Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter
Since 1995 September 12, 2026
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The 'Spirit of Canadian'
DC-10-30 C-FCRE Photo from Info Canadi>n
September 1996 |
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Dear Welcome to The NetLetter, established in 1995 as a dedicated newsletter for Air Canada retirees.
We have evolved into the longest running aviation-based newsletter for Air Canada, TCA, CP Air, Canadian Airlines and all other Canadian-based airlines that once graced the skies. The NetLetter is self-funded and is always free to subscribers. It is operated by a group of volunteers and is not affiliated with any airline or associated organizations. The NetLetter is published on the second and fourth weekend of each month. If you are interested in Canadian aviation history, and vintage aviation photos, especially as it relates to Trans-Canada Air Lines, Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International and their constituent airlines, then we're sure you'll enjoy this newsletter. Please note: We do our best to identify and credit the original source of all content presented. However, should you recognize your material and are not credited; please advise us so that we can correct our oversight. Our website is located at www.thenetletter.net Please click the links below to visit our archives and for more info about The NetLetter. |
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 We have welcomed 92 new subscribers so far in 2026.
We currently have 4631 subscribers.
We wish to thank everyone for the continuing support of our efforts.
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 Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.
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We always welcome feedback about Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge) from our subscribers who wish to share current events, memories and photographs.
Particularly if you have stories to share from one of the legacy airlines: Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Airlines, CP Air, Pacific Western, Maritime Central Airways, Eastern Provincial, Wardair, Nordair, Transair, Air BC, Time Air, Quebecair, Calm Air, NWT Air, Air Alliance, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Georgian and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.
We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.
Thanks!
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From Cliff Cunningham -
About 2 years ago, I began volunteering at the British Columbia Aviation Museum at the Victoria Airport. At first, as a Blue Vest Tour Guide, I spent much of my shift taking visitors through our Vickers Viscount Type 757, Fin # 625, CF-THG.
The aircraft has been restored, as closely as possible, to the original 1955 configuration with a lot of help from AC/TCA volunteers, alongside many from the Museum.
In the course of my tours, I have been showing an empty meal tray, taken out of the large container in the galley. However, I am now working with our Collections and Exhibits Manager to complete the tray with all of the amenities that it would have had when in service.
So far, I have managed to acquire a China cup, salt and pepper shaker (possible AC vintage), knife, fork, spoon and napkin and a possible hot entrée dish. I am looking for an appetizer and dessert plate and a tourist class drinking glass to complete the exhibit. If anyone should also have an authentic TCA salt and pepper shaker or hot entrée dish with TCA logo, these would also be appreciated.
Once finished, all of the items will be glued to the tray and it will then have a clear plastic cover attached. My aim is to have this either in the containers, where it can be taken out to display and explain or placed on a meal tray at one of the seats near the galley.
I am asking anyone who might have any of these items and be willing to make a donation to the museum to contact me at ctosea36@gmail.com. The Museum has a fairly comprehensive donation process which I can take you through quite easily.
I have now graduated to a Yellow Vest Tour Guide and can do complete tours of the Museum, which I find both fascinating and fulfilling. The Viscount, though, is still one of my favourite exhibits.
Cliff Cunningham, CP Air / Canadian 1957-1990
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From a TCA / Air Canada pioneer's granddaughter,
Hello, I haven’t been a subscriber, but I found the site online. I was looking for photos of my grandad, Harvey Lomer.
In NetLetter #1308 his name was mentioned in a story commemorating the 50th anniversary of Air Canada's first flight; the accompanying photo is from from Horizon magazine September 1977.
Editors' Note: Terry found the photo requested from our archives.
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Crew members of Special Flight 003 salute F.M. Maurice McGregor on arrival at Seattle's Boeing Field. Captain McGregor was co-pilot of the first flight September 1, 1937 from Vancouver to Seattle.
From the left are: McGregor; Purser Marianne Crottaz; Flight Attendants Eva Mossop, Leslie Nelson, Mabel Wilson, Marge Cymbala and Harvey Lomer; unidentified person, Second Officer Andre Lamy; Captains Bob Christie and Keith Sanderson.
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More megaphone comments -
I remember from my days in Maintenance Control that aircraft emergency equipment consisted of a number of items including a megaphone. The MEL, Minimum Equipment List, provided relief for an inoperative Passenger Address System provided that the megaphone was functional on the aircraft.
Michel Bissonnette,
Retired Senior Director, Aircraft Maintenance
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In accordance with Transport Canada regulations megaphones were standard issue on all aircraft to be used during an evacuation.
Barb Dunn
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Submitted by Howard Allmand -
Continuing the series of photos contributed by Howard beginning with NetLetter #1588.
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C-GDPA (fin #784) - L'esprit de Yellowknife
Cambridge Bay - June 1995
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Note the gravel deflector plate behind the nose wheel and the forced air deflector pipe in front of the engine, also for gravel deflection.
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C-GDPA (fin #784) - Spirit of Yellowknife
Cambridge Bay - June 1995
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C-GOPW (fin #782) - Canada Goose livery
Yellowknife - November 2000
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Issue dated January 1971
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Air Canada becomes the first Canadian airline to offer in flight entertainment when it introduced movies and stereo music to passengers on its three new Boeing 747-100 wide-bodied jets during springtime 1971.
Air Canada's first Boeing 747, registration CF-TOA, fin #301, seen on the Boeing flight line as it awaits installation of its engines. The first test flight was January 22, 1971; delivery was February 26, 1971.
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Found in 'Horizons' magazine
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Issue dated October 1999
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By retired captain Alan MacLeod, Montreal.
John D. ( Dick) Leigh, retired Superintendent of TCA Maintenance, Montreal was one of the first maintenance employees hired by TCA in 1937.
Mr. Leigh, during 1999 residing in Sidney, British Columbia, recalled that on November 4, 1937 he was in Lethbridge, Alberta, when this Lockheed 10A Electra stopped enroute to Winnipeg on its delivery flight from the Lockheed Corporation in California.
The CF-TCC aircraft, one of three ordered by the then fledgling airline, recently participated in the 50th anniversary celebrations held at Victoria Airport and Mr. Leigh recounted fond memories of those days now long gone.
During his long career in the industry, he worked with Canadian Airways, Trans-Canada Air Lines / Air Canada, Royal Air Force Ferry Command Return Ferry Service, Canadian Government Trans-Atlantic Air Service (CGTAS) and the RCMP Air Division.
He is pictured below to the right with our 1937 vintage Lockheed Electra. Also in the photo are Captains Ken Patty and Alan MacLeod who flew the aircraft from Winnipeg to Victoria.
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Issue dated November 1999
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Breaking new ground.
In 1942, a shortage of male employees away at war compelled the company to look for help elsewhere. Adopting a policy to employ women, 464 of them or one-third of the work force, joined the airline.
They filled positions as passenger agents, chauffeurs, cargo handlers, radio operators, stockkeepers and in the mechanical shops. Here, in 1943, one of our wartime gals applies de-icing equipment to RCAF propellers in the Winnipeg TCA shops.
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It's time to celebrate.
We're the first scheduled North American carrier to operate the A330.
Airbus A330-343 aircraft bearing the registration C-GFAH fin # 932 was delivered to Dorval (YUL) on October 15, 1999.
The Air Canada contingent arriving in Montreal, including "Win Toulouse" contest winners: André Cournoyer, Gregg Fortushniok, Kerry Marshall, Gordon McMillan, William Nicholson, Marika Panchuk and Vitor Rosa. Missing: Heath Vokey and Clare Wright.
Editors' Note: Fin #931, registration C-GFAF, was the 2nd delivered - in January 2000.
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The in-flight crew were, left to right: Mandy Best, Flight Attendant; Linda Tanner, In-charge Flight Attendant; Marie-Claire Hayes, Manager, Cabin Operations and Lilly Flather, Flight Attendant.
Missing: Natalia DiBattista, Cabin Operations Coordinator and Cheryl Kraemer, Flight Attendant.
