We have welcomed 74 new subscribers so far in 2023.

We wish to thank everyone for the continuing 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.

Please feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

Thanks!

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has officially opened applications for the 2023 edition of its annual AirVenture Cup Race.

Now in its 25th year, the race covers a round-robin course of over 400 NM starting and ending at Wisconsin’s Wausau Downtown Airport (KAUW).

The event is set to begin at 9 a.m. Central Time on July 23, a day before the opening of EAA’s 2023 AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in and convention.

Source: AVWeb.com

In NetLetter #1304 issued July 30, 2014 we had an article, which appeared in the 'PWA Flightlines' magazine, issued July 1985, regarding the opening of the Kamloops terminal on April 12, 1985.

It included a photo of the terminal and a photo of Jim Wyse, Lorne Perrin, Steve Bullock and Jake Huibers.

Pacific Western has a rich heritage at Kamloops, dating back to 1949. The company, then known as "Central British Columbia Airways" under the direction of Russell Baker, purchased Kamloops Air Services and operated a charter float-plane base from the Thompson River which passes directly by Fulton Field.

Scheduled air service by Pacific Western was introduced into Kamloops in competition with CP Air in December, 1968. The service was the first through the southern B.C. interior for Pacific Western and was known as the 'Stampeder', operating Vancouver-Kamloops-Calgary.

Prior to introducing PWA scheduled service, initial training was done on the new state-of-the-art Boeing 737 aircraft at Kamloops.

Jake Huibers advised that during these training sessions, the Pacific Western crews would make a point of stopping for coffee and parking the new B-737 directly in front of the terminal, just before CP Air's scheduled arrival with their old DC-6 aircraft. CPA suspended service in the spring of 1969.

Neil Burton has sent us some information regarding the article -

The article was written by Jim Wyse.

The weekend of April 12 to 15, 1985, were moving days for PWA staff on Fulton Field (Kamloops – YKA) from the old passenger terminal build (opened August 15, 1964), with its later clinging additions of departure and arrival modules (with indoor baggage system) and 40-foot air cargo trailer, to a brand spanking new and spacious passenger handling terminal.

At some later point, the baggage/cargo handling area received Canada Customs approval for a section of it to be a Customs Bonded Warehouse.

Here we have this photo dated 1985 of the Kamloops crew. Note that Neil Burton is second from the left.  

Some additional information from Neil as to dates of Central British Columbia Airways on Fulton Field:

The City of Kamloops assumed the operation of Fulton Field Airport, without a signed lease with the Department of Transport on May 1, 1946.

Part of the reason was to use the former military huts on the airport to cover a housing shortage with returning veterans. Central B.C. Airways would station a twin-engine Crane aircraft on Fulton Field for the summers, beginning May 1946 under the contract with the B.C, Forest Service. Pilot for the Crane was Harold (Hal) S. Quinn.

Russ Baker, his wife Madge and daughters moved from Fort St. James to Kamloops about the beginning of May 1949. (The write-up of Mr. Darrel Smith’s speech indicated 1949).

It is 38 years this week, (April 10-14, 2023) that we as Pacific Western Airlines employees, made the move to the spanking new ramp, counter, and cargo areas.

Neil Burton

Thanks to Pionairs New Brunswick District Director Rose-Anne Carney for submitting this group of DC-9-10 promotional photos, circa mid 1960's,  in the then new 'Air Canada livery'. 

Registration CF-TLC (Fin # 702) was the first of the aircraft type to be delivered to Air Canada in January 1966. Its tenure was brief as it was returned to McDonnell Douglas in September 1968. 

Time Air Historical Society looks to bring rare, historic Canadian aircraft home.

Excerpt from skiesmag.com article by Natasha McKenty

A small team of enthusiasts is devoting its time to a unique cause: finding, dismantling, and relocating vintage planes. But the relics they seek to preserve aren’t just any aircraft; the passionate crew have their eye on a specific era in Canada’s commercial aviation history.

Rik Barry is the chairman of the Time Air Historical Society (TAHS), which he launched in 2018. Today, Barry and his self-elected board have obtained four (long-since) retired aircraft with a dream of bringing them “home” to Lethbridge, Alberta – the birthplace of Time Air.

