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The NetLetter #1350

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NetLetter #1350 | September 12, 2016

TCA Bristol Freighter - Type 170

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the NetLetter, an Aviation based newsletter for Air Canada, TCA, CPAir, Canadian Airlines and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.

The NetLetter was created in 1995 by Vesta Stevenson (RIP) and Terry Baker and 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. Our website is located at www.thenetletter.net

ACFN/NetLetter News

Starting in this issue (#1350) we are introducing a new feature that we hope you will enjoy. This feature was a long time coming as it took a lot of work to create and will take just as much work in order to present this to our readers.

For many years we have been asking for (and receiving) magazine donations of employee magazines from various Canadian based airlines. We started with issues of Between Ourselves and Horizons (from TCA, Air Canada) and expanded to other Canadian aviation magazines as well. We now have a selection of issues from CP Air, Canadian Airlines (Canadian Flyer, Info Canadian, etc) plus Parts & Pieces (Air Canada Stores Newsletter) and other publications as well.

Terry Baker received and painstakenly scanned all these issues into PDF format over the last 8 years or so, (I think he went through three scanners). As a disclaimer Terry adds "We offer no apologies for the quality of some of the contents. Some are due to the condition and age of the scanned documents, and, where the page is greater than the scanner could accommodate, the two halves have to be merged, not always too successfully. In this case we have managed to capture approximately 98% of the contents.

We have never had the resources and proper method to launch these online, until now.

In the articles below, where applicable, we have placed an image containing the issue information and a link to any referenced content, so you can now view the complete issue online if you choose. We plan to also have the content searchable in the near future. We only have three issues in place right now, and have a lot of work to do, but plans are to gradually upload all the content we have in order for it to be viewed online. We'll have more news regarding this in the next issue, we still have a few kinks to work out, but it looks like we can figure it all out.

Also, don't forget to use the "Zoom" button (magnifying glass icon with + sign in it) to enlarge the text and content for all of our "tired" eyes.

Alan Rust
(Part of your NetLetter Team)
Terry, Alan, Wayne and Ken

Reader Submitted Photos

Brian Losito has sent us this photo of the inflight uniform from 1964-1968.

TCA/AC People Gallery

November 1991 timetable for AirBC. (at left)

Found on the internet this brochure. Pictured are the Air Canada Flight Attendant uniforms from 1978. (below left).

Also this brochure of Flight Attendant uniforms early 1970's. (below right).

Found in "Between Ourselves" magazine issue dated June 1967.

Did you know that...

Air Canada established the principle of including pilot reaction time (i.e. 3 seconds for North Stars) in developing the take-off distance requirements to meet the Accelerate Stop and the Balanced Field Length Certification criteria.

The reaction time principle subsequently became an agreed standard by certifying agencies.

Air Canada was the first to equip its fleet of aircraft with Auto Approach equipment involving automatic throttle control.

Found in "Horizons" magazine issue dated May 1980.

New York district sales staff are shown taking a break during a recent meeting in Quebec City to pose in the new ensemble staff wear for trade shows, seminars and presentations.

Dark blue blazers and grey slacks and grey skirts won many compliments from colleagues and competitors at more than 33 district events between February and April.

From the left: Peter Pemberton, Bruce Deitsch, Tony Figueiredo, Jim Hearns, Tony Bracato, Cheryl Grealis (Washington), Don Berg (Philadelphia), Jim Gould (New York) and Joe Pareti (New Jersey).

Alan's Space

11 Things We No Longer See on Airplanes

(from Mental_Floss Website)

Traveling by airplane is a lot different than it used to be. And we’re not just talking about the elaborate and cumbersome security restrictions that get added every time some wacko sticks a bomb in his BVDs. There used to be a lot of amenities, but they were gradually eliminated after President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978 and cost-effectiveness suddenly became a corporate concern.

Here are 11 things that we never see on most commercial flights today that were common in days of yore.

