Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter
Since 1995 May 10, 2025
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Group photo with the Hawaii Mars
at the BC Aviation Museum
April 23, 2025 |
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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 89 new subscribers so far in 2025.
We now have 4505 active 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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Submitted by Norman Danton -
WOW! I opened Newsletter #1556 and found an article about something I was involved in 40 years ago. I am referring to the group (photo below) I organized to Switzerland. I must say, it was a success.
In 1985 I took early retirement with 30 years service. In 1990, my wife Blanche passed away. I am remarried and we live on beautiful Vancouver Island, Qualicum Beach.
In January 2025 I had my 90th birthday. Life is good .
Thanks for the memories,
Norm
Editors' Note: Happy belated 90th, Norm
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Submitted by Jack Miles -
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Hi Guys,
This is the story of how a PWA Hercules ended up in Libya, in Gaddafi’s stable of aircraft. These were years of much subterfuge (not much has changed).
The story starts half way down the first page with the subterfuge as to how the sale went through. I can provide more info, but note that this source is the CIA !!!
You may wonder how I retrieved it, but note that it says “approved for release in 2007”. I had mentioned this story to you when we had lunch, but I wanted to prove to you the veracity of it all.
I have another source, a lawyer friend, who can add a little more detail. I have had the excitement of living some interesting years in aviation.
Cheers,
Jack Miles Jr.
Editors' Note: We went searching the internet for the full article that Jack refers to and found this link to the CIA website detailing the full story.
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Photos from the Pionairs visit to the BC Aviation Museum
April 23, 2025
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Ken Peters, Bob Sheppard & Wayne Albertson
Photo by Brian Brownridge
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Retired fly guys Brian Brownridge and Alan Winks
re-connect after too many years.
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Former RCAF Pilot Stephen Hale gave us a masterful tour of the CF-104.
Known as the Starfighter, it is the Canadian version of the Lockheed F-104.
Photos by Bob Sheppard
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Posted January 17, 2023 by ACYYZ58
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Luxury in the Skies: A Stewardess's Tale
On the DC-8, a plane of the elite
There were twelve first class seats
Where the well-mannered, finely dressed
Were served a seven course feast
Lobster and shrimp, caviar and champagne
Soup and cheese, fruit and dessert
Vintage wines and Cuban cigars
All to be savoured and enjoyed with zest
But working in the first class galley
Was not a dream, as one stewardess found
When a Chateaubriand came rolling down
The aisle with a startled bound.
But no extra meals on board
So she washed it off, stuck it back in the oven
And the Chateaubriand was saved, no problem!
Though first class passengers were never shown
The chaos in the galley, behind the curtain
Where stewardesses worked to serve
The elite in their finely dressed attire.
On the DC-8, a plane that could truly deserve
The title of luxury, in the skies above.
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This memory by Bill Norberg was sent to the NetLetter in 2007 and appeared in NetLetter #971.
I would like to submit some experiences I had when Trans-Canada Air Lines changed its name and corporate image to Air Canada.
There had been ongoing discussions about changing the name of the airline to one that more closely represented the expansion of the original airline beyond Canada. The chosen name 'Air Canada' was one that would not likely be the source of much dissent either within the airline or the country.
There were a number of airlines that used the same general name structure such as Air France etc. The official date of the conversion to the new name was January 1, 1965 but there had already been a public presentation of the new name and aircraft livery on October 14, 1964.
Trans-Canada Air Lines had been selected to fly The Queen and the Royal party from Ottawa to London, England following completion of the Canadian tour. Trans-Canada Air Lines had never flown HRH The Queen before and this was considered to be a wonderful opportunity to give the airline some excellent public exposure.
The President was ecstatic and plans were developed to bring this about. There was as usual, a great deal of communication required between the Government of Canada, HRH The Queen and the airline to ensure all requirements were met, not the least of which were security concerns.
