Pacific Western (PWA) Hercules Reunion
June 10 - 12, 2016

Location: Ramada Edmonton Hotel & Conference Centre
Address: 11834 Kingsway NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 3J5
Phone: (780) 454-5454

The event is open to all PWA folks L188/737C/727C and YXD/YEG base - all one family.

Click here or on the logo at left for further details and registration

Gretchen Dawson refers to "Women in Aviation" in NetLetter nr 1331 and shares this memory -

The article submitted about our dear Annette (Brunelle) Donovan  reminded me of the time I was welcomed inter her home (in Toronto) in January, 1978. It was  to bring the gals (former stews), I knew and others I had found living in Toronto area, to meet with me and learn about the desire and need for help and to start up an Association of all former Flight Attendants from TCA days!

She was a very special "friend" in my life and a most keen supporter of the creation, over the next couple of years, of Canadian Maple Wings Association.

Annette graduated off the first stewardess course in March 1939, that Lucile Garner Grant ran out of the terminal building in Winnipeg, which until recently housed the "Royal" Western Canada Aviation Museum, and our refurbished L10A (CF-TCC) rests - when she's not at air shows - in that hanger portion.

That very aircraft (CF-TCC), Annette worked on in 1939 and for a couple more years. She also did a flight leg on CF-TCC, in the 1986 "Sentimental Journey" celebrating Air Canada's 50th Anniversary on our (CMWA's) 6th Anniversary. She passed away quite a few years ago - but was an avid member of Canadian Maple Wings Association for many early years.

• Air Canada announced that it plans to increase its new non-stop flights from Vancouver to Brisbane, Australia to daily from three times weekly beginning June 17, 2016
  
  
• CIT Aerospace leased a second A321 (6873) to Air Canada rouge.
  
  
• Air Canada rouge agreed to lease ex-Hawaiian Airlines 767-300ER (33421) with PW4000s from AWAS.
  
  
• On May 2, 2016, Air Canada rouge plans to begin twice-daily Toronto-Charlottetown, to Prince Edward Island (A319).
  
  
• Air Canada is offering three tranches of EETCs worth $537m secured by three 787-9s/two 777-300ERs for delivery in 2Q16.
  
  
• Boeing, University of British Columbia and SkyNRG teamed to launch project to convert leftover branches, sawdust and other forest-industry waste into sustainable aviation biofuel; Air Canada, WestJet and Bombardier will also participate in project.(source SpeedNews Dec 4/15)
  
  
• Delta reached new agreement with Boeing to acquire up to 20 ex-Air Canada E190s for delivery in 2016 for its mainline fleet.
  
  
• Air Canada leased third new A321 (6884) from CIT Aerospace under overall deal for five for operation by ROUGE. (source SpeedNews Dec 18/15) 
  
• Air Canada and IAMAW Reach New 10 Year Agreement Subject to Ratification on Contract Terms New contract covers technical maintenance, airport ramp and cargo personnel.

Free snacks are back! Starting February 2016, customers travelling on United Airlines flights within North America and Latin America will be offered free snacks in Economy Class.

Flight Plan for 2016

(Submitted by: Gretchen Dawson )

Happy New Year from the NetLetter Team!

Although we are late with our New Years wishes, we have this "Flight Plan for 2016" that was sent to us by Gretchen Dawson. Gretchen was one of the founding members of the Air Canada/TCA "Canadian Maple Wings Association". With thanks to Colleen (Bird) Price who wrote the wishes below (I think).

Dear Friends

This is such a unique New Year’s wish that I wanted to share it with friends at the beginning of the journey. It says a lot about life and helps to clear the way for a clean slate as “Flight 2016” prepares for take-off.

May it be the best flight of your life with a view towards new friends and a happy landing.

Hope you have checked in only the best souvenirs from 2015 in your luggage, the boarding of Flight 2016 has been announced...

The BAD and SAD moments if carried, must be thrown away in the garbage on arrival. The flight will be 12 months long. So, loosen your seat belts, jingle and mingle.

The stop-overs will be :

• Health
• Love
• Joy
• Harmony
• Well-being
• Peace

Refuelling will be at:

• Giving
• Sharing
• Caring

We offer you the following menu which will be served during the flight.

• Cocktail of Friendship
• Supreme of Health
• Grating of Prosperity
• Bowl of Excellent News
• Salad of Success
• Cake of Happiness,

All accompanied by bursts of laughter...

But remember, you will enjoy these meals and the journey better if you talk, share, smile and laugh together. Sitting silent and sullen will make the flight seem longer.

Wishing you and your family an enjoyable trip on board of flight 2016...  Remember to thank your amazing family and friends who made Flight 2015 beautiful,

May you all be blessed with an awesome year ahead!