SLEEPING BERTHS
PONG
CHAMPAGNE IN COACH
TABLE-SIDE MEAT CARVING
PIANOS
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS IN HOT PANTS
FRESH CUT FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS
IN-FLIGHT FASHION SHOWS
PERUVIAN ART
A WINDOW AT THE END OF EACH ROW OF SEATS
A SEAT ASSIGNMENT IN 22I

For the website that contains photos, videos and explanations of the above list visit: www.mentalfloss.com/article/51270/11-things-we-no-longer-see-airplanes

CPAir, Canadi>n People Gallery

Some items found in the "Canadi>n Maintenance" (later Contact) magazine

On April 29th, 1911 the first flight in Alberta was by American pilot Hugh Robinson at the Edmonton Horse Show in his Curtiss aircraft.

The first official altitude record in Canada was 1,650 feet over Montreal by pilot Walter Brookins on June 27th, 1910.

On August 7th 1919 Ernest Hoy made the first flight from Vancouver to Calgary leaving from Minoru Park in Richmond at 4:14 am in a Curtiss JN4 from Vancouver to Calgary which took 16 hours and 42 minutes.

This may not sound like anything too exciting but it is remarkable given the mountains of BC that had to be flown over. This was a flight that in most ways was a much harder task than Lindbergh's solo over the Atlantic eight years later or the first transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in May 1919. By all rights he should be better known in Canada, at least more than Charles Lindbergh (try to guess which one's Ernest).

Click Here for more on this story

From the “CPAir News” magazine issue dated July 1985

Effective June 25th, 1985, CP Air requested a one year suspension of service between Vancouver and Victoria.

From July 14th, 1985, CP Air took up a 57 day lease from United Airlines for a DC-10-10 while their 30's are modified. The aircraft will remain in the United colour scheme.

Mirabel International airport (YMX), eventually advertised as a "White Elephant" started operations on November 29th, 1975 when the first aircraft landed. Actual ribbon cutting ceremony was October 4th, 1975

Mirabel had its beginnings in 1966 when Transport Canada initiated a study on the development of a civil aviation for Montreal. A decision to proceed with the development was made the following year.

Here are the Ground Equipment Maintenance staff from the left: Michel Rondeau, Diane Turcotte, Joe Zumstein and Francisco Cabanos.

These represent the Line Maintenance at Mirabel, Ottawa and Dorval.

From the left Lorne Paterson, manager, line maintenance and Paulette Duguay, administrative clerk who splits her time between Dorval and Mirabel.

These are two of the Operation agents at Mirabel, Norman Duhamel and Dino Ponta.

Click on view and select issue from
CPAir News Bookcase to view.

Wayne's Wings

The Bristol Freighter

Terry asked if I was interested in doing an article on the Bristol Freighter and I have to confess that I was unaware that this fleet had even existed within TCA/Air Canada. The reason for this is that it was introduced the year I was born, 1953, and all three were sold by December 1955, replaced by converted (and more economical) North Stars.

Early editions of the NetLetter have quite a bit of detailed history submitted by our readers that I will try to condense for this article, however, my focus is this aircraft's place in history.

TCA was slow in entering the growing demand for air cargo service so had to find a capable aircraft quickly. The decision was made to acquire three Bristol Freighters (see table below) and deploy them primarily on the Montreal-Toronto-New York triangle with more domestic routes gradually added later. All three aircraft were sold to Central Northern Airways which would later become Transair and be purchased by PWA in 1979.

Registration	Fin Nbr	Delivered
CF-TFX	501	Sept. 28, 1953
CF-TFY	502	Oct. 9 , 1953
CF-TFZ	503	Oct. 28, 1953

The aircraft were now utilized to service the Canadian North which, unfortunately, led to the loss of two of them in 1956. CF-TFZ (503) was damaged landing on ice at Beaverlodge Lake NWT in May and CF-TFY (502) went through the ice on landing in Puvirnituq in June.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the aircraft has been preserved and is now mounted for display in Yellowknife Airport. CF-TFX (501) was acquired by Wardair and remained in service until at least 1967 when it became the first wheel-equipped aircraft to land at the North Pole.

It always fascinates me to look into the past and learn about the beginnings of what has evolved into the world of today. The air cargo industry was underserved with growing demand in 1953 and has been growing steadily ever since. Air Canada would continue to increase its cargo operation over the years using DC9’s, B727 & DC8’s and B747 Combis. However, all cargo flights ceased in 1994 with the retirement of the DC8 freighters due to the emergence of dedicated freight carriers. Air Canada has since concentrated on passenger service while still carrying a reduced amount of cargo.

Fedex, UPS, