped from the aircraft or sent to the Jericho base via homing pigeons. An alternative would be to land, locate a telephone or telegraph office, and relay a message.

Curtiss HS 2L flying boat at Jericho Beach

VPL/CMFT collection

The HS-2Ls were multipurpose machines but the larger F.3 was specially set aside to transport a fire fighting crew, handtools, and a pump to fires on an emergency basis. Circumstances did not require its use in this capacity during 1921 but the concept was retained.

Although an HS-2L was stationed in Kamloops in the summer of 1921 and patrolled from there to Revelstoke, the south coast received emphasis as it contained the most valuable timber in the province. Major L.R. Andrews, the District Forester in Vancouver, estimated that the 800 to 1,000 logging camps in that district employed 10,000 to 12,000 men, had 350 to 375 steam donkeys and locomotives, and annually produced about 50,000 acres of slash–all of it a fire hazard. In addition there was the risk of fire starts due to land clearing operations, campers, travellers, and of course lightning.

To counter the threat of the 300 to 1,000 fires experienced annually on the south coast, patrols were carried out each Wednesday and Sunday during July and August. From Jericho Beach the outbound flight went as far as Bute Inlet and, after a pause at the Forest Branch station at Tthurston Bay on Sonora Island, the patrol returned following the east coast of Vancouver Island as far south as Saanich Inlet. In all, 21 fires were detected on these aerial patrols in 1921.

These initial experiences with the use of aircraft for forest fire detection and suppression won many people over in both the provincial and federal forestry services.

THE 1922 SEASON

It was also during the fire season of 1922 that the F.3 flying boat received its first big test and passed with honours. A fire at Buttle Lake on Vancouver Island was reported on July 28th and it was estimated that ground travel to the site would take two days and require construction of 14 miles of new trail. By the time that could be carried out the blaze would in all probability be too large to control.

Obviously the F.3 was the solution. With MacLaurin as pilot it left Campbell River the next morning carrying a gaspowered portable pump, 1,200 feet of hose, hand tools, a 16 man tent, a camp outfit, provisions for 84 man days, and four fire fighters. In spite of being overweight with a 4,895 pound payload (useful load being 4,250), the machine made it to Buttle Lake easily and discharged its men and materials into collapsible boats to go ashore. Three more men were transported to the scene and after an all-night effort the fire was brought under control.

Felixstowe F3 at Jericho Beach.

Vancouver Public Library/CMFT collection

The return flight was somewhat arduous as the thick pall of smoke severely limited visibility. Nevertheless, it was an unqualified success and one official noted that this one operation alone would justify all the money and work which had been expended on the Vancouver Air Station since its establishment and in reality this was only one of any number of possible examples which could be cited.

Whether or not a defect was responsible for the September 11, 1922 crash of an HS- 2L which claimed the life of MacLaurin and passenger Mr. John R. Duncan is unknown. While attempting to glide to a landing after shutting down the engine due to a boiling radiator and then a leaky gas line, the craft inexplicable nose-dived into the water off Point Grey. MacLaurin drowned, the passenger died later of his injuries, but the flight engineer, A.L. Hartridge, survived.

THE 1923 to 1926 SEASONS

On January 1, 1923 the Air Board ceased to exist, being superseded by the Department of National Defence, with the Minister of Defence responsible for defence and all military, naval, and civilian flying in Canada. Civilian personnel either joined the new Air Force or left to pursue other endeavours. The “Royal” appellation was approved by King George V on February 15, 1923 and a reorganized Royal Canadian Air Force officially came into being on April 1, 1924. These changes did not affect the administration of civil aviation.

Although both forestry agencies made plans to utilize the aircraft in 1923 and successive years, only the Department of the Interior made much further use of the Jericho fleet. The B.C. Forest Branch had become disenchanted with the limitations of the obsolete HS-2Ls and Great Americas (both were unsuited to mountain flying generally as they had a ceiling of 7,000 to 8,000 feet) as well as the excessive costs of maintenance demanded to keep them functioning. Indeed, the F.3s were not flown after 1923 anywhere in Canada.

