Booklist + Cessna Ce.172 “Archaeology” + Canadair Sabre + 737-200 Sim Update from Nolinor + Canada Post Kudos? Not Really! + Dash 8 Reminder + Norseman Update + Final 747 + Boeing 727 + “Formative Years” Book Review & Offer + The CAE Story … Update + Offer

2022 Canav-Booklist

1-canav-booklist-fall_winter-2022Download

One of history’s all time great airplanes is the Cessna Ce.172. First flown on June 12, 1955, into 2022 more than 45,000 have been produced. One of the  claims about this very pretty, lovely-to-fly 4-seater is that it is the most successful airplane in world history. Confederation College at the Lakehead recently re-equipped with 5 new “172s”.
 
In 1955 the fly-away price for a new Ce.172 from the factory in Wichita (initial 1955-56 production run totalled 1178) was $8750. Here’s a photo of Canada’s very first Ce.172, CF-ILE. Imported in November 1955 by Laurentide Aviation of Montreal, it went initially to the Montreal Flying Club. By 1961 it had migrated to owners in Vancouver. It met some  misadventure on May 7 that year, then disappeared from the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register.
 
In December 1961 CF-ILE was followed by Ce.172s CF-IIK (No.32 for West Coast Air Services of Vancouver), CF-IKB (No.93 for Central Airways of Toronto Island Airport) and CF-IND (No.42 for C.M. Logan of Edmonton). Hundreds subsequently flowed into Canada. My first plane ride was in 1956 when I belonged to 172 Air Cadet Squadron in Toronto. One blustery Sunday morning a bunch of us cadets  assembled down at Toronto Island Airport, where an officer cadet named Piatrovsky gave us all a short flight (3 at a time) in Central Airways’ lovely new “172” CF-IKB.
 
Our photo above of CF-ILE (via Ian Macdonald) was taken by the late Hamilton, Ontario aviation photo hobbyist, Douglas Broadribb. The photo below of “IKB” was taken at Toronto Island Airport by the great Toronto aviation fan, Al Martin. CF-IKB has been owned for more than  35 years by Jim Bray of Paris, Ontario, who still flies it from Brantford. Jim learned from Cessna that “IKB” came off the line on October 28, 1955, then left on its delivery flight to Canada on November 3. To 2022 “IKB” has flown more than 6000 hours.

Today, the fly-away price from a Ce.172 from Wichita is about US$400,000 vs that $8750 in 1955 (which today equals about US$97,300). Your best source for general Cessna history are these two fine books: Cessna: The Master’s Expression (1985) and Wings of Cessna: Model 120 to the Citation III (1986) by Edward H. Phillips. These belong on any serious aviation fan’s bookshelves. You should be able to find copies via www.bookfinder.com Now … scroll back a bit to some of our other aviation history postings. You’ll enjoy this for sure and learn more solid aviation history here than by fritzing around with video games! For more about Canada’s postwar Cessnas see our blog item “Al Martin’s Photographic Handiwork”.

Two of Confederation College’s 2022 Ce.172s on November 12 this year with a crowd of students, staff and ferry pilots Anna Pangrazzi and Chris Pulley.

Canadair Sabre Reminder

Still time to get your first copy (or a spare) of our famous best seller, The Canadair Sabre. The book is incomparable & the price is irresistible. Enter CANAV Anniversary Highlight in the search box for the details.

Ancient CAE 737-200 Flight Sim: Latest News from Nolinor

Nolinor’s B.737-200 FFS in Miami. It was manufactured decades ago by Rediffusion in the UK and still is training pilots. (Nolinor Photo)

Two excellent views of Nolinor B.737-200s taken by Pierre Gillard.

We now have more news about the famous CAE Boeing 737-200 full flight sim (FFS) that we’ve been reporting on since publishing the CAE book in 2015. On December 30, 2022 Marco Prud’Homme, president of Mirabel-based Nolinor Aviation, wrote to me: “Good day, Larry. We received your information request via Pan Am since we are the owner of the 200 FFS in Miami. It’s under Pan AM operations. We are also the owner of the sim previously owned by Air Canada. It’s not in service at this time since the project to put it back online in YMX was put on hold during the pandemic. To our knowledge (and we did search for months), we currently own the last two sims for the 200. Our goal is to keep them running for many years to come since we still have at least 25 years of life remaining on our fleet of 737-200 (the biggest fleet as per Boeing). If you have any specific photo you need, we will try to get it for you.” In history, it’s always nice to tie up the last basic detail which for now Marco has done. We’ll keep an eye in the coming years and eventually try to do a feature item about Nolinor.

Canada Post Kudos? Not Really!

            On November 7, 2022 I mailed a Norseman book to a new CANAV reader in France. Such an order always involves explaining in advance how long “cheapest” Canada Post takes (6 to 8 weeks to the EU is ballpark). At long last, on December 30 my reader let me know, “Hello, Good receipt of a very nice book. Many thanks”

     Over the decades CANAV has mailed thousands of books internationally. Sadly, each transaction is always such a delivery ordeal. Even if a reader decides to pay for (supposed) airmail, it can be a nightmare. In 2021 I mailed a set of Norseman books to a reader in Slovenia. Against my advice, he picked the airmail service at $140 (for two books, not a goldbrick) with delivery promised within one week. Delivery in reality? Two months. Personally, I was happy that this was so quick at a mere two months. (Naturally, it’s not just Canada Post that’s involved. There can be delays caused by other agencies. However, it all starts here, where Canada Post hold-ups are legendary, including long period of “storing” the overseas mail.)

Since the trans-Atlantic mail was far quicker in steamship days, Canada Post really owes its hard-pressed customers an explanation for its disgraceful and horrendously expensive service in the 21^st Century. Sadly, Ottawa bureaucrats like the CEO of Canada Post, who is paid more than $500,000 a year, have zero interest. The age of public service is but a blurry memory for our Ottawa mandarins and potentates.

This is the note I sent to my patient new reader in France: “Very good news, Francois. Also, very typical at 6 to 8 weeks. It’s always a relief to hear that the trans-Atlantic mail continues to get the job done, even if it still takes as long as the great Samuel Champlain crossing from France to Quebec in his leaky little wind-powered boat 400+ years ago! Thanks, I hope you enjoy your Norseman book, and all the very best for 2023 … Larry”

PS … As to the outrageous cost of using Canada Post in the 21st Century, I’ve taken to calling this former government service “Mafia Post”. Feel free to pick up on this.

Dash 8 Reminder

For some top DHC-8/Dash 8 coverage, drop “Magnificent Dash 8” into the search box. You’ll enjoy this wee item!

