Hello Visitor,

Welcome to the February edition of the CAHS National Newsletter.

 CAHS National News

Convention Reminder: If you are interested in participating in our convention, please send a short proposal and a short biography (one page each max.) to Richard Goette and Jim Bell at CAHSHamilton2015@gmail.com.

To download a copy of the Call for Presentations, please click here.

The deadline for submissions is 15 February 2015.

Check the CAHS website for further information about the convention that will be coming in the months ahead.

Donations of items for prizes and the silent auction at the CAHS 2015 convention in June are welcome – books, posters, merchandise, vouchers, subscriptions, etc. Items for auction are used to generate funds for CAHS operations, and prizes add to the benefits of attending the convention.

Please consider what you can contribute or obtain for our convention auction and draws. Sometimes all you need to do is ask! Contributing items for auction supports the convention financially. Items can be brought to the convention or sent in advance to convention co-chair Richard Goette at 911 Vickerman Way, Milton, Ontario L9T 0K5. Let him know at richardgoette@hotmail.com.

Thanks to Red Canoe for their early donation of three RCAF branded items for our auction – a backpack, a shoulder bag and a cap. See www.redcanoebrands.com.

A Change in our Journal Printing and Mailing House Arrangements:

For a number of months, Terry Higgins, our Journal and Graphics Manager, has been exploring the possibility of using a printing company that also has an in-house mailing service. The co-location of capabilities would mean a faster turn around between the Journal coming off the printing press and going to the mailing house since the Journal would not need to be shipped to a separate business and since the Journal would enter a waiting queue only once - when it got to the printer - rather than twice (at the printer and then at the mailing house).

When our previous printer informed us in mid-December 2014 that there would be a 20% cost increase to print the Summer 2014 Journal and all future issues, Terry and the CAHS Executive decided to make the switch to a new company Terry had found in Kitchener, Ontario, which not only had co-located printing and mailing house services but which had also promised to match the previous printer's pre-price-hike quotes.

Overall, the transition has gone very smoothly, with the only real hiccup being the inadvertent omission of the membership number and expiry on the mailing labels. This has been brought to the attention of the mailing house and will be restored on the next Journal mailout. What were those strange looking combinations that apparently replaced the membership numbers and due dates? They are codes used to help direct where the envelopes are going in Canada and beyond (the previous mailing house used those too; we just didn't notice).

In the meantime, if you are wondering about your membership status, here's a quick way to tell what your status is. We sent donation request forms to people whose memberships are paid up for 2014 and beyond, and we sent renewal forms to those members who still need to renew for the 2014 set of issues (your expiry date is 31 Dec 2013). Renewal forms for the 2015 season will start to go out in the Fall 2014 Journal issue.

If you are still unsure of your status, feel free to email Rachel Lea Heide at membershipinfo@cahs.ca.

 CAHS Online

 New on the Blog

The Maple Leaf of Mexico

By Richard I. Bourgeois-Doyle

Lying on her deathbed in November 1980, 75-year-old Elsie Gregory MacGill could think back on a life that influenced Canada in many ways. As the effective Vice-Chair of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women and a leader in the manufacture of fighter aircraft during the Second World War, she had helped to change laws, advance the cause of women in education and the professions, and develop the Canadian aviation industry.

She might have even reflected on the fun and energy of her early career as an aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer. But to her last days, Elsie remained oblivious to the effect one of her projects had in another country. She was not alone.

To read the whole article, click here.

 CAHS Chapter News

 Canadian Aviation Moments

We hope you enjoyed answering the Canadian Aviation Moments in January. Here are the correct answers:

Question: What is the only wartime combat squadron to have operated in Saskatchewan?

Answer: "One historical oddity was watching the dozen or so Canadian-built Hurricane fighters of the RCAF's No. 135 Squadron flying over the Mossbank area in the first half of 1942. This squadron was raised for home defence duties, which it took up in the summer of 1942 in B.C."

Source: Windsock – Volume 20 Number 8 – Page 4

Question: What stage did Avro skip in manufacturing the CF-105 Arrow? How many aircraft were taken on strength? How many aircraft were fitted with the Iroquois engine, and on what plane was the engine tested? How many aircraft were in production when the program was terminated?

Answer: "One of the most famous aircraft in Canadian history, the CF-105 Arrow was a supersonic all-weather two-seat interceptor designed and produced by Avro Aircraft Limited in Malton, Ontario. Avro had avoided the normal prototype stage and launched directly into manufacture of production aircraft. Five pre-production standard aircraft were fitted with J57 engines and flight test systems. The sixth aircraft was equipped with the full production Orenda Iroquois engines but this aircraft never flew prior to program cancellation. A total of 31 more aircraft was also in production when the entire effort was terminated by the federal government on 20 February 1959."