Canadair (Bombardier) CRJ100 Series

The last decade of the twentieth century was certainly an eventful period in Canadian aviation. Air Canada had begun the privatization process and Canadian Airlines International had been formed by the beginning of the decade. Intense competition, controversy, restructuring and constant media coverage was to follow.

Amid the turbulence of the time a very shrewd business decision was made at Air Canada. Under the leadership of Hollis Harris, the company invested in the Canadair (now Bombardier) CRJ100 series of regional jets in anticipation of passage of the  “Open Skies” agreement signed on February 24, 1995.

Twenty new routes were introduced serviced by the “RJ’s” including Toronto-Columbus, Ottawa-Washington, Calgary-Houston and Toronto-St. Louis. The fifty seat economy class configuration was perfect for these markets and Air Canada took full advantage of the opportunity. Air travel was no longer a luxury but a necessity for the faster pace of business and these routes had the potential to produce high yield.

Pictured is Fin# 101 originally delivered September 6, 1994 and has been stored at YYC since March 2012.

All twenty-six of the original aircraft that flew in Air Canada livery were transferred when the airline consolidated its regional subsidiaries into the Jazz brand in 2002. Planespotters.net lists six of them still active in the current Air Canada Express fleet operated by Air Georgian of Mississauga, Ontario and continuing to serve many of the routes that they had been acquired to develop such as Toronto to Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Milwaukee.

Listed below with original Air Canada Fins Nos. and date of delivery.

C-FSKM Fin# 100 (# 110) June 19, 1995
C-FWJF Fin# 101 (# 116) December 30, 1995
C-FWRS Fin# 102 (# 121) April 29, 1996
C-FWII Fin# 103 (# 117) December 31, 1995
C-FWRT Fin# 104 (# 122) May 27, 1996
C-FWRR Fin# 105 (# 120) April 15, 1996

Your comments and/or corrections are always welcome!

This is the conclusion of the story in NetLetter nr 1333 regarding the DC-8 article - 

The new owners, IAL Inc, delivered July 10th, 1979, registered as N8021V get, along with a C of A, some 10 cartons of records weighing 500 pounds. These are the job tickets for all the checks and work done on the aircraft. Should they want more information, it's tucked away in the archives for another two years. Of course, the log book, the aircraft's pedigree, is completed from day one. and it goes along with the plane.

Well, she's going now! She was still earning her keep by being leased out to various airlines before being WFU and stored at Smyrna, Tennesse during 1981 and was finally broken up in 1983. Now when the B747's and L-1011`s streak into the sky, she can sit on the tarmac with the knowledge that the first commercial jet to intestinally pierce the sound barrier was a DC-8-43 with Rolls Royce Conway engines. Prior to delivery to CPA, no jumbo had ever done that.

In NetLetter nr 1326, in "Wayne's Wings", Wayne had an article regarding the L-1011. We went back to NetLetter nr 1316, where we had this article originally from Bill Norberg -

The tragic loss of the DC-8 in YYZ in 1970 due to inadvertent deployment of ground spoilers in flight was to have repercussions when it was time for the MOT to provide type certification for the L-1011 in Canada. The MOT was very concerned about what had happened to the DC-8 and were determined to use the power of their office to bring about whatever was necessary to prevent future such incidents. We had a number of meetings with our technical specialists and theirs to discuss what could or should be done. The matter, as we saw it, was one of adherence to established and approved procedures rather than an interlock or mechanical method to prevent such deployment.

One could take their thinking to such actions as fuel shut-off valves or even shutting down engines in flight. Those actions are often necessary but no one would intentionally use them in an inappropriate manner. In any event their concern was raised when they learned that the use of ground spoilers in flight was a fundamental part of the auto approach system of the L-1011. It was called "Direct Lift Control" or DLC and was a method by which the aircraft in an auto approach configuration was maintained on the correct glide slope.

Normally this action was carried out by the autopilot where any deviation from the proper glide slope sent a signal to the autopilot elevator servo to apply a corrective action and restore the aircraft to the correct position. This tended to make an aircraft "porpoise" or hunt somewhat about the proper glide slope angle. In the DLC system the ground spoilers were deployed to a 10 degree angle before engaging the auto approach system. Any deviation from the proper glide slope now fed a signal to the ground spoiler actuator and either increased or decreased the ground spoiler angle. As the ground spoiler angle increased the wing lost some lift... as it decreased it increased wing lift. This had the effect of moving the aircraft vertically up or down rather than in a cyclic hunting fashion. This tended to keep the aircraft tightly coupled to the glide slope with minimum hunting action. It was a great system.