Norseman Update: Antti Hyvarinen Reports from Arlanda, Sweden

Recently, aviation historian Antti Hyvarinen submitted some excellent Norseman photos taken at the aviation museum in Arlanda near Stockholm. The museum’s Norseman is SE-CPB, ex-RCAF 3538. Postwar, it was gifted to the RNoAF, where it was R-AT. Once the RNoAF re-equipped with Otters, in 1957 “R-AY” was sold to Norwegian operator A/S Flyservice Alesund. In 1960 it moved to Swedish operators Nordiska Vag Bolaget and Norrlandsflyg, where it flew as SE-CPB. From Antti’s photos it’s clear that SE-CPB is in very good condition. Unfortunately, the Arlanda museum recently had to close for financial reasons, leaving the fate of its outstanding collection up in the air (see much about this great museum on the web). Thanks to Antti, a Finnair pilot whose hobbies include collecting historic flight simulators.

Below are three photos of SE-CPB during its RCAF days, first doing an air drop (DND photo) during Ex. Eskimo in 1945, then on floats and skis in photos taken by Herb Smale.

Final 747 Leaves the Line

If you go back to our February 2021 Boeing item (look for “747 Retrospective” in the search box) you’ll find a note about the impending end of the 747 line. Also to be enjoyed there are many lovely old 747 photos with a Canadian emphasis – Air Canada, CPA, Wardair, etc. Be sure to take a look.
 
Today comes news that the last of the 747 breed came off the line at Boeing in Renton, Washington on December 6, bringing production after 54 years to 1574. Above (Boeing Photo) is this historic “Queen of the Skies”, a 747-800 Freighter for Atlas Air of Golden, Colorado. Atlas took the last four 747s (all “F” Models) for its global cargo business.
 
For your enjoyment, here are a last few 747 pix from my files. Lots more back at “747 Retrospective”, if you’re a fan!

Air Canada’s first 747 was CF-TOA fleet number 301. Delivered in February 1971, it was sold in 1984 to Guinness Peat Aviation, then had various leases to National Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, People Express and Flying Tiger, finally ending as N620FE with FedEx. “TOA” was scrapped in Arizona in 1995. Toronto aviation fan Bill Haines photographed “TOA” at Toronto’s Pearson International “YYZ” on June 25, 1974. His vantage point was the famous parking lot rooftop of Toronto’s “T1” Aeroquay.

Air Canada’s CF-TOE lands at YYZ in June 1983. For the airplane photo nerd it’s always fun to snap off a close-up like this as one of the giants of air whistles by on short final. Delivered in May 1974,”TOE” went to Evergreen International in 1998, then was scrapped the same year.

Leslie Corness caught Wardair 747 C-FDJC with a company DC-10 at Gatwick in August 1985. See the interesting details for “DJC” back in the blog at “747 Retrospective”.

Leslie shot TWA’s N93104 at London on August 10, 1980. It went for pots ‘n pans at Marana, Arizona early in 1998.

How many times have you looked up over the decades to marvel at a 747 slicing through the sky more than 30,000 feet above! I caught this one heading southeasterly over Yellowknife in June 1993. Happily, we’ll be marvelling at this sight for decades to come.

Home Sweet Home … A Fellow Lives in a Boeing 727

Have a look here https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/26/73-year-old-pays-370-bucks-a-month-to-live-in-a-1066-square-foot-plane.html. Also … look in our search box for 727 Turns 50. Includes some solid Canadian history that any fan will enjoy.

“Formative Years” Book Review

This week I came across a review in the great UK journal “Aviation News and Global Aerospace” (January 2010 ed’n) of our classic book Aviation in Canada: The Formative Years. As far as the early years of Canadian civil aviation go, Formative Years will inform, entertain and impress any keen reader for decades to come. Here’s a special blog offer if you don’t have your copy: Formative Years delivered anywhere in Canada (“Mafia Post” and tax included) CAD$60.00, USA US$60.00, Overseas (surface post) CAD$120. To order simply pay directly by PayPal to larry@canavbooks.c

CAE Update … CAE Stakes Early Claim as eVTOL Training Provider

Nothing in aerospace is static, every day there seem to be new technologies. In 2015 CANAV published the history of Canada’s iconic CAE Inc. Aviation in Canada: The CAE Story remains the very best book ever produced covering any of the aerospace giants. If it’s a really beautiful aviation book that you’re looking for, look no farther than this one! Here are the book specs + a special deal:

Aviation in Canada: The CAE Story By Larry Milberry. One of the world’s grandest aerospace corporate histories. Founded in 1947, CAE begins with CF-100, Argus & CF-104 “flight sims”. It was a rollercoaster … CAE tackles everything else from consumer products to radar stations, overhauls C-119s, F-84s, T-33s & Viscounts, and manufactures L-1011 & C-135 components. It profits in forestry, owns an airline, flops with bushplanes, makes auto parts, designs control systems for power stations & naval vessels, and disastrously buys Link. CAE designs the robotic hand controller for the Canadarm orbiting today on the ISS. This spectacular book brings you to the present with CAE owing the lion’s share of the commercial flight sim market, produces visual and motion systems, and runs schools & flight sim centres that ease the global pilot shortage. The CAE Story honours the great CAE pioneers & generations of employees. Retired CAE CEO Douglas Reekie comments, “You deserve a great deal of credit for undertaking this task and for doing it so well. There should be a medal for you for perseverance.” Former Commander of Canada’s air force (AIRCOM), General W.K. Carr, DFC, puts it in his famously succinct way: “The book is fantastic”! More atwww.canavbooks.wordpress.com. Treat yourself to this spectacular book, you’ll be delighted!392 pages, hc, lf, 100s of photos, gloss, biblio, index. A bargain at $65.00+ shipping + tax, but with these ALL-IN offers: CAD$55 anywhere in Canada, US55 anywhere in the USA, CAD$100 international (surface mail only). Pay by PayPal to larry@canavbooks.com

Here is some current news about CAE getting into eVTOL — electronic vertical takeoff and landing. The history of this amazing Canadian company

CAE’s viability as an eVTOL training provider is being established through its relationship with legacy airlines, including Virgin Atlantic –  partnered with Vertical Aerospace, Atkins, Skyports, NATS, Connected Places Catapult, Cranfield University and WMG, University of Warwick. | Source: Virgin Atlantic
December 6, 2022 Marty Kauchak

CAE’s many expanding competencies now include its leadership position in the evolving eVTOL training market. Chris Courtney, Director of Advanced Air Mobility for Civil Aviation at the company, said CAE has five training partnerships with eVTOL OEMs to include Joby, Jaunt, Vertical Aerospace, Volocopter and Beta.
“These are not ‘paper partnerships,’” the former career military helicopter pilot emphasized and revealed that for one company, CAE is manufacturing simulators, for several, it is developing courseware and curriculum. “For another company we’re their exclusive training provider globally. That company, Vertical Aerospace, is a traditional OEM, making and selling aircraft. We’re going to be providing simulators and delivering training out of our training centers and assisting with their customers where they are going to be selling to.” For Volocopter, CAE is delivering global training for the OEM outside Europe. “We are making a new flight simulator for them, the CAE 700MXR and we’re working with Volocopter and with EASA to get the device qualified and get as many pilot training credits as we can get on this particular device.”