Henceforth the B.C. Forest Branch employed the aircraft only on a casual basis for forest fire detection and forest reconnaissance, reimbursing the Department of National Defence for costs incurred. Just 45 hours of flight time were logged in 1924 and some of this was merely to drop fire prevention leaflets and conservation messages on logging camps and settlements.

The CAF was fully cognizant of the drawbacks of the existing fleet and in 1923 contracted for the delivery of eight Vickers Viking Mark IV amphibian flying boats which had been designed by Vickers in England in 1920. These machines were smaller, easier to handle and maintain, had a greater carrying capacity in relation to their horsepower, and a higher ceiling. By the end of 1924 the first Canadian built Viking was still being tested by Vickers in Montreal. Six were eventually built in this country although others were imported from England.

The Vickers Vedette was the first commercial airplane to be designed and built in Canada to meet Canadian flying conditions. At the 1924 annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Forest Engineers a subcommittee was formed to consider aircraft requirements for forestry operations. Recommendations regarding the aircraft features desired were given to the Department of National Defense and taken up by Canadian Vickers for aircraft design and construction. The prototype first flew on November 4, 1925 and went to the Department of National Defence. The first of a total of sixty production Vedettes was built for Fairchild Aerial Surveys of Canada Ltd. and rolled off the line in Montreal on May 10, 1926. It was specially designed for fire patrols, forest reconnaissance, and aerial photography and was greeted with enthusiasm by the aviation community. The RCAF took delivery of its long-awaited new flying boats that year in the form of four Vedettes.

Vickers Vedette at Jericho Beach.

Earl Gerow collection/CMFT collection

The coup de grace was nearly delivered to the Vancouver Air Station when, in 1926, its allotment of flying time was cut from 300 hours to 150. The staff of five officers and 21 other ranks was to be cut to two and nine respectively, with only two HS-2Ls available–one for regular service and the other to remain in reserve. With the provincial Forest Branch refusing to fund RCAF aerial fire patrols until more modern, reliable, and cost-effective aircraft became available and the RCAF wishing to enter into a cost-sharing scheme with the province to ensure the viability of the operations, this reduction in service and lack of new equipment sounded the death knell for regular and extensive use of aircraft in forestry operations in B.C.

POSTSCRIPT

Elsewhere in Canada the RCAF fleet was still being used for forestry purposes by provincial and federal agencies and in Ontario a provincial air service was created in 1924 to take over from the failed Laurentide Air Service operation by absorbing its fleet and buying additional HS-2Ls.

The Canadian aircraft industry began to prosper from the mid-1920’s onward but the delay between the demise of the war surplus machines and the availability of new and reliable ones served to frustrate those agencies, both public and private, which had honestly hoped to make advancements in forest fire detection and suppression, and indeed in all other fields of forest management through the employment of aircraft.

While planes were used in British Columbia in the latter part of the 1920’s for occasional forest fire patrols and special projects such as spraying insecticides on pest infested forests, the initial promise which aircraft seemed to hold was not attained until decades later. Similar applications of new technology took place following World War II and firmly established the aircraft, both fix-and rotarywinged varieties, in their present multiplicity of forestry roles.

DONATIONS

LIST OF DONORS SINCE NEWSLETTER 31 (1852 – 2076).

LARGE ARTIFACTS

Ray Baldrey, Max Sibbelee*, Bob Noren, Wylie Reid, Edward Appleby, M. Parenteau, K.E. Jordan.

SMALL ARTIFACTS

Gaston Proteau”, Ed Stead”, H.H. Siemens & J. Robinson, N. Malet-Veale, Basil Watson, Rob Arnstein, Audrey May & John Gilmore, Dave Smith, A. Broese Van Groenou, Wylie Reid, R.H. Grant, John Clarke, Cal Hough”, K.E. Jordan, E.L. Harris”, Neil & Brent Busby, Arthur Kerr, R.E. Brown, E.S. Stann April Zalesky, C. Hoseason, Phil Humphries, Cal Hough, Bud Neyeldi, Paul Avis Tommy Held, John Howarth, John Hatch*, Bill McGarrigle, Ron Stunden, Dick Wulfkuhle, Earl Gerow*, G.Van Humbeck”.