The MOT were not convinced and we had to take a number of their key people to the Lockheed plant at Palmdale California for a test flight and demonstrations by the Lockheed staff. We used the L-1011 aircraft being used for certification tests by Lockheed. It was equipped with extensive instrumentation as well as water tanks throughout the cabin to permit testing at various C of G configurations. There were only seats at the front of the aircraft for about 10 people. It also had an escape chute from the cockpit area down through one of the lower cargo doors which could be activated under emergency conditions. We were each assigned a parachute and given instructions about how to exit. It was a fascinating flight and the MOT staff were given an excellent demonstration of the DLC system and its capabilities. Our problems were over as far as certification were concerned. It was interesting to note that during that flight the aircraft flew in excess of Mach .9 for the first time as well.

Under "Wayne's Wings" in NetLetter nr 1330, Wayne gave some information regarding the British Aerospace 146 (BAe 146) airliner. We have this booklet which may be of interest. (Click on image to view)

Dorothy Horton has sent us her memories of becoming a TCA stewardess in 1954 –

Airline experience by D.V.Horton in 1954.

My ambition was to become a nurse and airline stewardess. I accomplished my first goal by receiving my Registered Nurses degree after gradating from the Wellesley Hospital in Ontario early in 1953. However, in the meantime, I had met and fallen in love with the man I wanted to spend the rest pf my life with. Bill was an engineering student and on the University of Toronto Varsity football team. He urged me to follow my dream although at that time I was nursing full time, I decided to apply to Trans-Canada Air Lines to become an Airline Stewardess.

The regulations to become an Airline Stewardess in 1954 were rather rigorous:

- One was not allowed to be married.

- One had to have good teeth and good skin.

- One could not weigh over 130 pounds.

- One could not be too tall or too short.

- One could not wear glasses.

After two long interviews where I had to walk back and forth in front of a panel of men, I was finally hired (Human Rights would not allow that today). Then the fun began, I recall going as a standby passenger from Toronto to Montreal to begin my training. After seeing several flights take off full without me. I finally reached Montreal around midnight. This was the very first time I had ever flown. I can still recall my excitement when I arrived at the hotel, my roommate was already asleep. We were put up, all expenses paid, at the Belmont Hotel sharing a room. This was for the first two weeks only, and in the meantime we were to find a place to live. Hence, two weeks later, my roommate Jackie Fox and the two girls sharing the room next door Mary Litwyn, Gloia Fasken and myself rented a fully furnished flat in a big old building in Mount Royal.

Our training began the day after my arrival in Montreal. We were instructed to wear a girdle at all times. Once we were in uniform we would be periodically checked to ensure we were wearing the dreadful girdle. None of us in those days had an ounce of fat. Fat was not allowed. We were given a Helen Rubenstein beauty course, teaching us how to apply makeup and what to buy. These classes were so informative and so much fun. Billy Houseman was our training course instructor and was so understanding and tolerant of our clowning around. Just as long as we were serious at the appropriate times. I vividly recall the marvellously exciting weekend when the three of us decided to plus out to New York. We had no problem getting to New York.

While in New York we saw all the sights, shopped, and came back to the hotel where all three of us sat on the edge of the tub with our tired feet soaking so that we could take off for the Latin Quarter later that evening. Trying to return from New York was a different story. After many attempts we finally landed very late and very tired and broke in Montreal. Yes, we had spent our last dollars on a meal in the New York airport waiting for space to open up. We were relieved to be back in Montreal. Within a couple of hours I had to don my uniform and once again take to the skies. Those wonderful days are filled with many memories.

I was eventually stationed at Toronto (Malton Airport) much to my delight. If I recall correctly there were less than a hundred crews working out of Malton Airport. I flew the DC-3's, the only stewardess aboard and we had many interesting passengers. We were always supplied with a seating plan with each passengers name (as we had been taught). Having no seniority at the beginning I did the Northern runs. When we flew into Falconbridge, Ontario, I had to stay overnight in a rooming house and lined up in a large cafeteria in the morning for breakfast with all the miners (the only female). Eventually l had other very interesting routes.

Early in the of fall of 1954 the student l had fallen in love with several years before proposed. We decided to be married on Grey Cup day, as the Varsity Football would be over. However, in 1954 for the first time in history, Queens, Western and Toronto tied for first place forcing the final play of game, to be played on November 27th, 1954, our Wedding day. Bill made the headlines of the Toronto Daily Star Sport Section for missing this crucial game. However, the team won without him and we had our Wedding Breakfast with the team in London, Ontario.

Needless to say this ended my very short but wonderful career as an Airline Stewardess.

(Written on July 7th, 2002 by Dorothy Horton)

From the CPA Newsletter issued June 1964

The caption reads "It isn't that I don't appreciate all this Sir. It's just that I was given to understand that my travel incentive vouchers could be used for a real vacation!"

From web site www.gov.uk/free-passport - Free passports for British nationals born before 2 September 1929.

Heard on the air waves.

ATC: "Alitalia 345 continue taxi to 26L South via Tango - check for workers along taxiway."

Alitalia 345: "Roger, Taxi 26 Left via Tango. Workers checked - all are working"