At this embryonic stage, CAE has an internal team with numerous capabilities, including a regulatory affairs specialist, engineers and others, to advance its eVTOL training portfolio. As eVTOL community members accelerate the pace of first flights, pursue aircraft certification and other early life-cycle activities, CAE has hit a “sweet spot” of sorts in the timing of its eVTOL training focus. Courtney observed that training is not a pursuit once you certify an aircraft and explained, “This is something you do three years in advance of entering service – the time we traditionally start working on training with a traditional airplane or helicopter maker.” While Courtney notes CAE has the reputation of a “credible training provider for more than 75 years,” it is also an early preferred simulation and training provider due to its global training center network. The existence of brick-and-mortar training centers dispels some of the early expectations that eVTOL training would be provided in large doses through distributed learning and like-instructional designs. “To be an ATO, there is an awful lot of rigor and scrutiny to be an authorized training provider,” the executive pointed out and added, “the infrastructure is part of it, the instructors are another, and then there are the flight training devices and curriculum that all have to come together.” And while Courtney acknowledged there will be some opportunities to conduct satellite-based or other distance-enabled learning, “you still have to follow the same process that applies for current ATOs.”

CAE notes its viability and attractiveness as an eVTOL training provider is also being established through its role as a training provider to legacy airlines beginning to acquire eVTOLs. “Almost 80 percent of those sales are already CAE existing customers,” the CAE executive said. “Whether it is Virgin, American, Gol, or others, “these airlines and operators are saying, ‘As you provide the Boeing 737 or whatever, we expect you to be there for us in the eVTOL space because it is different. We want to leverage your new and innovative ways to train pilots and train the individuals who are going to operate the eVTOLs that are going to be part of our brand.”            

News From CANAV

RCAF 435 Squadron C-130H 130336 on the ramp at 17 Wing Winnipeg on September 28, 2022. This is one of the “H-models” delivered in 1986 as aerial tankers, but also to do the other many duties demanded of Canada’s Herc fleet. This day ‘336 was slated for a search and rescue training exercise in the Lake Winnipeg area. Also shown is the crew for the day. 435’s five Hercs have logged more than 100,000 flying hours, including 27,000+ for ‘336 when I photographed it this day.

It’s been so long since we’ve had the time to post anything new. Finally, here’s a bit of an update. First of all, I hope you will have a close look at our new Fall/Winter 2022-23 newsletter & booklist. It’s packed with outstanding reading for all those having a serious interest in our great aviation heritage. I really appreciate that most of you are long-term CANAV fans, but in order to survive, any such small aviation publisher needs more of its fans to turn into actual supporters (i.e., fans who buy a book once in a while). CANAV needs you both, but can’t survive without a few more more fans becoming supporters. Please give it a thought, if it won’t break the bank.

CANAV introduces its latest booklist

Canada’s premier aviation book publisher presents its Fall/Winter 2022/23 list. Have a close look and you’ll find many important titles old and new including some exceptional bargain books. Please get in touch with any questions about ordering, etc.
Cheers … Larry Milberry, Publisher, larry@canavbooks.com

1-canav-booklist-fall_winter-2022Download

RCAF Centennial Book Project

Most of my 2022 efforts have been in basic research and writing for CANAV’s next book, its grand history of the RCAF 1924. After four years of this so far, the groundwork is done covering from the background to 1924 and into the 1980s. The next year mainly will be covering the modern RCAF, including visiting as many bases as possible. I started this lately with visits to Borden and Winnipeg to cover such squadrons as 400, 402 and 435, and such other important organizations such as CFSATE at Borden and Barker College at 17 Wing Winnipeg. In November I’ll cover 8 Wing Trenton and Petawawa. This fieldwork lets me see the RCAF in action, before finishing the final chapters. This is the recipe for a book that will be worth having on your shelves.

Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

The RAMWA’s magnificent Canadian Vickers Vedette replica. Several of the men who worked on this project had worked on Vedettes in the 20s and 30s. This spectacular display shows the results.

While visiting 17 Wing, I squeezed in a sidetrip to Winnipeg’s wonderful new aviation museum, the former Western Canada Aviation Museum. There, Gord Crossley (17 Wing Heritage Officer) and Bob Arnold (long-time museum member, restorer, scrounger, etc.) showed me all the super work that’s been done to bring the museum from its roots in the 1970s, through its decades jammed into an old TCA hangar, to today’s magnificent museum. Here are a few of my quickie photos to give you an idea of why you need to make an aviation history pilgrimage to Winnipeg. At the end, I include a few images from Winnipeg’s other important aviation history collection at 17 Wing Winnipeg across the field from the RAMWC.

Another of the museum’s premier displays is the restored Froebe brothers’ experimental helicopter from the late 1930s. The story of Canada’s first serious helicopter project first was told in my 1979 book Aviation in Canada. In that period, Doug Froebe had written to me, “The first time it left the ground, I was at the stick. The tail lifted off first, I’d say two or three feet. Then I pulled back and the front wheels left the ground one at a time. My two brothers were very excited, but I was sort of scared.” Interest in the Froebe story then slowly developed, as often happens once a story gets a bit of initial coverage. Others pursued this one until the original Froebe airframe was acquired by the WCAM. Here is sits in its glory in the new museum.

Restored to flying condition over many years by a team led by Bob Cameron of Whitehorse, Fokker Super Universal CF-AAM now is permanently on display at the RAMWC.

CF-AAM also graces the dust jacket of our by-now famous book, Aviation in Canada: The Formative Years.

Another of the museum’s many world-class restorations is “Big Bellanca” CF-AWR. Brought to Canada in 1935, “AWR” (in its day Canada’s biggest airplane) toiled on many northern projects until crashing near Sioux Lookout in January 1947. Eventually, the WCAM’s stalwart recovery team hauled “AWR” out of the bush. Then began its multi-decade restoration to Bellanca perfection.

From the same era of the classic bushplane is the museum’s Fairchild FC-2W2, CF-AKT. Imported from the US for Canadian Airways in 1930, it eventually (1934) was brought up to Fairchild 71C standards. It then served in the bush until a serious accident near Watson Lake, Yukon in August 1943. Then, Canada’s only civil Fairchild Super 71 CF-AUJ. First flown at Longueuil in 1935, “AUJ” did much heavy lifting in the bush, until an October 1940 accident at Lost Bay south of today’s Red Lake. Again, the always forward-thinking WCAM recovery team salvaged the wreck, which the museum turned into this magnificent restoration.

Beautifully restored cabin Waco YKC-S CF-AYS came to Canada for Arrow Airways in 1935, then served many other operators in the bush. Finally, it joined Central Northern in 1947, a company that soon became Transair of Winnipeg. “AYS” was withdrawn from use in 1953, but somehow survived to end in the RAMWC as another premier example of aviation in Canada during the “Golden Years” of the 1930s.

