Subscriber Christine Hayvice returned home to New Zealand after her career with Canadian Pacific Air Lines / Canadian Airlines and retirement from Air Canada.
She has been keeping very busy writing a book (see 'Remember When' below) about the history and her personal memories about the trade union activities in Canadian aviation.
Christine also sent us a few pictures of her recent DC-3 adventure.
She writes:
I just got involved with a DC-3 group here in Napier NZ which is working on buying the only operating DC-3 here - there are three here, the other two are in museums. I live in Napier and we have an Art Deco festival every year. Everyone dresses up in 1930s clothing. The city was flattened by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the style of the times which was Art Deco, so every year there’s a week of all things 1930s including a vintage car parade, old trains, motorbikes, swing dances, movies etc, and this year they brought in the DC-3.
I went for a ride; most exciting. See photos below.
My first plane ride was on a DC-3 at age 9 and I fell in love with airplanes. I had my first flying lesson at 16 on a Piper Cherokee and discovered I couldn’t reach the pedals.
I’m 4’10” (147cm) so that dashed my hopes of being a pilot. But later, at 25 I tried again on a Cessna 150 and could reach those pedals. I passed the ground school exam and got to the point where I could take off and land a plane by myself, with an instructor beside me, but life got in the way and I didn’t get my licence.
Anyway back then in the early 70's, being a “girl” meant the chances of being a pilot was minimal. I used to chat to Rosella Bjornson when she was operating a flight out of YVR that I was controlling at the gate. I admired her so much.
She told me how it was hell on wheels in the flight deck in her early days as the guys didn’t want her there. I envied her upbringing and the terrific support she had from her family especially her dad. So I just ended up working for an airline instead, CP Air. Started in 1974. I’m from New Zealand, where I recently moved back to, rather happily these days given covid.
|