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The pilots for fin # 932 delivery were: Captain Rob Giguere, Vice President, Fight Operations and Captain Ron Clarke.
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It took an international cast of characters to kick off our service to Taipei.
On July 6, 1999 our inaugural flight to Taipei was a success thanks to the contribution of many employees from across the system.
Pictured, left to right, is the start-up team:
Kneeling, Jannet Tricarico, Training Instructor, Customer Sales and Service, Vancouver and Regent Dussault, Manager, Operations Control, Weight and Balance, Toronto.
Standing: Stephen Sun, Station Attendant, Vancouver; John McManus, Training Instructor, Aircraft Services, Vancouver; Kerry Laverty, Cargo Agent, Vancouver; Raymond Chang, General Manager, Taipei; Gary Cheung, Manager, Commissary and Catering NA West and Pacific Rim, Vancouver; Marc Rosenberg, Vice President, Sales and Product Distribution, Toronto; Robert Perreault, General Manager, Asia and Pacific, Hong Kong; Gary Cameron, Manager, Customer Service, STOC, Vancouver; Vincent Tsai, Airport Manager, Taipei; Victor Liboiron, Technician, Advantis, Vancouver and Frank Shettlesworth, Manager, Training and Development, Europe and Asia, London, UK.
Missing: Joanna Goh, Customer Sales and Service Agent, Vancouver.
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Plane pull helps raise money for Special Olympics.
 On September 12, 1999, 24 well-muscled teams gathered outside our Montreal wide-body hangar to compete in the first B-767 Challenge.
Organized by Aéroports de Montréal and MUC Police Neighbourhood Station 5. The event raised funds for the Quebec Special Olympics. Each 20-member team of Arnold Schwarzenegger-types tested his/her mettle by pulling an Air Canada B-767, weighing 88,000 kg. (190,000 lb.), over a distance of 4 metres (12 feet).
In the category of fastest pull, our team of Dorval Ramp Rats finished with a time of 8.94 seconds, the Mohawks of Kahnawake came in first at 8.74 seconds.
Two thousand people turned up to watch and $22,000 was raised for the athletes.
Who were our Dorval Ramp Rats?
Station Attendants Mike Leonarrdi, Patrick Le Formal, Alain Cloutier, Serge Legault, Jean-Pierre Bertrand, Thomas Dunn, Sebastien Marcoux, Jean-Sebastien Canuel, Frederic Poirier, Charles O'Donnel and Pierre Turcotte.
Station Leads Jean Constantineau and Don Dupré, Frank Greco, Louis Frappier and Graeme Roussac.
Mechanics Kenneth Goodfellow, Steven Cowie, Douglas Black and Marc Rouette.
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CP Air / Canadi>n People Gallery |
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From "Canadi>n Flyer" magazine.
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Issue dated March 2000
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Curtiss C-46.
During 1937 Curtiss-Wright had discussions with several airlines concerning a pressurized twin-engine aircraft which would be larger than the DC-3. From these meetings, the company designed the CW-20T prototype which made its first flight on March 26, 1940. It was, at that time, the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world.
Production of the C-46 totalled 3,180 aircraft, all built for the U.S. military and unpressurized.
The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was the main reason for the C-46 coming to Canada. This was a line of radar stations from the Aleutians to Greenland, across Alaska and northern Canada.
The Canadian sector was constructed between 1954 and 1957, and Canadian Pacific Airlines purchased eight used C-46s to supply the construction sites. Pacific Western Airlines also operated approximately seven C-46s, several of which were obtained from Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1959 as part of the transfer that year of CPA's routes to the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta to PWA.
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Canadian Airlines at YVR (1990-1995): Rare Ramp Photos & Memories
from the Greg Mattson Aviation YouTube channel
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| More defunct airlines of Canada |
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Baxter Aviation -
Founded in 1985 by Tom and Linda Baxter began with a single Cessna 185. Shortly after, the Baxters received a class 3 scheduled license to provide services between downtown Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport to downtown Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
The Baxter Aviation fleet consisted of 9 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft. On April 20, 2007, West Coast Air completed the purchase of Baxter Aviation.