Sometimes touted as the WCAM’s premier bushplane is this Junkers 52. Originally a tri-motor Ju.52s, long ago the museum converted it to represent CF-ARM, Canada’s famous single-engine Junkers “Flying Box Car” of the 1930s. The details of this and most of the museum’s classic bushplanes are best found in the seminal K.M. Molson book, Pioneering in Canadian Air Transport. This is a book you all should have. See if you can track down a copy at www.bookfinder.com Otherwise (seriously), you should find yourself a copy of Aviation in Canada: The Formative Years and one of Air Transport in Canada.

Representing the RCAF in WWII and the BCATP is this lovely Tiger Moth restoration. 1122 had served at 34 EFTS at Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, piling up some 1242 flying hours before being sold as war surplus equipment in 1945 and becoming CF- COU.

Beaver No.1500 … DHC-2 Beaver C-FMAA served the Manitoba Government Air Service 1962-84, before landing at the WCAM. Today, it’s one of many aircraft seen “flying” from the rafters of the new museum.

No.703 is the RAMWC’s example of the RCAF’s great CF-104. Beside it is one of the CF-104 flight simulators manufactured by CAE of Montreal. In the background of some of these photos you can see other museum aircraft. In this case … the Beaver and Air Canada Viscount.

The museum’s Canadair CL-41 Tutor climbs away above the Viscount and Canadair CL-84.

Two experimental types of which the museum is proud – its Avrocar (the so-called Avro “flying saucer”, actually a simple hovercraft) and the Canadair CL-84. The CL-84 held great promise until defunded by the US government. One wonders about its potential back in the 1960s and how it might have influenced today’s V-22 Osprey. Note how the museum maximizes its wall space.

Two fascinating cockpits to be viewed at the museum: the Viscount airliner and CF-101 Voodoo fighter.

The museum has a giftshop with many products on sales, but books only get a tiny corner. Nothing here from CANAV, sad to say, but … c’est la guerre, right. Then, a look at a tiny part of the museum’s important research library and archive.

On the west side of Winnipeg International Airport resides RCAF 17 Wing. Beginning decades ago, the base decided to display a few of the classic post WWII types that served here. The first three were the Expeditor, Dakota and Mitchell, mainly of No.1 Air Navigation School fame. These have weathered the decades fairly well. Here are “the Dak” and the Mitchell shot during my September 2022 visit.

The Expeditor was in the 17 Wing aircraft restoration shop for a clean-up and new paint. The other big project here is a Bolingbroke being restored using parts from various hulks recovered from prairie farms over the decades.

The RCAF air park’s CF-104, T-bird and Sabre. Under the scaffolding to the right is the CF-100, then getting a clean-up, new decals included.

Voodoo 101008 in 425 Squadron colours, then ex- AETE Challenger 144612.

Part of the air park’s tribute to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan includes a Harvard and several displays of memorial bricks. Among the latter I spotted several fellows about whom we’ve written over the decades, Ron Breeden included. Ron’s career included a first tour on CF-100s, where he was known on squadron as “the boy pilot” on account of his youthful appearance.

The air park also includes a Musketeer, Kiowa and Tracker. All things considered, you can see why a trip to Winnipeg should be in the cards for any serious fan of Canadian aviation history!

Norseman Update … Antti Hyvarinen from Finland recently visited the Dutch aviation museum where ex-Canadian Norseman CF-GLI is being restored. Here are his photos. Thanks, Antti! See the attached special offer for our two beautiful Norseman books. For outside Canada drop a note ref. shipping costs to larry@canavbooks.com

Norseman lists … Northern pilot, Rodney Kozar, keeps close track of Norseman “facts and figures”. Here are his two basic lists for 2022. Please contact Rodney if you have any updates.

airworthy-noorduyn-norseman-as-of-1-october-2022-page-1-of-3Download

noorduyn-norseman-in-north-america-museumsDownload

Old Hamilton Airport Update

If you search here on the blog for Old Hamilton Airport, you’ll see a fascinating bit of Canadian aviation history. Airports, of course, are not of huge interest to the typical aviation fan, but they are an indispensable part of our aviation heritage. By far the best source book for the topic is T.M. “Tom” McGrath’s 1991 gem, History of Canadian Airports. If you’re ever lucky enough to find a copy, pay whatever they’re asking. You’ll soon have this one on your shelf of favourite aviation books.

While filing material lately, I came across some other really top photos of old Hamilton Airport — the one opened  in 1930 to replace the original 1926 J.V. Elliot Airport in the Beach Road neighbourhood. In 1951 Hamilton Airport closed, once the wartime airport at nearby Mount Hope became Hamilton’s main aviation hub.

If you search here on the blog for Old Hamilton Airport, you’ll see a fascinating bit of Canadian aviation history. Airports, of course, are not of huge interest to the typical aviation fan, but they are an indispensable part of our aviation heritage. By far the best source book for the topic is T.M. “Tom” McGrath’s 1991 gem, History of Canadian Airports. If you’re ever lucky enough to find a copy, pay whatever they’re asking. You’ll soon have this one on your shelf of favourite aviation books.

While filing material lately, I came across some other really top photos of old Hamilton Airport — the one opened  in 1930 to replace the original 1926 J.V. Elliot Airport in the Beach Road neighbourhood. In 1951 Hamilton Airport closed, once the wartime airport at nearby Mount Hope became Hamilton’s main aviation hub. These historic photos came to me decades ago in the Robert “Bob” Finlayson Collection. Bob had been CANAV’s darkroom man for many years. You can find earlier blog mentions of him

Canada Post in the Crosshairs … Again

Canada Post riles Canadians with its Mafia-like rates. It cost me $74 today (November 1, 2022) to mail 3 small packages (inside Canada, cheapest rate) each with one book. Too bad Canadians are so wimpy when it comes to such things. We just take whatever Canada Post sticks to us.
 
The latest Canada Post brouhaha is around the new stamp honouring the DHC-2 Beaver on its 75^th anniversary. Problem is that they’ve incurred the wrath of the aficionados who object that the Beaver on the stamp has an American registration. Good point, you eagle-eyed folks, and shame on Canada Post. Their design gurus certainly are not sweating the small stuff!
 
My own beef with this stamp (and the series of 5 in the booklet) is their overall brownishness. Isn’t aviation all about the blue sky and bright clouds? If I had been asked, I’d have suggested simplicity — bright aviation colours. Brown? Forget it!

When Canada Post brought out my own stamp showing the RCAF Vampire, which I had photographed from a 442 Sqn Buffalo, it was just perfect. Take a look. How could Canada Post have done so well?

Besides the Vampire, compare today’s brown Beaver with the beauty of a Beaver that Canada Post issued ages ago based on one of the great Robert Bradford’s magnificent paintings. Now that’s a philatelic Beaver for you!

Canada Post, feel free to call me next time you have an aviation stamp in mind. I’ll be happy to get you on the right track and save you from shooting yourselves in the foot again. Meanwhile, start sweatin’ the small stuff!

Cemetery Studies

Following up on some earlier cemetery coverage, here is a bit more RCAF history from St. John’s Norway Cemetery. I spotted these two graves during a walk on September 11.

