We have welcomed 11 new subscribers so far in 2023.

We wish to thank everyone for your support of our efforts.

Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.

We invite you to visit our website at www.thenetletter.net/netletters to view our archives.

Restoration and posting of archive issues is an ongoing project. We hope to post every issue back to the beginning in 1995.

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.

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We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.

Thanks!

February 11, 2023 -

Open House for École national d’aérotechnique (ÉNA) at the Quebec Aerospace Museum.

Location: Montreal Saint-Hubert Airport, Quebec

Bill Tate comments on our story from NetLetter #1501

The story on Bob Sheppard’s son Ashton brought back memories as I am certain that he was on the flight I was operating so many years ago as a F/O on the B-767. 

We could hear the pipes loud and clear on the flight deck and it was a real mid-Atlantic treat to listen to. 

Regards, 

Bill Tate - A330 Captain (Retired) YYZ Base

Pierre Gillard read the article regarding the 'Mobile Lounges' in NetLetter #1500 and shares this information -

Three of the original Mirabel (YMX) passenger carrier vehicles currently are at Saint-Hubert Airport, QC, being restored by Lux Ground Services.

One of them is now wearing Lux paint scheme and logo and seems almost ready for use. 

Pierre Gillard, President & Director General, Quebec Aerospace Museum. 

Additional photos:

pierregillard.zenfolio.com/ae20210916

pierregillard.zenfolio.com/airportvehicles

Dr. Robert Taylor sent in the following comment, which prompted our team into doing some interesting research -

In your Flashback section NetLetter #1501, there is a mention of the L-1011 Tri-Star. I remember that as being one of my favourite aircraft to fly in.

Wasn't there a small lounge downstairs - or am I confusing it with another plane?

Bob Taylor,

Member of the 'Velmars' R & R Band and part of the TCA/AC Roadshow.

Upon reading this, our Bob Sheppard commented -

I remember when I was working in Toronto, I think on an AeroPerú L-1011 TriStar,  there was a stairway down mid cabin to I think was a lounge area.

Not like our elevators to a galley area; a very long time ago, late 70’s.

I have heard quite a few times how popular the L-1011 was, especially the business class cabin because of how spacious it was.

We found the photo below, in 'Horizons' (January 1979), of an AeroPerú L-1011 TriStar at Dorval Base when AeroPerú had a maintenance contract with Air Canada Technical Services.

Ken Pickford advised the following:

Only five L-1011's were built with a lower-deck lounge in the area normally occupied by the forward cargo/baggage compartment. There was an adjacent area for stowage of carry-on baggage along with fold-down airstairs permitting passengers to board via the lower-deck at airports not equipped with loading bridges.

All five aircraft were ordered by San Diego-based Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) which then operated frequent low-fare commuter-type services within California, mainly using Boeing 727's. PSA took delivery of only two of the five L-1011's in 1974. They didn't make much sense for PSA's routes and were returned to Lockheed in 1975 after less than one year in service.

The two L-1011's then spent about 3 years stored in the desert. It was difficult to find new customers due to the non-standard lounges and reduction in cargo/baggage space. AeroPeru leased both aircraft in 1978 and operated them until 1984. Both then went to Toronto-based charter carrier Worldways Canada in 1985.

Story continued below in the 'Wayne's Wings' section.

More info and photos of the PSA TriStars can be found at:

Travelupdate.com/psa-lockheed-tristar-lounge/

Shirlee Schacter shares the following photos -

With the opportunity to once again socialize in the Fall of 2022, the initial invitation to members of the Central Ontario Pionairs District was to rekindle old friendships at the Member Appreciation Luncheon held at the 'Wok of Fame' on Brampton, Ontario, in October 2022.

This get-together was enjoyed by close to 100 members. 

Followed by the ever popular 'Christmas Luncheon at Lionhead Golf Club' on December  7, 2022.

This event is always a favourite of Central Ontario members and is traditionally a sell-out when it comes to attendance. 

Both events offered a sumptuous menu for all tastes as well as many delightful prizes.

Anyone wishing to join Pionairs can simply click on ‘Join Pionairs’ at www.Pionairs.ca.

The Un-Official Air Canada Staff & Alumni Group. 

On December 19, 2022, Jeff Vaillancourt shared this memory:

A special day for me today, 40 years ago at the young age of 18, I started a fantastic journey on a life changing path that would end with my career retirement on Monday

The Pins over the years and the grand finale gold watch. It's been an incredible adventure, thank you to all of the Air Canada family...for those newer employees, hang in there, it will get better, trust me.

I have survived all of AC's many challenges....cheers.

• 1944 - July 1
  • Service started from Halifax to Sydney.
• 1946 - July 1
  • Service started from Toronto to Chicago also Edmonton - Calgary - Vancouver.
• 1947 - July 1
  • Service started on the Toronto - North Bay, Porquis Junction and Kapuskasing route.