The story of Time Air

Founded by Walter “Stubb” Ross, an Alberta- based entrepreneur and aviation pioneer, Time Air operated for almost three decades (1966 – 1993) out of Western Canada. The airline was known as Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways in 1969. According to TAHS, the commuter airline began with “Stubb” Ross transporting passengers with personal aircraft, which evolved into a more significant operation when Air Canada discontinued its service out of Lethbridge Airport (YQL) in 1971.

Time Air operated a variety of aircraft, from the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, to the Short 330 and 360, Fairchild F-27, Convair 580 and 640, DHC Dash 7 and Dash 8 and Fokker F-28 jets.

Fast forward to 1993, Time Air merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines — which eventually merged with Air Canada Jazz in the early 2000's.

See also the Time Air Historical Society web site @ timeairhs.ca

The 14th annual Elsie MacGill Awards Gala will be held at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Ontario on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

The Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award (the “Elsie”) is an annual award that honours outstanding women in aviation and aerospace in Canada.

Business award winner 2022 -

Arielle Meloul-Wechsler is Air Canada's Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs, and has been a member of Air Canada's Executive team since 2013. 

Air Canada Cargo Celebrates Start of Freighter Service to San José, Costa Rica

Montreal, May 19, 2023 – Air Canada Cargo today operated its first freighter flight into San José, Costa Rica, with its Boeing 767. The flights will operate twice per week.

“The start of our freighter operations into Costa Rica builds upon Air Canada’s passenger service to the country and bolsters the cargo presence to offer consistent year-round capacity for our key customers in the region. We are pleased to be able to continue expanding our freighter network as more Boeing 767s come online for us,” said Jon Turner, Vice President, Cargo at Air Canada.

Source: media.aircanada.com

Air Canada on the Verge of a Potential (rumoured) $6 Billion Deal for 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Air Canada is reportedly nearing a deal for up to 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, as it seeks to renew and expand its long-haul fleet. This information comes from sources familiar with the matter, hinting at a resurgence in demand for large commercial jets.

The Canadian carrier is close to agreeing on an order of between 15 and 20 twin-aisle aircraft, the sources disclosed, requesting anonymity due to the confidential nature of the talks. The 787 model, primarily used by Air Canada, has a list price of just below $300 million, implying a deal value of up to $6 billion before customary industry discounts.

Source: www.airlinerwatch.com

Also see this video from Dj's Aviation

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated November 1976

A family affair.

A century of service with the company brought the MacKenzie family (sister and brothers) together in Montreal to celebrate the occasion.

President Claude Taylor, second from left, was on hand to offer congratulations to, from the left: Al, Project Manager, Corporate Planning, Montreal (24 years); Lorna, Supervisor Data Networks, C&SS, Toronto (30 years); Ross, Maintenance Control Coordinator, Montreal (31 years) and Ken, Storeman, P&E, Montreal (15 years).

Issue dated December 1976

Far East visit.

Tokyo staff are shown with Claude Taylor, President:

From the left, standing: T. Yamada, Sales Representative; D.W. McLeod, Manager, Japan & Southeast Asia; President Taylor;
K. Yamaguchi, Passenger Sales & Service Manager; K. Nemoto, Cargo Sales & Service Manager and T. Takeda, General Clerk.

Seated: R. Sonoyama, Sales Agent; S. Honma, Clerk Stenographer and Sales Agents M. Nagata and S. Yoshida. 

Editors' Note: Person to the right (third from the left) of Claude Taylor is unidentified. 

Issue dated January 1977.

Pilots retire.

Five of the Company's senior pilots, many of whose service in commercial aviation goes back to the Second World War, were feted at a retirement dinner at the Airport Inn in Richmond, British Columbia.

The pilots, seen here with their wives, were all based at the flight operations centre in Vancouver and are residents of the Greater Vancouver area.

From the left: Captain and Mrs. Don McArthur; First Officer and Mrs. Jim Doyle; Captain and Mrs. Bill Spratt; Captain and Mrs. Phil White and Captain and Mrs. Merv Harper.

Issue dated July 1974

Colourful contrast - 

Toronto-based passenger agent Sylvia Koran proved blue is also beautiful as she poses beside the bright orange of a CP Air DC-8-63 jet in her striking new ground hostess uniform. 