With 11 men killed, January 26, 1942 was a dark day for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, its darkest to date. Included among the dead was Sgt Alfred C. Cornell, age 26. Having attended Danforth Technical School in Toronto, before enlisting in the RCAF he had been an optician at Robert Simpson Co. in Toronto. He was married and had two small children. Killed with Cornell when they crashed in Harvard 3237 was Sgt Gordon F. Clark, age 23 of Kingston. They had been on a flight from No.2 Service Flying Training School at Uplands, Ottawa. Cornell’s funeral took place on January 30. Clark is buried in Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston.

Memorialized on his family marker in St. John’s Norway is navigator, WO2 John W. Dickson, a pioneer night fighter airborne intercept navigator with RCAF 409 Squadron. Flying in a Beaufighter IIF from Colby Grange, on August 3, 1941 he and F/O Bruce A. Hanbury, a former TCA pilot, made 409’s first GCI (ground controlled intercept). Tragedy struck on March 27, 1942 when S/L Hanbury (age 21 from Vancouver, a 1 Squadron RCAF Battle of Britain veteran), P/O Philip M. Sweet (age 21 from Huron, South Dakota) and FSgt Dickson died in a Beaufighter training accident. Suddenly, Beaufighter T3142 had entered  a flat spin from which Hanbury could not recover. The crew was laid to rest in Scopwick Church Burial Ground, England. Often, such airmen are remembered on the stone marking their family burial plot in Canada.

Bonanza and Norseman Updates

Bonanza D-2264 Had a Sad Ending

One day back in the early 1950s, my great pal, Bob Finlayson, snapped these lovely views of Bonanza N5002C “The Flying Chef”, visiting “old” (pre-WWII) Hamilton airport. Piloting it was owner/operator, Joseph E. Graves of South Bend, Indiana. These were the days when companies small and large were proud to fly the company logo on their planes. This made something like N5002C all the more interesting to photograph. I well recall the Canadair, Goodyear, Ontario Paper and Eaton’s DC-3s at Malton Airport (today’s YYZ) taxiing by “showing the corporate flag” back in the 1950s. They were always more interesting to photograph than the “no name” examples.

In the early days of bizjets, one of the more interesting logos that flew (if only briefly) was on the tail of a Falcon 20 operated for Conrad Black. I wish I had a photo, for it showed a snake suffocating a bunny. As one of the company pilots told me, this represented Conrad’s view of management vs labour. Try showing that logo in 2016, eh! These days one of the most secretive businesses on the planet is corporate aviation, so to see a corporate logo such as “Jack’s Foods Inc.” on a private plane is rare, Donald Trump’s Boeing 757 excepted.

Built in 1950, Bonanza N5002C (serial number D-2264) last was registered to the G&R Corp of South Bend, Indiana, but that was long ago – whatever happened to it, for it disappeared from the US civil aircraft register in 1953?  A report in the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Gazette And Bulletin tells the sad story of this lovely Bonanza. While flying from South Bend to New York City for a potato chip convention on January 26, 1953, Joseph E. Graves and three food industry companions all died when N5002C crashed in an orchard at State College, Pennsylvania. The newspaper noted: “The single-engine four-passenger plane which was almost out of gas, according to investigating state police, crashed as it approached the airport runway at this Central Pennsylvania community. The plane clipped off the trunk of a tree in the orchard and plowed into a mudhole … A few minutes before the crash the pilot of the plane contacted the nearby Phillipsburg Airport and reported he was lost and had only 10 minutes gas supply left.” Subsequently “N5002C” was re-used on a Ryan Navion in New Jersey.

Forrest Klies’ “Oshkosh” Norseman Has New Home

The story of UC-64A Norseman N78691 is told in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.2. Originally US Army 44-70372, it had a postwar career as NC58691 with the US Department of Agriculture, before joining Ontario Central Airlines in 1961 as CF-LSS. Further adventures followed with such Ontario and Manitoba operators as Cross Lake Air Service, Perimeter Aviation, Bob Polinuk and Kyro’s-Albany River Airways. CF-LSS seemed to have been dormant since 1975, then retired crop duster pilot, Forrest Klies of Montana, acquired it in 2011. Registering it N78691, he told me in 2013 that he spent $700,000 rebuilding the airframe and zero-timing the engine. For several seasons, Forrest showed his pristine “Big Beautiful Babushka”, as he called N78691, at Oshkosh. Eventually, he felt that he was getting a bit too old for such a big plane. In 2013 he offered it for sale for $300,000 or “a Beaver on wheels plus cash”. Others were seeking buyers for their own Norsemans, but not many operators or collectors were shopping. The picture looked bleak.

On p.111 of “Norseman, Vol.2” are two excellent Lambert de Gavère photos of Norseman N225BL (formerly CF-GUE) in Alaska in Ingram Air colours. N225BL later flew for Wade Renfro’s Alaska Adventure of Bethel, but on July 11, 2009 it went into the trees following engine failure. By then, however, Wade had come to appreciate the special features of this classic bushplane. His passion led him to purchase Forrest’s old beauty for a price north of US$160K. This week Lambert sent me these three fine views of N78691 on Lake Hood in Anchorage, waiting for the right weather before flying the 600 or so kilometers to its new home in Bethel, an isolated spot on the Kuskokwim River delta in western Alaska.

Update: Alaska Adventure Norseman N78691 flew off Lake Hood for Bethel on August 31 carrying a hefty load. Sad to say, however, the company lost a Super Cub the same day in a disastrous mid-air collision at Russian Mission in Western Alaska. In clear weather, it collided with a Hageland Aviation Cessna Caravan. All  five aboard the two bushplanes died. It’s often a tough world out there in the wilds of coast, bush, valley and mountains.

In other recent Norseman news, Rodney Kozar reports that Glenn Crandall’s famous Norseman CF-UUD (see  Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.2) now is N164UC with Wendell Phillipi of Minnesota. Rodney adds that Norsemans CF-JIN, CF-KAO and CF-ZMX all flew at this year’s Norseman Festival in Red Lake and that 80-90 visitors slapped down the cash for a Norseman flight.

Summer’s here, so it’s time to treat yourself to a set of CANAV’s wonderful Norseman books!

CF-GLI, originally delivered to the US Army in February 1944, now is under restoration in the Netherlands (click to enlarge).

One of Canada’s most historic Norsemans is CF-GLI. Delivered by Noorduyn to the US Army in February 1944, this UC-64 Norseman served on the US homefront as 43-5374. After its brief Army career, it was retired and sold in the summer of 1945 by the US Reconstruction Finance Corp. (the US equivalent to Canada’s War Assets Disposal Corp.) to Los Angeles based Aero Service, where it flew as NC88719. It’s history there still isn’t known, but in September 1951 it was sold to Queen Charlotte Airlines of Vancouver, thence to Air-Dale of Sault Ste. Marie in 1953 and Lee Cole’s Chapleau Air Services in 1982. Other operators followed until CF-GLI joined Gogal Air Services of Snow Lake, Manitoba in 1994, where it worked steadily in the summer tourist trade until a crash in the bush in June 2010. Old ‘GLI now seemed to be kaput.

