Vesta's Corner
![]() Share your experiences with us! SEARCH RESUMES FOR MISSING ADVENTURER STEVE FOSSETT A team of searchers is back in the mountains of Nevada this week, hoping to find an answer to the mystery of Steve Fossett's disappearance. Fossett, a well-known pilot and adventurer, vanished last September while flying near a friend's ranch in a Super Decathlon. An extensive aerial and ground search, plus worldwide efforts using satellite imagery, failed to turn up any trace of Fossett or his airplane, and in February a court declared him legally dead. The new search team of 12 mountaineers, led by Canadian adventurer Simon Donato, will cover a rugged area on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada where Fossett was last seen. By traveling on foot, the searchers hope to explore hard-to-reach areas that have not previously been checked. They plan an eight-day search. To follow their progress online, go to their Web site, which is updated daily. www.AdventureScience.ca |
Air Canada News
![]() Air Canada Cargo will end its 65 year association with Scotland when it closes the last department still operating in Glasgow, Air Canada cargo will close its operations at the end of 2008 or sooner making the 5 remaining staff redundant and customers face having to transport their cargo shipments to LHR themselves to connect with flights to Canada Star Alliance news
Star Alliance has launched the first ever airline alliance product aimed at simplifying the often complex task of verifying travel documentation requirements, especially for itineraries which cover several countries. "Auto Doc Check" was developed by a joint Star Alliance initiative involving experts from eleven of its member carriers. Boeing on Monday August 18th., delivered EgyptAir's third Next-Generation 737-800. The airplane is the airline's first 737 to be painted in Star Alliance livery. |
Bytes and Pieces
![]() Located on the shoreline of Galendzhik lake, some three hours drive from downtown Moscow, Zhukovsky Airport, once a secret test airport, is the perfect location to host the Russian Air Show: the reason is that flying boats are a major concern for Russians designers, so a large mass of water to display their impressive performances was considered a must. This is a wildlife show. Not only is this a chance to behold the extremely refined stage of Russian aircraft design, but also to watch live and much closer than you could ever do in the west, since European safety regulations concerning flight displays over civilian audiences do not apply in Russia. So get ready for the noise and the blast, and be welcome to Zhukovsky for the 2007 Russian Industry Air Show.. ![]() |
Canadi>n/CPAir/PWA, Wardair, etc. Events & People
Marlie has sent us this memory - In the early 70's ( not sure of the date) he had a serious accident while on vacation and broke his neck. All the employees at CPAir worked a day for no pay in order to cover the cost of sending a B727, staff and medical equipment to Puerto Rico to pick him up and bring him back to Canada. We saved his life. The company then employed Doug after he was rehabilitated and he worked in the computer department. Now he is taking on a new challenge. Click here for PDF file of Doug's upcoming 2008 Everest Challenge Expedition. Amazing!!! Thanks, Marlie Marlie sent us some further information - I think that although the staff agreed to work a day without pay the company ended up covering all the fuel costs. I have included Gerry Mannings email to me below. FROM GERRY MANNING As several of senior managers were absent from Vancouver at that time they approached me to give approval for the flight. We took an aircraft off Vancouver - California and ensured all booked passengers were otherwise accommodated. I signed the flight order and the group took over and handled all details for the non-sched flight. The pilots and Flight Attendants donated their time. We took the Dr. and Dougs parents on the flight. It was a "Mission of Mercy" and very well handled by those who organized it. I was very proud of them. I honestly don't recall a request to other staff to donate time but my memory is no longer infallible (if it ever was!). Best reference on this escapade would be Don Macintosh. Regards;
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Readers Feedback
![]() Following that, Jannet Tricarico sent some pictures of the steps taken to camouflage the factory during the war years. Here are some of them. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() From: Don Palmer Subject: Maritime Central Airways The article and letters published in NetLetter nos 1025 and 1027 re Gerry MacInnis of Maritime Central Airways were very welcome. I always felt that MCA is the forgotten airline in Canadian aviation history due, largely, to the fact that employees just got on with the job without any fuss, and founder Carl Burke was rather low-key in his approach and not very charismatic as was Grant McConachie or Max Ward. By 1953 MCA was the third largest airline in Canada, operating a fleet of aircraft unique to its operational requirements from Avro Anson and Lockheed 10 for training, forest patrol and limited passenger use through DC3, Canso and C46 equipment to the two Bristol Freighters acquired from Associated Airways of Edmonton, in service on the Pine Tree line before the then TCA took delivery of its Bristols. With the contract in the very early 1950s to supply the Pine Tree line of radar sites in Labrador, Resolution and Baffin Islands MCA really expanded. It could be said that the years up until about 1956 were the fun years with MCA with no check pilots (can you imagine), operations manuals or other forms of nonsense. Chief pilot did most of the training; Captains knew bloody everything and co-pilots learned by the process of osmosis. The only Company issue was of undercarriage fuses for the Lockheed 10 electrically operated gear constantly blew fuses. Unfortunately, MCA's downhill road began when, in about 1956, a string of fatal accidents occurred, none of which should ever have happened. Included are a few photos to show the kind of work MCA did in the early 1950s. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We had three other pictures sent to us some time ago ![]() ![]() ![]() Whilst on the subject of MCA, we have this information from Gord Girvan - A short note to pass on to the many people who subscribe to The NetLetter. ![]() Mr. Burke was inducted into Canada s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1982. The author is Allan MacNutt, a resident of Abbotsford; a 50 year professional pilot himself, who flew in many countries around the world in a variety of capacities. Some copies of the book have been made available to me by Mr. MacNutt. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy can contact me at Thanks. Gord Girvan |
Terry's Travel Tips
![]() These tickets could only be booked only on www.ryanair.com for 5 days until Sunday 24th of August. (The trick here is to figure out what it would cost to return! Keep an eye on Ryanair for future sales - eds) A model of an Airbus A380, with a wing span of 85 foot in the colours of Emirates Airlines will be positioned in the centre of the roundabout at the tunnel entrance to the central area of London's Heathrow airport (LHR) where the model of the Concorde aircraft used to be. Long waits for your international departure from Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport? Why not put your feet up and have a free drink and snack and read a magazine to pass the time in the new VIP lounge. You don't need to be a member of any frequent flier program, just fork over ca$30.00 or ca$28.00 if enrolled on-line in advance. - Enjoy. |