Membership

The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS. Spoiler alert - if you read any further than each question, you will find the answer to the questions directly below. Good luck and have fun!

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions and answers for February are:

Question: What aircraft, from the Imperial Gift, were experimented with in adapting World War I war-time photographic reconnaissance methods to mapping in Canada?

Answer: “In the autumn of 1920, an Avro 504K (serial uncertain) and a Bristol F.2B (G-CYBC), flying from the Rockcliffe Rifle Ranges, experimented in adapting war-time photographic reconnaissance methods to mapping in Canada. The Avro proved unsuitable (low ceiling, vibration) and the Bristol was too sensitive at the controls to be a good photographic aircraft, but the concept was considered sound, provided better machines could be employed: the D.H.4 and D.H.9 were considered best candidates.”

Source: CAHS Journal – Vol.47 No.1 – Spring 2009 – Page 30

Question: When and who established the original Snowbirds’ team in 1971? The establishment of the Snowbirds was connected with the Centennaires in at least 2 ways. What were the two links between the Centennaires and the Snowbirds?

Answer: “Colonel O.B. Philp, former commanding officer of the Centennaires and base commander of Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw (now 15 Wing Moose Jaw), established the original Snowbirds’ team in 1971. It was comprised of volunteer instructor pilots from the Canadian Forces Flying training School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. They flew seven ex-Centennaire Tutor aircraft, practicing in the evenings and performing on weekends.”

Source: Snowbirds – Behind The Scenes With Canada’s Air Demonstration Team – Photographs And Text By Mike Sroka – Page 23

Question: What was the connection between Rockcliffe and W/C William Barker, VC, the famous WW1 fighter ace?

Answer: “On a tragic note, W/C William Barker, VC, the famous WW1 fighter ace, was killed at Rockcliffe on March 12th 1930, when he crashed onto the frozen Ottawa River after stalling his Fairchild KR-21 during a demonstration flight.”

Source: Airforce – The Magazine of Canada’s Air Force Heritage – Volume 28 No. 3 - Fall 2004