As the departure station was Ottawa which was a part of the Central Region, Frank I. Young, Regional Operations Manager, was given the responsibility to make the necessary arrangements on behalf of the airline. He in turn of course delegated specific responsibilities to the various departments involved. 
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| See NetLetter #1343 for our previous article 'First Aircraft to Fly the Rondell' |
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Found in 'Horizons' magazine
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Issue dated November 1987
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Schedulers join forces.
 In 1987, the Flight Operations Branch celebrated the opening of its centralized crew scheduling facility at the Dorval Base.
On hand to mark the occasion (left) are Captain Charlie Simpson, Vice President, Flight Operations, who is shown cutting the cake with Pat Yacowar, General Clerk, Dorval.
In the photo below members of the flight operations crew scheduling standing committee, who coordinated the centralization project are, from the left: Pat Di Marco, Bill Langdon, Ralph Tisdall, Peter Pihach and Rod Hazlehurst.
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Issue dated September 1988
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In June 1963. Trans-Canada Air Lines held its first bilingual course for flight attendants. After their graduation the 19 young women (and two instructors), who came from around world, marked the occasion with a photo taken in the lobby of the old Berkeley Hotel in Montreal.
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Twenty five years later, 15 members of the original group reunited at the Holiday Inn, Montreal.
Standing from the left are: Shirley North, Lorette Desmarchais, Joyce Ernyes, Joan O'Connell, Madeleine Trutschmann (who organized the reunion), Grace Therrien, Louise Lisowski and Lucille Carrière.
Sitting from the left are: Jocelyn Rouleau, Barbara Emery, Claudette Dumas, Nicole Rochon, Gertrude Schuerer, Madeleine Ranellucci Blair and Nicole Geoffrion.
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CP Air / Canadi>n People Gallery |
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Found while scrolling though the Whitehorse Star newspaper
- September 28, 1945: Canadian Pacific Airlines announces its plans for operating an all-Canadian air route to the Orient. It will include a direct line from Winnipeg to Hong Kong and Singapore, via Edmonton, Fort St. John, Whitehorse, Paramashuro, Tokyo and Shanghai.
- October 19, 1945: Canadian Pacific Airlines began air service between Whitehorse and Fairbanks on October 15th. On its initial flight it carried only mail. It is expected that passenger service will commence in about a fortnight's time.
- February 25, 1949: A Whitehorse All-Star hockey team, lead by coach Lloyd Camyre, travels to Nanaimo on a CP Airlines charter DC-3 to compete in British Columbia Intermediate Playoffs. They lose both games they played and then toured the Okanagan.
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What happened to the CP Air Boeing 747-200s?
Condensed by Ken Pickford
The first two of CP Air's four Boeing 747-200s, C-FCRA, Fin #741 and C-FCRB, Fin #742, were delivered in November and December 1973. The next two, C-FCRD, Fin #743 and C-FCRE, Fin #744, were delivered a year later, in November and December 1974. All were the B-747-217B model. "17" was CP Air's Boeing customer code and "B" indicated the standard passenger version as opposed to the -200F (freighter), -200C (passenger/cargo convertible) and -200M (combi).
All four aircraft went to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in 1985/86 as part of a deal that exchanged the 747s for four of PIA's McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s, with each airline acquiring aircraft better suited to their routes at the time.
C-FCRE, Fin #744, was the first CP Air 747 to go to PIA in December 1985, becoming AP-BCL. It was disposed of by PIA in 2005. After service with defunct Orient Thai Airways it was dismantled and moved to Pattaya, Thailand a few years ago where it was reassembled (minus engines) and is now parked in the middle of a street food market. At one point there was a plan to convert it to a bar or restaurant.
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 Click the icon for one of the more recent YouTube videos about C-FCRE (posted by Chris Blair) |
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C-FCRB, Fin #742, went to PIA in May 1986, becoming AP-BCM, followed by C-FCRA, Fin #741 in September 1986, becoming AP-BCN. Both were withdrawn from use in 2001 and scrapped at Karachi in 2002.