In January 2011, however, the bent old Norseman was hauled out in pieces by helicopter and trucked away for safe keeping. In 2015 ‘GLI was sold to a group in the Netherlands (headed by Arno van der Holst) with plans to rebuild it to flying status. For the latest about this important project, check out their Facebook page.

Also, you can read all about CF-GLI’s many adventures in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.2.

Recently, Chris Cole sent along this great new photo, above, of CF-GLI. Chris writes: “I attach this picture of CF-GLI that I took one summer at my dad’s business — Sunset View Camp/Chapleau Air Service — on Unegam Lake just south of Chapleau on Hwy 129. I remember going out in a boat, so I could take this  picture.”

You can order your set of Norseman books right here: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

Cheers and I hope your summer goes well so far … Larry

Noorduyn Norseman Year End Update

Typical US Army Commando Group UC-64 Norseman scenes from the Far East in 1944-45. You’ll see these historic shots with a host of others in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.1.

Since CANAV published its Norseman books in 2013-14, it’s been fun posting new bits of Norseman history on “the company blog” for everyone to enjoy.

One little known wartime Norseman operator was the US Army in the Far East. In one case 12 Norsemans were assigned to the First Air Commando Group. Designated UC-64s (“U” for utility, “C” for cargo), their usefulness was described in the December 7, 1944 issue of CBI Roundup, a US Army newspaper published in Delhi (“CBI” signified China-Burma-India). You’ll enjoy this little period piece:

UNSUNG PLANE ‘WORKHORSE OF THE SKIES: Rugged Little UC-64 Performs Minor Miracles In Jungle

BURMA – To the wounded, isolated, supply-starved foot soldiers lost in Burma’s dense jungles, and to the pilots and other crew members who fly her, the UC-64 is a ‘sweet little airplane – the workhorse of the skies.” The stories told about those small, single-engined utility cargo planes are many and most always exciting.

Members of the late Gen. Orde C. Wingate’s phantom army tell a typical tale of what these planes have done under combat conditions in Burma. A number of Wingate’s boys found themselves deep in enemy territory, cut off from all possible help, many of them wounded, some on the verge of starvation. Evacuation by air seemed almost impossible, too, as they were faced with Jap machine gun fire on one side and surrounded by long stretches of rice paddies. Certainly, it wasn’t an inviting landing spot for an ordinary plane.

Suddenly, a lone, stubby-nosed aircraft appeared overhead, swept low over enemy installations and settled on a small rice paddy clearing. Painted on its fuselage were the five white diagonal stripes of the First Air Commando Group. The plane was a UC-64 Noorduyn Norseman bringing in 2,000 pounds of supplies and ready to evacuate 10 seriously-wounded soldiers to a base hospital.

Another story of the plane’s durability is proudly told by Lt. David C. Beasley, a pilot. “You can bang her up, but you can’t keep her down,” he declared, upon returning from an advanced Commando-built airstrip that had, a moment before his arrival, undergone a severe attack by enemy bombers. His radio wasn’t working and he hadn’t learned of the bombing that had dotted the runway with dangerous craters. When he landed, one of the craters snatched off his tail wheel. But five minutes later, with the wheel wired into place, Beasley was back in the air.

The C-64, as it is frequently called, is strictly a new bird in India-Burma skies. Prior to last spring’s airborne invasion of Northern Burma, Col. Philip Cochran, commanding the Air Commandos, foresaw the need of landing vital supplies upon short strips hacked from Burma’s rugged terrain. He needed a ship as tough as the jungle. His choice was the Noorduyn Norseman, a plane unproved in any other theater of operations. “We knew very little of her capabilities,” Lt. Julius Goodman, a volunteer pilot, admits, “as no other organization had used her in combat. We had thought of her as a very tricky ship to handle because of her narrow landing gear. It wasn’t long, though, before we knew her as a tough little workhorse.” As operations progressed, new hazards developed to test the aircraft’s durability. Shortage of transportation between Commando airstrips and the home base frequently forced the plane to carry 1,000 pounds in excess of its factory-stated capacity. She carried them with ease.

The scarcity of C-64’s in this neck of the war necessitates the immediate dismantling of their frames after crack-ups. The constant ferrying of troops into small clearings, supplying their positions and other outposts with radio equipment, drop packs, ammunition, rations and other supplies, plus evacuating the wounded, would diminish the effectiveness of an ordinary plane. But the Norseman, with its Pratt-Whitney Wasp engine, the pilots insist, isn’t an ordinary plane.

More News about Norseman CF-GLI

Norseman CF-GLI is well covered in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.2. Last year we heard that “GLI” had been sold in The Netherlands. An update appears in the Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre newsletter, “Fly North” (Vol.4, No.7, Dec. 2015). It turns out that “GLI” was transferred to the Dutch “Noorduyn Foundation” on May 10, 2015. Plans are to fully restore this 1944-model Norseman within two years.

“Fly North” includes some personal recollections from Gerry Bell, who flew CF-GLI from Red Lake in the 1990s. His list of the old bird’s deficiencies is a long one, yet “GLI” wouldn’t quit. Gerry concludes: “Together we moved people, freight, boats, did rescue flights, etc., through the endless skies of Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba and over countless miles of forests and lakes – times I shall cherish forever.”

If you are a fan of northern aviation, you ought to have your NWOAHC membership. Click here to find out more.

CF-GLI at the Air-Dale dock in Sault Ste. Marie. In this period it was painted a soft yellow with black and white trim. Larry Milberry took this photo with his reliable “2¼” Minolta Autocord more than 50 years ago, while on a Lake Superior canoe trip with his old pal Nick Wolochatiuk.

Norseman Vol.2 erratum: You can scroll back in the blog to find the few errata that so far have come to my attention. Today, please note that the caption on p.36 should read: An evocative Arctic scene showing what is thought to be the first airplane to visit Pond Inlet at the top of Baffin Island. Piloted by Gunnar Ingebrigston of Arctic Wings, Norseman CF-BAU made the harrowing 650 mile flight from Frobisher Bay in April 1949 on a charter with a party of federal government people, including Donald Wilkinson of the National Film Board. Here, “BAU”, well tied-down using 45-gallon drums, warms up. (National Film Board of Canada) All the best as usual …Larry

 

 

Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman comes in two impressive volumes, representing the most thorough treatment ever given by any publisher to any of the classic bushplanes. These splendid books belong in your aviation library.

You know how some airheads never shut up about “everything” being on the web? Well, CANAV’s titles prove what a load of BS that is (but you already know that, if you’re a serious aviation reader). You’ll find no comparable Norseman coverage anywhere.

So, for the detailed story about Canada’s renowned Norseman, order your set online today: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Few books could make such a royal gift for any serious fan.