BOOKS/MAGAZINES/LOG BOOKS

G.N. Moore, J.J. Sheasgreen, Gaston Proteau, D.L. Wilton, Doug Battrum*, Fred Gregg, R.G. Bennet, Marvin Lang, H.H. Siemens & J. Robinson, Dave Gilmour, H. Eastwood Sr., Air Data Pbl., J. Vernon, Ashley & Mary McConnell, L. Olausson, Bob Noren, N. Malet-Veale, M. Stafford, John Williams U.8.C.,John Shaw, Ken Swartz, 8. Smithaniuk, H. Jeschek, M. Gatey, Ron Krywiak, Doug Fraser, Rick Baggett, Audrey May, Newton Books*, Ingwald Wikene, Bill McGarrigle, P.R. Gilbert, B. Goodwin, B. Goldsmith via B. Thompson, Boundary Bay Flying Club, U.B.C., Wylie Reid, H.H. Eastwood, Roy Willis, C.R. Goquillot, Phil Humphries, Colin Hamilton, R.H. Grant C. Jahnke, Lee Banting, Earl Gerou, K.E. Jordan, E. Harris, D.A. North, John Sutherland, Ken Swartz, Ross Gregory, Mike MacGowan, Harold Utas*, H.C. Chadderton, Joyce, Manary*, Alex McPhee*, Phil Humphries, Bob Abello, Jerry Vernon, R.E. Brown, W.T. McCall, George Brown, Doug & Lisa Girling, G.L. Croucher*, Bob Skouronski, John Howarth, W.R. Caldwell, R.D. Brown, Ken Swartz, Bob Abello”, Tom Palmer T.Shaw, Norman Leak, Joe Lalonde*, Mark Stett, T. Watkins, Liz Simons, Bud Strange, Graham Elliston, Don Kerr, Paul Avis, Tommy Held, John Howarth, Lloyd Bungey, Bill McGarrigle, John Sutherland*, F. Joosten, Randy Taylor*, Bernie Bricklebank, Ed & Rose Zalesky, C. Roos*.

PHOTOS/PICTURES/EPHEMERA

J.J. Sheasgreen, P. Bouthoorn, T. Lippoid”, Bill McGarrigle, Gaston Proteau, D.L. Wilton, Doug Battrum, V.H. Patriarche, Fred Gregg, Ed Foster”, Ethel Mowat Dave Smith, R.G. Bennett, J.R. Stephens, M. Champniss”, R.A. Fane, Oscar Nelson, Charlie Smith, Ntl. Aviation Museum, Brian Burke*, G.L. Croucher, H. Eastwood Sr.,D.F. Simmons, J. Vernon, Ken Swartz”, Grant Johnson, B. Sullivan, Ashley & Mary McConnell, Earl Gerow, Monty Montezuma, Ed Zalesky, F.R. Jackson, Fred Gardham, M. Gatey, Mac Moonie, Ian Morrison, J. Lalonde, Ed Long, Audrey May, Gary Moonie, H.L Eastwood Sr, P.R. Arnold, William Eckersly, R.J. Hingtgen, D. Eagland, Lee Banting, Earl Gerou, R.G. Bennett, John Clarke, G. Nixon, Cal Hough”, Ken Swartz, Alan Earle, Ernie Dahl, M.T. McCall, Warren McAllister, J.E. Slate, John Howarth, R.D. Brown, P.M. Bowers, K.E. Jordan, Skyway Air Services, C.R. Goguillot, Gordon Hone, R.A. Fane, Gordon Croucher, John Clark, John Sutherland, Iris Griffiths*, F. Joosten*.

