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From Bill Cameron:

I enjoyed the article in the CAHS Summer Newsletter by Gord McNulty, about his visit to the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander NL. It was a delight to see the photo in the story of Canso CF-CRP, and to re-visit an old friend, CF-CRP. The Museum in Gander is rather outside regular tourist itineraries, and I was pleased to see important and iconic aircraft preserved there.

Canso CF CRP First Officer at Sandspit 1955

That aircraft was flown by CPAL from Prince Rupert Harbour to Sandspit, BC, from 1954 to 1960. A connecting flight of a CPAL DC-4 operated from Vancouver to Sandspit, daily – and cargo and passengers were exchanged at that airport. The runway at Prince Rupert, on Digby Island, was not constructed until the early 1970's.

Staff at ypr 1957

I was assigned as Flight Dispatcher for that operation in 1955 – and with another Canso CF-CRR (that went on to have further adventures in France). The pilots, engineers, stewardesses, and myself were all in our mid-twenties in 1955, and Prince Rupert was a very happy Base!

Youngman and Canso CF CRP YPR 1955

The photo of Nina Youngman with CF-CRP was taken at Sandspit in 1955. Nina was a local Prince Rupert girl, and both Nina and her sister Madeleine went on to have long and successful careers with Canadian Pacific Air Lines. Both ladies were exemplary flight attendants, and greatly respected by all us in that airline. Nina later became Nina Morrison, and on her retirement from CPAL at mandatory age she was interviewed on CBC Radio by Peter Gzowski.

Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert map

Consolidate 28A5- Canso CF-CRP CPAL

Canadian Vickers – Cartierville, QC – Works No. CV271
Sep. 7, 1943 – Taken on Strength, Eastern Air Command, RCAF Serial No. 9837
Oct. 21, 1944 – No. 162 (BR) Squadron, RCAF – Reykjavik, Iceland
Jun. 2, 1945 – No. 6 RD – to Storage
Nov. 29, 1945 – Struck off Strength RCAF - To Aircraft Industries, Montreal
Nov. 29, 1945 – Canadian Pacific Air Lines, Vancouver, BC as CF-CRP No. 231
Operated from Seven Islands to Knob Lake, QC 1946 to 1953
Operated from The Pas to Flin Flon (Schist Lake) 1953 to 1955
Operated from Prince Rupert (harbour) to Sandspit (runway) 1955 to 1957
May 9, 1957 – Trans-Labrador Airlines, NL
1970-1973 - Eastern Provincial Airways – Halifax, NS
1979-90 – Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
1990 – North Atlantic Aviation Museum