We have had quite a few subscribers ask us about our "Obituaries" area which is operated and maintained by the ACFamily Network. We are in the process of doing a major overhaul of the Obituary section and will keep you updated about our progress in future issues of the NetLetter.

After the new install is completed, we will need to move all the existing content over to the new site. As far as I know, there are no other web sites where memorial listings are accepted that cover past employees that worked for ALL past (and present) Canadian based airlines. We will link to any other aviation memorial sites that we are made aware of as well. We have 75% of it completed now and are making good progress.

Alan Rust
ACFamily Owner and Administrator

"Elvis is in the building"

You don't see deals like this very often! $5 for an Elvis Show including lunch.

The Pionairs (Vancouver District) is having a "Member Appreciation Event" on Thursday, September 15, 2016. This a "special" event for the Vancouver District and is available to Pionair members only.

Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016
Venue: Elements Casino, Cloverdale, (Surrey), BC.
Cost: $5 per person
What's Included: A 2 hour live Elvis Show, with impersonator Steve Elliott and a complimentary light lunch.

Registration: if you are a Pionair member, you can find more information and register by following this link. If you are NOT a Pionair Member, you can join by following this link (then you can register for the event). Tickets are selling fast, so please don't delay.

1969 - April 14th - Contract signed with Raytheon for display and control equipment for ReserVec II.

Found in "Between Ourselves" magazine issue December 1967

Members of the crew of the first direct Montreal-Miami flight November 1st 1967 are shown with Sales Manager George Kennedy, third from left, and Cec McDonald, District Manager, seventh from left, following their arrival in Miami.

From the left: Stewardesses Verena Degen, Tatjana Misik, Peggy Boyd, and Argentine Paulin; Captain E. Bowser; Captain H. Hayes; Stewardesses Danielle Lossie and Margit Kobler; Purser Roy Dugas and Stewardess Alice Teboul.

An official welcome greeted the first scheduled DC-8-61 flight into Montego Bay on October 29th 1967, heralding the start of three-flights-per-week service between Montreal, Toronto and Montego Bay, Kingston. The frequency of flights was increased to five-per-week in December 1967.

Shown with the flight crew and some of the cabin staff is Montego Bay's Mayor Cecil Donaldson. The flight crew were Captain L. Greenlaw, and F/O's R. E. Thompson and E. F. Dow, while Stewardesses C. Givogue, B. Helme, M. Lightfoot, N. Van den Hagen, E. Murdock and G. Magnus headed by Purser B. Wheaton. The article did not specifically identify the people.

 Found in the "Horizons" magazine issued May 1980.

In the spring of 1980, the 17 presidents of the Air Canada Recreation Association (ACRA) met in the Air Canada executive board room at Place Ville Marie in Montreal.

A highlight of the meeting centred around the reports from each ACRA president regarding their association's most successful event or project during the previous year. One project cooked up by the Winnipeg ACRA, finally got out of the oven with the publication of a cookbook entitled "Favourite Recipes". Each president was presented with a copy.

The Halifax ACRA sponsored a lobster party set on an island rented for the occasion. The London UK ACRA sponsored a children's party with a difference. It was held at Easter instead of Christmas time. It was explained that since so many events take place over the Christmas holiday season, the idea of an Easter party was well received.

From the left in this photo we have: George Agnew, Vancouver; Terry McHale, Edmonton; Dorothy Buss, Winnipeg; Ron Carradine, London, Ontario; Al Davidson, Toronto; Barry Bourassa, Ottawa; Gord Thompson, Dorval; Cory Smith, Los Angeles; Fred Hatchey, Quebec; Bill Callure, Saint John; Bernie Curin, Moncton; Brian Murray, Halifax; Cy Wagner, Sydney; Stuart Vokey, St. John's; Edison Rodgers, Nassau; Robert Neilson, London UK; Air Canada President Claude Taylor. Absent was Steve Bulmer, Calgary.

The Pionairs executive for 1980 are pictured here during the AGM held at the Quality Inn in Anaheim, California.

From the left: Frank Millman, First Vice President; Mary Brown, Second Vice President; Joe Lorimer, President; John McFarland, Treasurer; Dave Baxter, Secretary and Martin Betts, Past President and Pension Committee Representative.

1998

• Sept 17th Arrival of B767 Fin #645 ex Asiana Airlines. 
• Dec 15th Arrival of B767 Fin #646 ex Asiana Airlines

1999

• May 27th Arrival of A320 Fin #406 ex Monarch Airlines.
• Nov 15th Arrival of B767 Fin #648 new from Boeing.
• Dec 1st Arrival of B767 Fin #647 new from Boeing

Both 646 and 647 arrived after interior work by Dee Howard in San Antonio, Texas.