Time Air Historical Society shared.

A rare, small artifact from early TCA history has arrived back in CYQL (Lethbridge, Alberta). An incredibly rare artifact sent to us from England, backtracks our story to the late 1930's!

Trans-Canada Air Lines, the forerunner of Air Canada, established CYQL (Lethbridge) as the Alberta hub for their new trans-continental run in 1939. A mainline hangar was built at Kenyon Field, and service commenced in March. Lethbridge was chosen as the safer and more direct route to the West Coast, over the larger city of Calgary, Alberta.

Our newest artifact is in the form of an Air Mail envelope, one of the first to be sent cross-Canada on the new airline. It was postmarked in both Lethbridge and Montreal, and features a prominent Kenyon Field rubber stamp. This envelope is very rare, made even more so by its pristine condition!

We thank Tania Radley of Torguay, Devon, U.K. for this remarkable addition to our collection!

From the early days of Trans-Canada Air Lines.

We go back in time in case some readers are interested in genealogy information on their families. We peruse the early editions of the 'Between Ourselves' magazine.

Issue dated July 1955

Issue dated September 1955

Eight new agents are set to man our reservations telephones completing the basic course in Montreal.

From the left they are, back row: R. V. Davies, Instructor; D. Friemuth; P. M. Romer; J. K. McKeating; J. J. Fardy and A. Denney.

Seated: Misses C. Kovalski; P. Otto and Y. Mittelstaedt.

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated February 15, 1979

Cessna joins the fleet

A very special Cessna 172 is parked in a hangar at Toronto International Airport.

The aircraft's appearance is no mere coincidence. Painted in the red and white livery of Air Canada, the tiny airplane proudly bears a maple leaf logo on its tail, firmly establishing its company affiliation.

The Cessna is sassy. It may not be as bold as a B-747 or as swift as a B-727, but special it is. To the membership of the Toronto Air Canada Flying Club, it is every bit as dashing and it is flown with the same pride.

The aircraft has logged more than 1,000 hours in the three years of club ownership, an average of 40 hours per month.

At any one time, the pilot may well be a programmer from Computer and Systems Services with 50 hours of flying experience, a passenger agent or station attendant with several hundred hours or a line pilot with more than 20,000 flying hours.

Issue dated May 1971

Brilliant Inaugural to Israel Features Fanfare, Publicity

One of the most impressive sights in the history of Israel's Lod Airport was the inaugural arrival on April 2, 1971 of a CP Air DC-8-63 Spacemaster with president John C. Gilmer; VP marketing and sales H. B. Renwick; and a load of revenue passengers.

While the first-flight passengers were presented with flowers and souvenir scrolls, the president and vice-president were greeted officially by local dignitaries including the Israel director of civil aviation, the Canadian ambassador and the president of El Al.

There followed a brief ceremony and reception in a special room at the airport decorated with the flags of the 16 countries served by CP Air.

Responding to greetings from the welcoming dignitaries, Mr. Gilmer said: "The multiple attractions of Israel as one of the oldest lands and one of the newest nations in the world are truly renowned." He referred to the remarkable increase of visitors to Israel from 7,000 in 1948 to 70,000 in 1960 and 440,000 in 1970.

I am equally confident that the shrinkage of the vast geographical distance between our countries to a mere 10 hours will encourage more and more tourists and businessmen from Israel to visit Canada," he said.

The inaugural ceremonies were followed by a press conference, then a formal reception in Tel Aviv hosted by CP Air and attended by leading businessmen and government officials.

Hot on Ice -

Winners of the Aeronaves de Mexico cup, the CP Air Hawks, below, carried the colours of Montreal Airport Traffic to victory over the SST team, representing maintenance, station attendants and catering.

The victors are, left to right:

Back row: G. Rozon, l. Maybury, S. Murray, J. R. Haynes, S. Kowalewicz and morale-booster F. Sanderson.

Front row: R. Brunet, W. Savage and H. Ragot.

Gerry Yee posted this photo -

Air Travel sure has changed with Air Canada Rouge, Swoop, Sunwing, Flair, Porter, Canada Jetlines, and Lynx Air catering to ever-growing market segment that demands low fares. "Please, I don't need the frills, just get me there the cheapest way possible" exhorted the masses. "On time would be nice".

In the 'Odds & Ends' section of NetLetter #1501 we featured a story on the last Boeing 747's to be built. Click the icon at left for links to videos chronicling the assembly and deliveries of the final four.

Atlas Air B-747-8F (The Last 747 Ever Built) Landing At Paine Field After Its First Flight - posted by DFWspotter

Name this propeller aircraft –

Hint: This aircraft should be familiar to our regular readers.

