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Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter Since 1995

Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Since 1995

The article 'Early days of de-icing aircraft' in NetLetter #1481, reminds Terry Baker, while working at London Heathrow (LHR), of shipments of fluid as 'comat' (COmpany MATeriel) coming from Canada.

The barrels were forwarded to a company in the UK. The company would separate the various mixed fluids and contaminants. The reclaimed fluid was then shipped as 'comat' back to Canada for reuse.


An extract from the latest blog by Larry Milberry.

The full blog is at canavbooks.wordpress.com

The First Generation Jetliners.

In the early 1960's we still were shooting North Stars, Super Connies, Viscounts and all such prop liners out at Malton airport (today's YYZ). Suddenly, things started to perk up when BOAC started showing up with the Comet 4, service was infrequent. Several times I hitchhiked out to Malton after school on Fridays to try to catch the Comet on its weekly run, but always missed it.

It wasn't 'til a trip to Dorval on July 26, 1959 that I finally got to shoot Comet G-APDB. 'DB was the first Comet that I got close enough to at Malton to catch the registration, that being on April 29 the year. Then, on May 6, I spotted G-APDD. Still, I came away with no photos.

Finally, the first B-707's and DC-8s started to appear at Malton, making for really exciting times. Now we were turning up our noses (like little idiots) at the prop liners. The big jets had us mesmerized for a while.

On June 4, 1960 I caught a glimpse of my first TCA DC-8 (CF-TJD) but couldn't photograph it for some reason. Then, on Tuesday, August 16, 1 was back at Malton and there was "TJD" doing circuits and bumps on Runway 32.

Wasting no time, I hustled out behind the old WWII hangar line and set myself up close to the runway. We had found a good spot there where we couldn't be seen from the tower due to a hump in the runway. The WWII hangars also helped cover us. Of course, none of us had telephoto lenses back then, so we had to get fairly close to the runway. We always got away with this little skit out by R32, never were rousted. I sat on my spot watching "TJD" make several touch-and-goes. All my shots turned out, they were real set-ups, as you can see by this one.

Notice how there still were active farms right on the edge of the airport, no fences in view. "TJD" had been delivered a few months earlier on February 7. Such training flights were essential, since there still were no DC-8 flight simulators in Canada (CAE at Montreal soon would fill that shortage). In 1977 "TJD" moved on to Air Ceylon and 2 or 3 other outfits. It went for pots 'n pans in 1979. Aero Classics has a 1:400 scale diecast model of "TJD" in these very colours. 

tca cf tjd

Our records show that CF-TJD, fin #804, c/n 45445 went to Air Ceylon as 4R-ACT on July 1, 1977. From there it was with Cargolux as TF-ECV on July 31, 1978 then Bangladesh Biman on August 12, 1978.

Returned to Cargolux on November 4, 1978, then Air Algerie on November 14, 1978, then returned to Cargolux on November 30, 1978. Finally to F.B. Ayer & Associates Inc. at Opa-Locka as N9047F on January 18, 1979 and broken up during March 1981.

Source: A History of Air Canada from 1937 (available at Amazon.ca)

Below is a photo of CPA's glorious new DC-8 (CF-CPH) 'Empress of Winnipeg' at Malton on October 6, 1961. We soon realized that this slightly rear angle on a taxiing B-707, DC-8 or Convair jetliner was quite nice, although the wing could obscure the markings, as in this case.

However, this angle always showed us the registration and fleet number. 'CPW' served CPA into 1980, when it was sold to a parts and scrap dealer and cut up in Opa-Locka, Florida in 1983. 

cpa cf cph

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