 

A Few More Norseman Tidbits for the Fans

Check out this lovely period photo showing RCAF Norseman 3528 at Watson Lake in the Yukon on June 15, 1944. Whatever task 3528 was about, in these few moments the crew was not too worried. Who would know there was a war on, eh, with the fellows having knocked off for some fun in the cool, fresh water under the wing of their big yellow bird.

Earlier, Norseman 3528 had been on strength at 124 (Ferry) Squadron based at Rockcliffe, but in August 1942 had be reassigned to Northwest Air Command for duty in the Yukon, mainly supporting the Northwest Staging Route and CANOL Pipeline projects. In the Yukon, 3528’s usual pilot into 1943 was a pre-WWII northern legend, F/L Carl Crossley. See Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.1 for the Crossley/Norseman story.

And what of 3528 in the end? It’s not a happy tale. Moments after taking off from Fort Simpson, NWT on July 10, 1945, it crashed. Crewman LAC Sidney B. Ladell freed himself from the wreck, but powerful currents in the Liard River carried 3528 away with pilot F/O Charles T. Wheeler trapped in the cockpit. He was never seen again. (DND PL25434, click to see full screen) One of Canada’s best-known Norsemans in recent years has been CF-DTL, owned by Gord and Eleanor Hughes of Ignace, Ontario. Since the 1980s, it’s been a regular summer visitor across the North. Having begun as RCAF 2484 in 1941, postwar CF-DTL had served the Department of Transport and Wheeler Airlines, until wrecked at Moosonee in 1965. Rebuilt by Lauzon Aviation, it flew again for years in the Quebec bush. Gord and Eleanor eventually did their own restoration of this historic Norseman, and still care lovingly for it. While visiting Red Lake from France for the 2009 Norseman Festival, Michel Léonard photographed CF-DTL with Gord up top refuelling.

Norseman Updates: Finnish Norseman Pushed Outside

Finnish Norseman OH-NOA, which is mentioned in Norseman Vol.2 (page 121 and here) now is freezing outside at the Finnish aviation museum. Blog follower Henk van Capelle sent us this excellent photo and reports:

“I visited Tikkakoski in Finland on 9 March 2015 and found OH-NOA dumped in the snow behind the museum. So, unfortunately she is no longer in safe storage and is likely to deteriorate further. She is in a rather sorry state.”

*The latest news in November 2015 is that there is renewed interest at the museum in starting this Norseman’s restoration to display status.

*Click on any image to see it full screen.

US Military Norseman

One of the really eye-catching sights at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is this Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman in its flashy Alaska Air Command colours of early postwar days. I featured Sheldon Benner’s photo of this Norseman in Vol.2. Now, here’s a fresh view of it taken this March by LtCol Paul Bigelow, USAF. In other news, the Canadian Warplane Heritage in Hamilton awaits the arrival of Norseman CF-GSR, acquired from Ernie Nicholl’s Huron Air; and CF-GLI, the salvage of which is covered in Norseman, Vol.2, now is in the Netherlands. It will be restored to flying condition. Airworthy Norsemans CF-FQI, CF-LZO and N78691  have been  on the market since 2014.

CF-MPL Accident and Memorial

Norseman CF-MPL in RCMP service. The colour scheme was standard RCMP Air Division dark blue with yellow. (John Henderson Collection)

A clipping from the Kapuskasing Northern Times of June 2, 1965 reporting the tragic end of CF-MPL. (Ellis Culliton Collection)

One of the tragedies reported in CANAV’s 2-part Norseman history involves CF-MPL. On May 27, 1965 Percy Bradley, an ex-RCAF pilot, was on a trip to a fishing lodge in CF-MPL with passengers Palma Leclair, Elma Mulvenna, Victor Prendergast and John Wright. Severe weather suddenly engulfed them. As a precaution, Bradley decided to land on Powell Lake south of Kapuskasing, but crashed in thick bush. He, Leclair and Mulvenna lost their lives. Prendergast later reported: “Mr. Bradley … decided to try a landing, but when we were about five feet off the water, he realized the lake was too short and attempted to pull out. The pontoons hit the tree tops … and the plane stalled and went nose first into the bush.” Searchers needed two days to reach the crash. One of the RCAF’s new CH-113 Labrador SAR choppers from Trenton rescued the survivors.

Ontario Provincial Air Service pilot Ellis Culliton photographed the accident site from his Beaver. It’s clear that CF-MPL crash violently and that it was very good fortune that anyone survived.

In 2010 members of the Kapuskasing Flying Club visited the crash site to survey the wreckage and set up a temporary marker. These good citizens have returned since to do further work, everything being done reverentially. Here are a few of their photos.

The main wreckage of CF-MPL after the fuselage was righted and the starboard wing raised out of the muck. Note how the standard RCMP colour scheme still was in use in Percy Bradley’s time.

The temporary marker that the KFC party set up at the crash site.

Above and below: KFC team members study the main wreckage, then pose in a group for the historic record. Standing are Jack Pope, Michel Jauvin, Rene Larabie, Richard Drolet, Roger Isabell and Oneill Lapointe. Bob Pellow is in front wearing the red cap. Miro Spacek was behind the lens.

More Norseman Tales: CF-JIN ex-RCAF 2482

RCAF Norseman 2482 in wartime days.The colour scheme was standard yellow overall. Postwar, 2482 became CF-JIN, remaining in service into 2015. (CANAV Books Collection)

One of the busier Norsemans in modern times has been CF-JIN. Originally RCAF 2482 in 1941, it was struck off strength in 1953. It eventually re-appeared in 1957 as CF-JIN with Austin Airways, where it toiled into 1969. The next few years are a puzzle as to operations. There was a long dormancy, then, in 1988 it popped up at Red Lake Air Service in NW Ontario. In 1995 it moved across Howey Bay to Chimo Air Service, where it remained into 2015.

CF-JIN stuck in the boonies circa 1960 during Austin Airways times. Looks like an engine change is under way. (CANAV Books Collection)

In October 2002 JIN went south for overhaul at Mo Nesbitt’s Corporate Aircraft Restorations in Oshawa. Specializing in such vintage types as the Tiger Moth, Harvard and Chipmunk, CAR found JIN to be in reasonable condition, even its wooden wing. On May 1, 2003, by then looking like a factory fresh Norseman, JIN was trucked to Oshawa Harbour, assembled, craned into the water, then towed to nearby Whitby, whose beach made test flights convenient. JIN next made a short hop to Lake Scugog for post-test flight checks, then flew home to Red Lake. In the following years it has worked summers in the fly-in fishing and tourist camp trade.