C-FCRD, Fin #743, was the last CP Air 747 to go to PIA in November 1986, becoming AP-BCO. It was still in service until at least 2002 but retirement date is unclear. It was eventually scrapped at Karachi.
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C-FCRA at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport
December 1974
Photo by Christian Volpati
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C-FCRD at Manchester, England
Circa 1980
Photo by Clipperarctic
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A rare family in Canada today
The Boeing 747 series as a whole is now an extremely rare aircraft family when it comes to Canadian-registered examples of the ‘Queen of the Skies.’
The country has no registered B-747-200s left today, and, in fact, just two 747s of any kind. These are both examples of the short-fuselage 747SP, and serve as testbeds for engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada.
These classic quadjets are both over 44 years old. C-GTFF was originally delivered to Korean Air in March 1981 and C-FPAW is an ex-Air China example, delivered to predecessor CAAC in September 1980.
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Our Featured Video has been posted by the History of British Columbia YouTube channel. It chronicles the history of Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
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From 'Between Ourselves' magazine
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Issue dated April 1963
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The life of DC-3 CF-TES the Spirit of Ostra Brama.
 We came across this drawing and information of the DC-3, CF-TEA, and CF-TES, both served with Trans-Canada Air Lines from 1947 to 1963. We contacted Robert Arnold, a long time contributor to the NetLetter and is the Canadian Researcher/Archivist for the Vickers Viscount at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba (RAMWC).
Robert has access to several Winnipeg related original artworks by his friend the late Jim Bruce.
The aircraft served with TCA until midnight on April 12, 1963, when it landed in Winnipeg; the arrival was the completion of TCA’s last DC-3 flight.
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 Robert had a connection with CF-TES, and sent us this life story of CF-TES.
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Our visit to the BC Aviation Museum
On April 23 Bob Sheppard and I had the pleasure of attending the Pionairs Vancouver Island district tour and luncheon at the BC Aviation Museum. We had long waited for the opportunity to see the Hawaii Mars and were not disappointed. We are dwarfed by the large aircraft in the photo below.
Bob and I were joined on the ferry ride by friends Brian Brownridge & Ken Peters (both retired pilots) and caught a lift from the ferry to the museum.
Once we arrived, we were met by Pionairs District Director, Grant Snider and event organizer Cliff Cunningham. The luncheon was excellent with a wide variety of trays with cold cuts, fruit and sweets. We had a wonderful time reacquainting with old friends and meeting many new ones.
Attendees then split into smaller tour groups of around 8 people per group. Our group was lucky to be guided by Stephen Hale, chief guide coordinator and member of the museum board of directors.
The only disappointment of the day was that the Hawaii Mars had not yet been safety certified for us to board her. However, the museum gave us all Complimentary Admission passes for another visit when we will be able to board the aircraft. Needless to say, we will certainly be looking forward to our next visit.
Thanks to Cliff, Grant and all the museum staff and volunteers for making our visit such a pleasure.
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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.
Smile, you’re on camera.
Canada, India, Australia, Spain, New Zealand, the UAE, Germany, UK and more are pioneering a new era of travel by adopting advanced facial recognition and biometric systems at airports.
These countries are leading because they’ve made early investments in digital infrastructure, partnered with forward-thinking airlines, and prioritized both security and passenger convenience.
By turning your face into a secure digital ID, they’re eliminating the need for physical documents, speeding up check-ins, automating border control, and delivering real-time journey updates through your phone. It’s a global shift toward seamless, contactless, and stress-free travel — and these nations are setting the standard.
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Our cartoon by Jake Visser appeared in the Canadian Flyer magazine issue March 1998.
Caption: "And I thought F.O. stood for First Officer ... Forklift Operator ... Geez!"
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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):
The historical information as well as any other information provided in the "NetLetter" is subject to correction and may have changed over time.
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