UNIFORMS/MEDALS/CRESTS

W.J. McLachlan, Roy Willis, Lee Banting, Ken Swartz, Cal Hough, E.S. Stann, R.D. Brown, Mike Scott, Gordon Croucher, Doug & Lisa Girling, P. Slipper, C. Hamilton.

TOOLS/EQUIPMENT/FURNITURE/FIXTURES

Lee Banting, Wilma Thompson, C. Bottreill, John Scott, Mike Doubleday*, Peggy Way, Monty Montezuma, Glenn Joneson, Mike Scott, John Clark, Don Kerr, Jane Robinson, Ron Stunden”.

CONSUMABLE ITEMS

(OFFICE & SHOP SUPPLIES, BUILDING, MAINTENANCE & RESTORATION MATERIALS)

Coles Book Store, R. Krywiak”, I.F.C. Inc., Bob Noren, Wylie Reid, Irene Carey, Roy Willis, John Stocker*, K.E. Jordan, Gavin McLeod, Arthur Kerr, Bill Mclean, George Smith*, John Scott, Jerry Vernon, Ken Manning, M.W. Holley, Mike Scott, Bill McGarrigle, Norm McEachren, John Clark, Colin Hamilton, Jane Robinson, Ron Stunden, T. Shaw”, Mark Zalesky.

FUNDRAISING MATERIALS

Bernie Bricklebank.

CASH DONATIONS (OVER $5.00)

M.R. Lang, J.F. Gilmore, R. Baldrey, J.C. Hamilton, D.B. Smith, Bob Noren, B. Arnstein, A.R. Cassidy, Dr. W.L. Boland, Steve Gordey, B. Goodwin, C. Hamilton, W. Reid, E.L. Harris, Philip R. Gilbert, Phil Humphrey, Edward Appleby, Matthew Pirozek, Wilma Thompson, Bill Emerslund, Rev. Harry Meadows, R.D. Reid, M.R. Lang, James Guttammson, Pieter Devries, G. Van Humbeck, Bill McLean, Harold Utas, S.R Snoen, Spencer Davies, R.E. Brown, Jerry Vernon, E.S. Stann, J.D. Storie, Yvon Chasse, John Howarth, George Brown, C.P. Jones, Kandy Besse, David Smith, Frank Stevens, W.W. Hinton, Bernie Brickland, Wm.B. Hampton, B. McGarrigle, Lloyd Ward, Gary Chapple, J.M. Magwood, W.B. Edmondson,Betty Burton, Phil Humphrey, J.H. Jones, John Clarke, Jane Robinson, P. Addison,F. Heimrich, E. Fossheim, W. Feduck, Don Kerr, Gordon Croucher, R. Crombie, E.S. Keniston, C.E. Roos, R.E. Pierce (1611).

NOTICE

RETURN OF DONOR DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED The donors whose names are followed with a have NOT yet returned the required documentation to complete the gifts of the item donated.

A stamped, self-addressed envelope is always included with the acknowledgement letter, as it is very important that the documents be returned to us.

If you have not already done so, please sign and return the paperwork sent to you.

NEW MEMBERS

A. Kilburn, Richmond BC, Yvon Chasse, White Rock BC, Archie Henderson, New Westminster BC, J.S. Wood, Vancouver BC, David Pentland, Delta BC, Steve Gordey, Langley BC, E. Petri, Delta BC, Corben Courier, Blakesburg IA, The Int’l Peitenpol Assn. News, Blakesburg IA, Don Sutherland, Vancouver BC, Peter Devries, Pt, Alberni BC, F.G. Hewlett, Prince George BC, Wingspan Publ. Attn., Derek James, Bucks UK, E. Frey, Wawa Ont, R.H Hart, Langley BC, Steve Snoen, Surrey BC, Bill Starratt, Burnaby BC, Don Starratt, Hudson Ont, Henri Lalonde, Calgary Alta, A. Martens, Clearbrook BC, H.Y Steirman, Mamaroneck NY, H.T. Schoultz, Tonawanda NY, Harry Hill, Surrey BC, Don Francis, Mantario SK, Mike Conner, Pitt Meadows BC, JR Griffin, Vancouver BC, Alan Ryder, Surrey BC, Rosanne Mitchell, Richmond BC, William, Clara, Mark & Shane Hughes, Surrey BC, W.EN Chapman, P.George BC, J.M Magwood, Victoria BC, Mike, Gary Russell, Surrey BC, Dan Dertien, Campbell River BC, Gordon Croucher, Surrey BC, R.H Gordon, North Vancouver BC (1504).