Work is nearly done retoring CF-JIN in the CAR hangar. Al Wingate, looks on. Al knew a thing or two about Norsemans having ferried one to Argentina after the war. a story related in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman. (Wally Norris)

Following overhaul, CF-JIN heads through the streets of Oshawa towards Lake Ontario for assembly and test flying. (Wally Norris)

Flying JIN in the season following its rebuild was Bob Cameron of Whitehorse. In 2015 Bob recalled:

When I first arrived at Red Lake in May 2002, I was put to work flying Norseman CF-KAO. CF-JIN was still sitting up on shore in “winter mode”, but soon also was busy hauling fishermen out to the lodges. After I had been on KAO for a couple of weeks, chief pilot Dave Robertson announced: “So you think you’re a Norseman pilot now that you’re comfortable with KAO. Well, anyone can fly KAO. The real test is to make JIN haul a load. It’s now your turn.”

JIN had been maligned, in my opinion, hung with a reputation of being a “dog”. The Norseman is legendary for long take-off runs, and for that certain talent required of a pilot to work the “sweetspot” in getting his plane off the water. True, KAO seemed to dispel that traditional reputation with its amazing agility. Nonetheless, to me JIN was more of a “normal” Norseman, demanding that the pilot work the sweetspot with precision. I found that the sweetspot subtly moved incrementally forward from the moment it was established on the step, to when it smoothly lifted off. Dave Robertson told me that JIN didn’t fly any differently even after all the money that was spent on its rebuild.

Even though Chimo recently has been operating one of those fine, ever-efficient Turbo Otters, JIN proved its value at Chimo last season. We’ll have to see how much longer it lasts. Sad to say, but going into 2015 there’s a lengthening list of Norsemans consigned to “Norseman Limbo”.

Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman includes many details and photos of the famous CF-JIN. You can order this spectacular 2-volume set right here: Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Canadian orders only). US and overseas, contact larry@canavbooks.com.

CF-JIN in a typical over-wintering scene at Red Lake. This is how the planes dedicated to summer tourism spend their off-season. (Larry Milberry)

The bare-bones interior of Norseman JIN as it was the season Bob Cameron flew it. (Bob Cameron)

The typical Northwestern Ontario country over which JIN has been operating for almost 30 summers. (Bob Cameron)

Jim Court flew the Quebec North Shore for decades. In his retirement, one of his hobbies is scratch-building magnificent models. In recent times he crafted this lovely version of CF-JIN for Bob Cameron. (Jim Court)

On January 31, Jim Court of Sept-Îles added a bit to the JIN story:

Hi, Larry … here’s a little more news about JIN in that hazy period you mention. After Austin Airways, it was with Labrador Mining and Exploration, which had been operating Beaver IUU and Norseman ECG. In 1969 ECG was sold to Baie Comeau Air Service, since there wasn’t enough work for both airplanes.

Within a summer or two, however, business picked up with the drilling at Jerido Lake south of Kuujjuaq. So LM&E bought JIN. However, one day Lloyd Hogan  crashed it into a swamp north of Schefferville after running a tank dry (Lloyd had his own story about this). JIN was salvaged and, years later, got rebuilt and went back to work.

A Norseman Visual Treasure Surfaces

(Click on photo to see it full screen.) There’s a shadowy “archive” that slowly leaks out wonderful new Canadian aviation history. This treasure trove comprises the scrapbooks, albums, log books and correspondence of people who spent their lives in aviation.

Sadly, much of this material still ends in the dump after people leave aviation and fade away. We’ve heard this story all too often. One day a fellow called to report that his brother (my acquaintance) had passed. Before we signed off, I enquired about my old pal’s aviation collection. The caller reported that, since he had to clear his brother’s apartment quickly, he had boxed everything and put it out to the side of the road on garbage day – library, photos, log books, everything. A sad old tale, just pitiful.

Happily, others have family members with an interest, so good material gets passed along for safe keeping. Many have sent me such goodies, knowing that their treasures will be cared for and put to good use. One day the late, great Robert Halford invited me to lunch, showed me his life’s collection of material gathered through decades of publishing Aircraft Magazine and The Canadian Aircraft Operator. Then, he handed the whole collection – box upon box – over to me. Since then, I have used many of Bob’s photos in my ongoing series of Canadian aviation titles.

On another occasion, Harry Mochulsky, a renowned old-time Canadian air engineer, sent me some of his vintage Kodachrome slides. He was done this such stuff, but knew I could use it. I published the first of Harry’s photos in Power: The Pratt and Whitney Canada Story in 1989. Wonderful old material that likely would have ended in the landfill, had Harry not thought of me.

Harry photographed anything with wings — it was a natural activity, part of his trade. Here is one of his lovely old Kodachromes of the Saskatchewan Government Airways Service base at LaRonge about 1955 (click on the photo to see it full screen). What a typical Canadian bush flying scene. Nearest, and resplendent in SGAS black and yellow, is Norseman V CF-BEM, one of the stars in Aviation in Canada: The Noorduyn Norseman, Vol.2. Then is an SGAS Beaver, another Norseman and Beaver and, far on the right, a Cessna 180. Everything is on skis. Note the neat nose hangars and custom wing covers used by SGAS. Can’t you just hear the snow squeaking under your boots and feel that crisp northern Saskatchewan air.

Having spent 1945-53 mainly in the NWT, CF-BEM served the SGAS 1954-64, Next, ‘til 1970 it was mainly a fish hauler for LaRonge Aviation and Canadian Fish Products. Later, came a stint with a tourist lodge, until CF-BEM was sold in the USA in 1979. Last heard of it was a shabby wreck in a Denver scrap yard.

CANAV is always on the lookout for ordinary old photos to bring to light in its next book. If you have any such still lying around, I’m interested, so drop me a note: larry@canavbooks.com.

Thanks for a great year of reading, writing, photographing and sharing aviation. Warmest holiday wishes and all the best in New Year 2015!

… Larry Milberry

Norsemans Here & There …

 In the winter scene outside at Anchorage’s Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum is Interior Airways Norseman N725E. Originally US Army UC-64A 43-35433, in 1945 it joined the US Fish and Wildlife Service, moved to Alaska in 1951 for Northern Consolidated Airlines, thence to Interior in 1955. Forty years later it was donated to the museum by Alaska’s great aviation history aficionado, Jim McGoffin.

By now I hope that you’re reveling in your set of CANAV Noorduyn Norseman books. These already have been recognized as two of the finest aviation books so far in the 2000s. As usual, new Norseman material continues to roll in and the Norseman Festival spins up next week in Red Lake in Northwestern Ontario. Enjoy these five nifty Norseman photos submitted recently by CANAV reader Antti Hyvärinen, a Finnair A320 pilot. As usual, good reading to you all … Larry

The ramshackle cockpit of Norseman N725E. Some day, however, this old Norseman will shine like new – whenever museum priorities allow.

This project Norseman is in the Swedish aviation museum at Arlanda airport, Stockholm. The cockpit certainly is in more respectable condition than N725E’s. If you scroll back you can see this Norseman as RCAF 3538. Later it was RNoAF “R-AY”.

Antti’s close-up of the Norseman in RCAF colours at the British Columbia Aviation Museum near Victoria. The museum uses its Norseman on its logo. The 3 museum aircraft shown here all are covered in Vol.2 of our Norseman book.