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft – Page 251

Question: What percentage of the combatant force in RAF Bomber Command were killed in accidents?

Answer: "Air traffic control was primitive at best and congestion incessant. For example, the overlapping traffic patterns at the six Group stations have already been mentioned, and with only the most rudimentary navigational aids, mid-air collisions and ground impacts caused by spatial disorientation were commonplace. Also, "with thousands of young, relatively inexperienced airmen at the controls of complex, multi-engine aircraft, there were a huge number of crashes very likely due simply to pilot error." RAF Bomber Command had nearly 6000 airmen killed in training accidents alone during 1943 and 1944. For the entire war period, accidents killed nearly 12 percent of the combatant force."

Source: No Prouder Place – Page 184

The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS.

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions for February are:

Question: What type of plane was flown by a Canadian in WW1 while winning a Victoria Cross? What was the nickname of this airplane, who was the Canadian and what did he do to earn the Victoria Cross?

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft – Page 266

Question: What was Canada's first national air demonstration team? What was one of their most popular maneuvers?

Question: What transport squadron is the only one equipped with this type of airplane, which was taken on strength in 1992/93? What is the type of airplane, how many were taken on strength and what was the cost?

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft – Page 50

 In the News

New Life for the Alberta Aviation Museum

By John Chalmers, CAHS Membership Secretary

This Canadian Forces CF-101 Voodoo, mounted outside the Alberta Aviation Museum, is one of some 40 aircraft on static display at the museum. Photo credit: John Chalmers

The Board of the Alberta Aviation Museum Association has spent more than three years working to map a new path for the Alberta Aviation Museum, located at Edmonton's City Centre Airport. The airport, known originally as Blatchford Field, was licensed in 1926 as the first federally licensed air harbour in Canada, and opened in January 1927. The airport was closed on November 30, 2013, following the decision by City Council in July 2009 to do so. Following the closure, and after much discussion with the City of Edmonton, members of City Council and the Edmonton Heritage Council, the museum is ready to move forward.

Tom Sand, chairman of the museum's board of directors, says that "The new plan means the museum will stay at its historic location and see the facility evolve and expand into a modern and professional museum dedicated to celebrating Edmonton's rich aviation history. The museum has received strong support for the plan from the city and other stakeholders, who are excited about the museum becoming a cornerstone of the new Blatchford Field community that is being built on the airport lands."

The board has signed a contract with Kei Space of Vancouver to create the new interpretive plan to guide in building compelling and entertaining exhibits that will explain Edmonton's aviation history. The Alberta Aviation Museum, in addition to housing one of Canada's largest aircraft collections, is also home to 14 aviation-related organizations. The museum is housed in Canada's last double-wide, double-long hangar, built in 1941 for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. During the Second World War, it was home to No. 16 Elementary Flying Training School and No. 2 Air Observer School.

A second facility for the Alberta Aviation Museum is being developed at the Villeneuve Airport, 25 km northwest of Edmonton, now home to the museum's Boeing 737, and will accommodate flying aircraft, such as the museum's aerial ambassador, a Kelly-D biplane. Visiting special interest visiting aircraft, such as warbirds will also use the Villeneuve Airport.

Second World War pilot and RCAF veteran Norman Reid, of Victoria, is shown when he donated his Tiger Moth to the Alberta Aviation Museum in 2007. He had flown that airplane with No. 16 EFTS in Edmonton during his training. Note the two caterpillar pins on his lapel. Caterpillar pins were given by the Irving Air Chute Company to airmen who had "hit the silk" and successfully bailed out during the war. Norm did it twice and was able to return to his station both times. He said, "It was so much fun the first time that I did it again!."
Photo credit: John Chalmers

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Dinner Gala

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) will hold its 42nd annual gala dinner and induction ceremonies on Thursday, June 4, 2015, at the Skyservice Business Aviation Hangar at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. The annual event is a highlight in Canadian aviation celebration and draws attendance from across Canada.

In 2015, new Members to be inducted are Arthur Roy Brown, DSC, who flew with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force in the First World War; James Stuart McBride; George Edward Miller, O.M.M., CD; and Owen Bartley "O.B." Philp, C.M., DFC, CD, all of whom served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Receiving the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence is AeroVelo, Inc., represented by Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson for their work in flying a human powered ornithopter and helicopter.

More information:

To download induction dinner sponsorship opportunities, click here.

For more information, or to order tickets online, visit: www.cahf.ca.