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De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver in Baxter Air livery
Vancouver - April 2006
Photo by Ben W. Bell
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C-FJBP was built in 1956 and historically operated by Whistler Air and Trans-Provincial Airlines.
Visit www.dhc-2.com/id904.htm to view this aircraft in Orca, Baxter, Trans Provincial, West Coast Air, Harbour Air and Whistler Air colours.
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Green Airways -
The history of Green Airways can be traced back to 1925 when gold was discovered in Red Lake, Ontario. The airline was founded in 1950 by George Green, however, it was not until 1956 that it began operations after a long-fought court battle.
Historically the airline was owned by Jack Green's Fly In Camps and provided fishing, mining, freighting & tourism. In 2017 the airline's assets were acquired by Superior Airways.
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Green Airways C-FVIA
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk1
Red Lake, Ontario - July 2006
Photo by Alain Rioux
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C-FCRE - Spirit of Canadian
Subscriber Allan Gray reminded us of when Canadian Airlines painted a DC-10 (fin #911 - registration C-FCRE) in a special livery of employee signatures in the mid-1990s. We went digging through our back issues and, surprisingly, we have never done a feature article on this particular aircraft. It had quite an interesting life cycle.
DC-10-30 line #200 was delivered to Alitalia in May 1975 and later acquired by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in May 1983. It was one of the four DC-10s exchanged with CP Air's four B-747s in December 1985 and inherited the registration previously mentioned. It was absorbed into the Canadian Airlines fleet in April 1987.
It was sold to Potomac Capital in May 1991 and leased to VASP of Brazil in June 1991. It was reacquired by Canadian in 1994 and painted in the special livery in March 1995. Signatures used were drawn at random.
The DC-10 fleet was retired after the merger with Air Canada. This aircraft was broken up in February 2004 at 28.9 years.
Thanks to Ken Pickford for additional information.
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Alitalia I-DYND
Glasgow - October 15, 1976
Photo courtesy of Martin Harrison
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Pakistan International Airlines - AP-BBL
Frankfurt, Germany - June 1984
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C-FCRE - being prepared for lease to Viacao Aerea Sao Paulo
Vancouver, April 1991
Photo courtesy of Gary Vincent
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N42783 (also flown as PP-SON) in VASP livery
Vancouver - August 1993
Photo courtesy of Gary Vincent
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C-FCRE before special livery
Frankfurt - May 1994
Photo courtesy of Rémi Dallot
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C-FCRE - 'Spirit of Canadian' livery
Montreal - May 1999
Photo courtesy of Pierre Lacombe
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| Terry's Trivia
& Travel Tips |
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Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.
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Join our exclusive tour to Amalfi in the Fall of 2026. This is a 7-day/6-night guided trip along Italy’s stunning Amalfi Coast (October 27 to November 2, 2026) based in Sorrento, featuring a scenic hotel, daily breakfasts, guided visits, and local experiences like Pompeii with wine tasting at Vesuvius, a pasta factory visit, mozzarella-making and limoncello tasting, plus a pizza-making class in Naples.
You’ll explore iconic coastal towns including Amalfi (with a boat ride), Gragnano, Sorrento, and Naples with expert English-speaking guides, while most dinners and drinks are on your own.
Transfers between Naples Airport and the hotel, porterage for one bag, and tour leader services are included, but flights, many meals, tips, and personal expenses are not.
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Some aviation related web sites you may be interested in -
Editors' Note: The NetLetter does not endorse nor subscribe to any of these sites. Acceptance of cookies may be requested.
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Wayne, Ken & Terry Richmond, British Columbia - December 2019
(Bob Sheppard was not available for the photograph) |
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Wayne, Bob & Ken Richmond, British Columbia - December 2023
(Terry Baker was not available for the photograph) |
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We wish to honour the memories of
Vesta Stevenson and Alan Rust. They remain a part of every edition published. |
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E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted):
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