WANTS AND NEEDS

FOR THE MEMBERS LOUNGE:

Working self-defrosting fridge and mircowave oven.

FOR THE OFFICE:

Plain bond copier paper, drafting table, opaque projector, copier capable of reducing and enlarging, dot matrix printer, laser printer, rent-paid postage meter, an offset plateburner, a FAX machine.

FOR THE DARKROOM:

Gordon Croucher will be leaving soon, and taking with him equipment that he has loaned to help get CMFFT started. We need the following items:

URGENTLY:

Pentax 1000 or similar, Kaman Pentax 50 mm macro lens or similar, UV filter, K2 filter, dial thermometer, safelights, slide copier, set of polycontrast filters for the enlarger, light meter, OC filters (safelight).

NOT URGENT:

28mm-85mm zoom lens, 70mm-210mm zoom lens, UV filters for above, changing bag, flash gun (strobe vivitar 285), green, blue filters for camera, #10 or #13. We have an Omega 8-66 35mm enlarger which is surplus to our needs. Sell at $95 080 or trade.

FOR THE SHOP

A squaring shear, good tin snips, welding rod (brass and steel gas welding rod, electric rod), a small, portable compressor, sabre saw, hand drills, small hand tools, extension cords, drill bits, aircraft jacks, hydraulic jacks, car jacks, wrecking bars, ladders, carpentry tools.

FOR THE YARD

Shovels, rakes, hoes, axes, pickaxes – any yard tools, gas or electric weed trimmers, lawn mowers (reel, rotary, electric dead or alive). We need the live ones to do the work, and the dead ones to keep the live ones going.

Also need a parks-board type mower to keep the grass on the landing strip-/parking lot under control. It is presently cut once a year at a reduced rate by Alnor Services, who also cut the grass area used as a heliocpter landing area at Open House once a year for free. This service is much appreciated, but the grass grows faster than we can afford to control it. Is there a farmer or landscaper out there who would be willing to help out using his or her equipment?

CAREER TRAINING OPPORTUNITES

WORD PROCESSING

Learn word processing on a micro computer, and how to use transcribing equipment, in exchange for entering taped interviews of pioneer aviators. You have to know how to type but you don’t have to be fast.

It involves a lot of what would normally be very expensive training, so we expect that you will not “take the training and run” as has so often occurred in the past. Or, it can be done at home on a typewriter. Re-keying is a minor job compared to the time-consuming work of listening to original tapes.

COMPUTER DATA INPUT

We’ll teach the basics of computer operation and data entry in exchange for two or three weeks of your valuable time to do a bit of the work piled up.

CARETAKER WANTED

Mobile Home and yard area will be provided to a single person or small family in exchange for evening/weekend caretaking at the museum. Call 531-3744

FUNDRAISER WANTED

The CMFT is now well established. A solution to the knotty problem of a permanent homesite now appears possible(?), and major expenditures will be required soon.

Funding requirements fall into three categories:

• A) Specific aviation restoration/preservation projects.
• B) The CMFT share of costs of buildings at a permanent site.
• C) Funding to provide core staffings include a full time general manager, a fundraiser, and a chief restorer.

As in the past, all other operational funding costs can be met from funds generated by special events, gift shop sales and minor donations.

ED BATCHELOR

A man who was among the pioneers of Canadian aviation passed away recently.

Former Skyway Air Services Manager Edgar Wilson (Ed) Batchelor, late of Langley, died in Langley Memorial Hospital on March 17th, 1987. Born in Cooling, Kent, England, on September 4th, 1915, he was 70 years of age.