To download the ticket order form, click here.

King: Before the Avro Arrow came the Canadian Jetliner — and Howard Hughes

By Andrew King, OttawaCitizen.com

A painting by R.W. Bradford of the Canadian Jetliner,
reproduced for the Museum of Science and Technology. Source: Ottawa Citizen

A milestone in aviation history — a jewel of a passenger jet flown by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, among many others — now sits mostly out of sight in a hangar of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, an unfortunate victim of our own bureaucracy.

Most Canadians are familiar with the story of the ill-fated Avro Arrow, and the unforgettable images of it being hacked into pieces on the tarmac.

Yet that was not the first sad casualty in Canadian aviation. The disposal of a historic jet that is tucked away at the museum pre-dates it. It was called the Avro Jetliner and it was North America's very first passenger jet.

Designed to meet the requirements of the old Trans-Canada Air Lines, now Air Canada, which requested a 36-seat passenger jet to travel at 425 miles an hour with refuelling range of 500 miles, the Avro Jetliner project began in 1946 at A.V. Roe Canada in Malton, Ont.

Jet engines were still fairly a new concept after the Second World War, but a prototype soon took flight in Toronto on Aug. 10, 1949, after some runway construction delays. This prevented the Jetliner from becoming the world's first flying passenger jet, a title grabbed by de Havilland when the company launched its Comet in Britain just 13 days before the Jetliner.

The Jetliner soon broke all passenger transport records and exceeded all design requirements, reaching 39,800 feet and exceeding 500 mph in level flight. Canada had successfully designed, built and flown North America's first commercial passenger jet in only three years.

On March 10, 1950, the Jetliner flew to Ottawa from Toronto in a record-smashing 36 minutes for a demonstration in front of government officials, military leaders and dignitaries at the Rockcliffe airport. This kicked off a promotional tour across the continent showing off our aviation prize, and in April 1950, the Jetliner carried the world's first jet airmail from Toronto to New York in a record 58 minutes. A ticker tape parade greeted the Canadian marvel and its crew, and the aviation world embraced the Jetliner as the future of air travel.

Astonished Americans stared in wonder at what their neighbours to the north had created. It would take another seven years before the first U.S.-made passenger jet was unveiled, the Boeing 707.

With Jetliner mania sweeping the continent, word soon reached the reclusive American aviator and billionaire Howard Hughes.

Hughes was extremely interested in purchasing a fleet of Canadian Jetliners for his Trans World Airlines and, in 1952, invited Avro to bring a prototype Jetliner to his private airfield in Culver City, California.

To read the full article, click here.

 From Around the World

A fascinating video called America's Lost Air Force One tells the story of Columbine II, a Lockheed Constellation that served as the first Air Force One aircraft under President Eisenhower. Since 2006, this aircraft has been sitting derelict in Marana, AZ, awaiting a new home in museum or some place where she can be appreciated.

As of 2012, the Columbine II owners, family members as well as the pilots and mechanics with deep connections to this aircraft are working together to return Columbine II to airworthiness.

They have started a campaign to spread the word. You call follow them on Facebook, YouTube or email at firstairforceone@gmail.com.

To view the video, click here.

 Reader's Feedback

Thanks to the keen eye of several readers who pointed out that the photo in the DHC-2 Beaver Plane article in the January newsletter had an incorrect caption. The original article that appeared on the Northern Ontario Travel website has also been corrected, no doubt from the help of our readers!

 A de Havilland Turbo Otter bushplane is the big brother to the Beaver. Owned and operated by Watson's Skyways. Photo Credit: Dale Hainer

We also received this response from Fergus:

I enjoyed all facets of today's issue of CAHS journal. The article on the Beaver was well-prepared and interesting. However, the following may want some editing: "Back in Canada, bush pilots endeared the large loading doors, powerful 450 horsepower Pratt and Whitney rotary engine, STOL capabilities on land, snow or water and a unique engine oiling system that could be serviced while in flight."

The P&W 450 horse engine was a RADIAL, not rotary device. If it were rotary, I think it would have chewed the Beaver to bits. Cheers

Research Request

Jeff Kolln in looking for some help regarding the CF-101 Voodoo:

I have been working on a two-volume history of the F-101 Voodoo aircraft and am looking for some good sources for the CF-101. I have some basic histories of them, but I am not sure of dates and so forth. I am also looking for good accident reports on jets lost by the Canadian Air Force. Was wondering if you have any members that have kept track of the Voodoo and might be willing to help? Please let me know.

Contact Jeff at: Blkwidw421@aol.com if you can help.

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