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Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter Since 1995

Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Since 1995

Terry BakerTerry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.

On August 9, 1934, the first flight from inland Canada (Wasaga Beach, Ontario) to the UK, a distance of 3,700 miles, landed at Heston Aerodrome near London after a flying time of 30 hours 55 minutes.

The pilots, J.R.Ayling and L.G.Reid, in a DH.84 Dragon (G-ACJM) named "Trail of the Caribou", were attempting to beat the then long distance flying record (5,657 miles) by flying 6,300 miles from Wasaga Beach to Baghdad.

However, icing of the engine throttle controls increased fuel consumption and, together with bad weather, resulted in the flight being terminated early.

Reference from Peter Lewis, British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft.

(Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Aerodrome)


On December 7, 2019, I flew standby YVR-YCD-YVR for a day visit. My flight to YVR was fine, but my return flight flew to Nanaimo could not land as the weather was below minimums. They took us back to YVR and had us contact Customer Service.

Being on standby made me a tad nervous, as amalgamating two flights usually fills all the seats. While waiting for Customer Service, I heard that all the checked luggage had been consigned to the carousel as if the flight was an original arrival, this meant that the passengers had to go and claim their luggage, go through security again and, maybe, the next flight may also have to return to YVR if Nanaimo was still below minimums.

So a bunch of those passengers decided to go for the ferry (a 75 minute cab ride) and catch the 20:15 departure, a two hour ferry trip to Duke Point, the terminal for Nanaimo, about 30 kilometres from Nanaimo.

Those of us on the next flight, which left at 20:10, were happy to see no fog at all at Nanaimo airport so we landed and were, probably, all home tucked up in bed before the ferry arrived at Duke Point at 22:30.


There's something absolutely irresistible about abandoned places, none so much as plane wrecks. Across the world, many former planes of times now long passed lie around collecting rust, waiting to be discovered. From unexpected accidents to engine failures to the casualties of war, take a look at some of the world's most fascinating abandoned plane sites.

No one is sure how the plane arrived at its resting place, or why it's there. The most common theories state that once upon a time, it was intended to be turned into a restaurant — until its owner ran out of funds. The strangest part? There's yet another abandoned plane just a few miles away, next to a Dunkin' Donuts!

tmb gila airport planeSo here we have an abandoned plane at Gila County, Arizona. The Gila River Memorial Airport in central Arizona was left in a state of complete disarray. It had been in use since the World War 2 era but, by the time the area passed to the ownership of the local Native American nation, it had already been a graveyard for aircraft for decades.

It's not just this plane that has been left to crumble, but an entire series of planes, some of whose models date back nearly 80 years. The terminals and hangars now collect dust, as the masters of the sky slowly deteriorate and fall apart, baking in the scorching Arizona sun. 

you tube linkClick the YouTube icon for a video with more information about Gila River Memorial Airport.
 

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