Ed Batchelor arrived in Langley from England, via Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, in 1948. Here he met Art Sellers and Canada’s first crop dusting airplane, a combination that resulted in Skyway Air Services in 1949. Ed’s involvement in the company allowed it to qualify for government certification as a flying school.

Ed joined the RAF on September 3rd, 1933, the day before his 17th birthday. He started as an engineer and gunner and soon trained to be a pilot. When World War Two started he was an Air Force instructor. He was among the instructors and students who: were moved, along with their entire flying school, to the Canadian prairies in 1940. In 1942 Ed was back in England flying with an anti-U-boat squadron. He took part in the D-Day operation and later was moved to the Indian Ocean to continue service there.

In an interview with The Advance three years ago, upon the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary as a flier, Ed indicated that his most satisfying service in the RAF had been shortly after the Japanese surrendered: he spent 3 1/2 months rounding up prisoners of war from around the South Pacific and flying them to Singapore from which they would return home to England. Just prior to that assignment Ed had the distinction of flying Lord Louis Mountbatten to Japanese Surrender.

Past president of the B.C. Aviation Council, he was honored in 1983 for 50 years in aviation. He received the Robert S. Day Trophy for being “the person who contributed most to aviation”.

In 1986, he was honoured by Transport Canada for his many years of service in conducting flight tests.

Very active in community activities he was a past member of Langley Rotary and past president of Langley Parks Board. He coached and played soccer in Langley. Surviving him are: his wife Elizabeth; a daughter, Anne and husband Ralph Abbott of Washington; two sons, Bill and wife Linda of Ocean Park and Ray and wife Muriel of Burnaby; a stepdaughter, Suzanne and husband Trevor Barry of Roberts Creek, B.C; a stepson, Kirk Thomas of Gibsons; four grandchildren; his sister, Renee and husband John Osenton of Langley; two sisters and four brothers in England; and numerous nieces and nephews.

This article is reprinted from The Langley Advance, March, 1987.

Ed was well known and respected throughout as an outstanding instructor. He has earned his place in local aviation history, and is one of the people featured in the taped interview series “Pioneer Profiles” being carried out by the CMFT.

OBITUARIES

We regret the recent passing of the following museum member:

ROSS MAXWELL: Ross was tragically killed March 18 when his Beech Musketeer crashed near Princeton. Ross was a long time member and supporter of CMFT, and he will be sadly missed by those who knew him.

MEMBER’S FORUM

Dan Dertien of Campbell River is looking for photos of Pacific Western Airlines Convair 640 turboprops, particularly CF- PR. Anyone able to help can contact Dan at RR2, Finch Rd. 203-4, Campbell River, B.C. V9W 5T7.

TRACING THE WHEREABOUTS OF RCAF PERSONNEL

By Don Noghtingale

The following article is reprinted from “The Roar of the Harvard,” the newsletter of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Assn.

The question about the whereabouts of LAC Paul Smith in the last issue of the ROAR prompts me to let CHAA members know that there is a way to gain access to the service records of members of my family and I am sure that many of you who have historical or genealogical interests might also wish to access records of family members.

Access to military personnel records found in the National Personnel Records Centre in Ottawa is governed by the Privacy Act of 1983. In accordance with this legislation, personnel information from these records cannot be disclosed to any third parties unless the veteran to whom the information relates has been consulted and has consented to the disclosure. Thus, in effect, only veterans themselves or persons who have been duly authorized by veterans are allowed access to the information contained in military personnel records.

In the event that the veteran has been dead for less than twenty years, the next of kin or members of the immediate family may receive information from the veteran’s military personnel records. Other requestors must provide a written authorization from the next of kin or a member of the immediate family before information may be released to them. In every case, documentation which proves that the veteran is no longer living must provided and the relationship of the requestor or the person who authorizes access to the records must be stated.