Located in the "Contact" magazine issue dated June 1988.

On Mother's Day of 1988, this group performed an engine change on aircraft fin #884 in Hong Kong and considered a class act.

In our photo from the top left are: Eric Visser, Ross Olson, Aaron Chan.

Middle from the left: Chris Gray, Anthony Ko, Po Kamphant, Ping Tan. 

Front from the left: Ray Fletcher, Tam Wing Wah, Ian McMahon, Cheng Man On (Moe), Mel Himaras.

Issue dated December 1998

On November 9th the Canadi>n/MTU joint venture took flight. with the official launch at the Vancouver Ops Centre YVR.

Issue dated February 1999

On January 13th 1999, Canadi>n Airlines launched their new logo. In December 1998, the design team arranged for a top secret paint test at an aircraft graveyard outside of Tucson, Arizona.

Evergreen Air Center painted the new colours complete with the new goose icon, ironically, on the vertical stabilizer and rear fuselage of a retired Air Canada B747. Canadian's executive checked and approved the new logo. B747 fin #881 was sent to Beijing and Dash 8 fin #179 was sent to Arkansas to have the aircraft prepared with full livery and interiors.

Ground equipment also got a make over. The design group favoured white, Marketing suggested red, but VP M&E, Ken Goosen suggested blue, his reasoning was that red was still associated with the competition and fades quickly.

Issue dated March 1999

More than 200 Canadian employees on 17 teams hit the ice February 3-5 in Toronto to make the airline's 24th annual Transcon hockey tourney. Here we have this photo of the Division C champs, from the left top row: Keith Folkes, "Mr Grizz", Ken Scheider, Jay Silverson, Steve Dodds, Kam Keshavarzi, Brent England, Mark MacCoubrey and Fred Novin.

Bottom row: Bruce Phillips, Ron Mazzei, Rick Tousaw (Molson), Ray Bath and Dan Smith. Missing in action (probably still in the penalty box) are Bill Bedford, Bob Diwar and Bob Staniforth.

YVR Community Chill Out Day. 

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2016
Time: 11:00am – 3:00pm
Location: Larry Berg Flight Path Park, Russ Baker Way, Richmond, BC V7B 1C4
Parking: Free parking available at the BCIT Aerospace Campus.
Free shuttle service will run regularly from BCIT and Templeton Canada Line Station to Flight Path Park

Click here for full details

We have received this request for help from Robert Pelley -

Hello!
I have, for a number of years, been doing research on the history of Gander Airport. I have recently been asked a question for which I do not have the answer. I believe it may have recently originated with the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. The question from the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander was sent to me by another person involved in the history of Gander.

The question was very simple :
“Have you ever heard of a trans-Canadian flight between St. John's and Victoria made around 1974 by Wayne Tuck and Craig Loweys? 

Given your very large aviation-oriented membership, I was wondering if there was any way they could be asked to see if anyone has any information on this subject. Any help you could give would be extremely appreciated!

Robert Pelley can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or Click Here for bobsganderhistory.com

Out of province Travel Insurance.

The lesson learned? Read the fine print closely and make sure you know what you’re buying to avoid getting into a seriously bad situation.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind when considering travel insurance, from an easy-to-understand insurance guide:

1. You may already have it.
   Start by checking your employer benefits plan to see if you’re already covered. Some credit cards also include travel medical and trip cancellation insurance, but check your policy closely to make sure you understand what coverage you have. Insurers often limit how much they’ll pay out for claims and restrict coverage to shorter trips—typically seven days or so.

2. Your travel agent rarely sells the good stuff. 
   Travel agents usually sell travel insurance and may offer it when you’re booking your trip. “These policies can often be much more expensive than getting insurance from an online provider such as Travel Guard,” says Gavin Prout, vice president of Special Benefits Insurance Services in Port Perry, Ont. To compare costs, use a service such as Kanetix.ca. You’ll get quotes from several providers on the spot.

3. If you travel twice a year, it’s cheaper to buy an annual plan.
   For instance, a 40-year-old would pay $25 for emergency medical coverage during a one-week trip to Acapulco. By contrast, he could get an annual plan that would cover him for unlimited trips of 10 days or less in duration—almost anywhere in the world—for $60. An added benefit? If you just want to go across the border for a weekend, you’ll have a plan already in place.

(We assume the 40 year old has no physical or mental challenges – eds)