Tokyo Cargo Display - 

Toronto sales representative Doug McQuaid (right) spent a successful four days at the Tokyo Trade Show during the first week of June staffing this attractive CP Air cargo display.

Doug is shown here with two show interpreters and Ichiro Ohi (left), a Tokyo CP Air sales representative.

From the "InfoCanadi>n" magazine.

Issue dated October 1990

Deal gives daily Paris service.

Canadian will offer daily service between Montreal and Paris beginning November 1, 1990 as the result of a realignment to the commercial agreement with Air France to introduce code-sharing.

Canadian will operate four flights weekly and Air France five between Mirabel and Charles De Gaulle airports. On three of the Air France flights Canadian will be responsible for 60 of the seats. The agreement included Toronto-Paris flights when both carriers begin operating from Terminal 3.

Delayed by a construction strike earlier this year, Terminal 3 is now on target to open in early 1991. Grant Sauve, On-board Service Manager, and his wife Colleen Sauve, Flight Attendant both of Toronto, toured the terminal and discovered that it was starting to look like an air terminal.

Ruairidh MacVeigh posted the video linked below, entitled 'Short 330 and 360 - The Feederliners' chronicling the development and history of the versatile transport aircraft nicknamed the 'Flying Boxcar'. 

At timestamp 6:35 it is mentioned that Time Air was the North American launch customer for the Short 330.

See 'Wayne's Wings' below for more on the history of these aircraft.

New eyes on the sky: Nav Canada moving forward with digital air traffic services.

Nav Canada is ushering in a new era that will see the implementation of digital air traffic services at airports across the country — as has already been demonstrated by numerous European air navigation service providers.

In October 2015, aviation history was made in northern Sweden when Örnsköldsvik Airport became the world’s first remotely controlled airport managed by a controller at a workstation 140 kilometers (87 miles) away at the Sundsvall remote tower center.

The brick-and-mortar air traffic control (ATC) tower has been an iconic airport landmark since the world’s first tower opened at Croydon Airport near London, England, in early 1920. The concept of using a tower or elevated structure to provide an out-the-window view to manage air traffic at airports has remained largely unchanged for the past 100 years.

During the past seven years, however, a new paradigm in airport air traffic services (ATS) has started to take root. This is known as the “remote tower” or “digital tower” concept invented by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2002. The concept uses optical sensors, microphones, video screens, and other digital technology to allow ATS operators to provide safe and efficient service from a location independent from the airport site.

Source: skiesmag.com/features

 Time Air Short 330 & 360 fleet

When I came across the 'Featured Video' for this issue, I was reminded of my article for NetLetter #1412 (April 14, 2019) on the Short 360 - 'The Shed'.

I decided to further research the fleets of the Short 330 and 360. Rzjets.net lists a total of 4 330's and 3 360's that flew for Time Air during the 1970's and 80's.

All but one have since been broken up, however, I discovered, happily, that one of the Short 330 (former registration C-GTAV) has been donated to the Time Air Historical Society by Air Cargo Carriers of Milwaukee and is in the process of being preserved in Lethbridge, Alberta.

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

The Airplane Restaurant KC-97. 

1665 N. Newport Rd. Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Rich in history, and luck.

Returning from one of the many refueling missions to Europe, our KC-97’s crew thought they were going to have to ditch in the Atlantic. They couldn’t remember where they put the Azores (islands located 970 miles west of Portugal)!

Luckily for the crew, the plane, and 'The Airplane Restaurant', the Azores were rediscovered and the plane didn’t end up on the bottom of the ocean. 

The Airplane Restaurant centerpiece is a fully intact Boeing KC-97 tanker. Built in 1953, this magnificent airplane refueled aircraft throughout the world.

Then, in May 2002, it began its second mission to be the preeminent aviation restaurant in the United States. Forty-two passengers can actually eat in the plane of the
275-seat restaurant. Rich in aviation history, displaying 100's of pictures, memorabilia and rare artifacts, Solo's offers much more than great food, it offers a flight through aviation history.

Treat yourself to first class and celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Flight and fly onto Solo's!

Source: TheAirplaneRestaurant.com

Issue dated April 1998