If a veteran has been dead for more than twenty years or has attained 110 years of age, the information in his military personnel records is no longer considered personal information and any Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada has the right to examine or obtain copies of the records under the Access to information Act. The individual requesting the information must produce evidence that the veteran has been dead for more than twenty years. There is no requirement to produce proof of age as the date of birth is recorded in the veteran’s documents.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL REQUESTS

Statements of service as well as copies of enrollment documents, records of service, discharge certificate and other relevant documentation from the veteran’s military personnel records are usually available without formal processing under the Access to Information Act and can be obtained by means of a simple written request. There is no specific form to be used for making an informal request.

However, when an informal request has not secured the information wanted or when an individual wishes to exercise his/her right under the Access to Information Act for whatever reason, he/she should make a formal request by using the form entitled “Access to Information Request Form”. These application forms can be obtained from public libraries, post offices or federal government information offices.

CHARGES FOR SERVICE

There is an application fee of $5.00 which must be submitted with each formal request, i.e. a request made through the use of the Access to Information Request form. There might also be additional charges for photocopying the material ($0.10 per page) or for research time ($2.50 for every quarter of hour in excess of five hours) spent in processing the request. When fees will be required, the requestor will be notified before they are incurred.

Application and reproduction fees are waived when the personnel records of a deceased veteran are requested by the next of kin or a member of the immediate family.

RESPONSE TIME

Canadian veterans who are seeking pension, allowance, hospitalization, employment and other benefits are the number one area of concern of the National Personnel Records Centre. The workload of this agency is extremely heavy and its staff are obliged to enforce priorities and to give preference to inquiries which are of direct personal benefit to veterans and their families. Requests for genealogical or historical purposes are therefore assigned a lesser priority and are treated accordingly. In any event, the staff are very cooperative and try to ensure that an appropriate reply is provided within 90 days from the date of receipt of the request.”

In the cases of formal requests made under the Access to Information Act, the centre has 30 days by law to respond. However, if the request is for a large number of records or is complex, the 30 day time limit can be extended and if so, the Centre will inform the requestor that more time will be required.

INFORMATION NEEDED TO LOCATE RECORDS

There are over 1,800,000 war service records held in the National Personnel Records Centre and only the most uncommon names are not duplicated in the list of records. For this reason, any request should include the first three items shown below. If some of these items are not known, as many of the other identifiers should be furnished:

• 1. Full name
• 2. Service number
• 3. Date and place of birth
• 4. Branch of service
• 5. Grade or rank
• 6. Places of enlistment and discharge
• 7. Dates of service
• 8. Last known address
• 9. Name and address of veteran’s parents
• 10. Residence of veteran at time of entry into service

If you would like to make use of this service, please write to:

Mr. Claude Beaule Chief, Information Services National Personnel Records Centre Ottawa, Ontario Public Archives Canada Tunney’s Pasture K1A ON3

or call (613) 990-7575. You will find him and his staff very cooperative.

Anyone wishing to contact a veteran without knowing his/her address should write a letter to the veteran care of Mr. Beaule at the above address. Mr. Beaule and his staff will do their best to locate the veteran and pass the letter along to him. If there is no record of his current whereabouts, the letter would be returned to you. In this event, the only alternative would be to put out a request in the “Lost Trails” column of the Legion Magazine.

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.

MOVING?

IF YOU’VE MOVED, OR PLAN TO SOON, PLEASE SEND US A CHANGE OF ADDRESS. IT IS COSTING US A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT IN WASTED POSTAGE WHEN NEWSLETTERS ARE RETURNED (@ 55c EACH) AND YOU RECEIVE NO FURTHER NEWSLETTERS AS WE DON’T HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE TO SEND THEM. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND FOR ANY FUTURE MOVES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.

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.

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.

ABOVE: CMFT’s Bristol Bolingbroke as it looks today after its static display overhaul/restoration. We are now often asked, even by members “Where did you get the Bolingbroke?” The answer is that it is the same old yellow shell that was in front of Hangar #2 – a proven point that an airplane is most recognizable when its all put together.

S. Senaratne/CMFT collection.