Answer below in Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips.

Remember Sabena?

The 'Société anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne', better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, SN Brussels Airlines was formed through a takeover of former subsidiary Delta Air Transport and took over part of Sabena's assets in February 2002, which became Brussels Airlines after a merger with Virgin Express in March 2007.

Brussels Airlines is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa which acquired a 45% share in 2009 and the remaining 55% in 2017.

The airline's corporate headquarters were located in the Sabena House on the grounds of Brussels Airport in Zaventem.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena

Photo by Eduard Marmet at commons.wikimedia.org

Found in the Quebec Aerospace Museum (MAQ) newsletter, December 2022

We have this small souvenir dish commemorating the 25th anniversary of Quebecair in 1971, donated by Gérard Leblanc, retired professor from ÉNA.

It is a very beautiful object which has thus joined the MAQ collection. A big thank you, therefore, to M. Leblanc.

Lifecycle of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar

Bob Taylor's query to us in the 'Readers' Feedback' section, regarding L-1011 TriStar lounges, led to quite an interesting lifecycle of the two aircraft that saw service with Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA).

Registration N10112 was delivered to PSA in July 1974 however (as stated previously) its service was short lived. It was withdrawn from service  in April 1975 and later returned to Lockheed. 

It was leased to AeroPerú in December 1978, carrying the name 'Ciudad de Lima', until again withdrawn and returned to the lessor in June 1982.

It was leased by Worldways Canada (pictured in issue header), under registration C-GIES, from June 1985 until October 1990, when  Worldways ceased operation.

In 1994, it was acquired by 'Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation' and converted into 'The Flying Hospital'. 

As per PlaneSpotters.net, it was operated by Eagle Jet Aviation but remained in the capacity of a flying hospital for following 20 years.

In December 2015, it was purchased by Tristar History and Preservation Incorporated and parked at Tucson, Arizona (pictured below). It was ferried to Kansas City (MCI) in July 2017 for preservation as an educational airframe. 

Editors' Note: The second PSA L-1011 TriStar was also briefly in service with AeroPerú before being acquired by Worldways Canada and registered C-GIFE and was sent to storage in Kingman Arizona after Worldways ceased operation. It remained in storage until broken up in February 1997.

Photo by Alan Wilson at commons.wikimedia.org/

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

Answer to 'Name the aircraft'

The Short 360 (also SD3-60) is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers during the 1980's. The Short 360 seats up to 39 passengers and was introduced into service in November 1982. It is a larger version of the Short 330. Production of the 360 ceased in 1991 after 165 deliveries.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_360

More info in NetLetter #1412 

Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran had already flagged the possibility of wet leasing a widebody for the summer, so it's no surprise that one entered service on November 15, 2022.

The extra capacity comes from Spain's Wamos Air, a global leader in aircraft charters, including wet leases which involve both aircraft and crew. The plane is a 280-seat Airbus A330-200, one of four in the Wamos fleet, which also includes five A330-300's. 

Source: SimpleFlying.com

Editors' Note: Over the years, over 100 Boeing 727's have operated in Canada, all now retired. Air Canada and predecessors operated a total 52 (42 by AC itself), including 11 of the original -100 model and 41 of the stretched (by 20 feet) 727-200..Fewer than 30 of the 1,832 B-727's built are still flying worldwide, mostly as freighters.

The article below chronicles the author's personal memories of the historic aircraft.

Memories of flying the Boeing 727 'three holer', by Jeff Hill.

Excerpt from airfactsjournal.com

TWA’s introduction to employees of the newest addition to our fleet, turned up in my company mailbox early in 1964. It was only of passing interest at the time. I wouldn’t be flying it for another ten years, after we started parking our Convair 880 fleet, and then I would fly it for the next twelve years as an ORD-based captain.

There was no doubt you were flying a Boeing. It had that same “Mack truck feel” about it as the B-707, but also like the B-707 it was as sound and reliable as a US Dollar (in 1964). The cockpit and fuselage cross sections were the same as the B-707 but that is where the similarity ended. Our first B-727's, the dash 100s, grossed out at about a third of the 707-100’s weight but had two thirds of its thrust. Therefore, it was a little rocket by comparison.

The Seven Two had four main gear wheels as opposed to the Seven Oh’s eight. The 707’s wings and fuselages were much longer. The B-707 had a ventral (bottom) fin with a replaceable hardwood skid in case of over-rotation, whereas the B-727 had a tail skid that extended and retracted with the landing gear. The B-727, flown domestically only, did not have the spear atop the vertical stabilizer for an HF antenna. We called her the three holer. When the wide body L-1011 and the DC-10 tri-jets came along, she became the “little three holer.”

Our cartoon is by Don Rice of Vancouver Cargo -
dated June 1997.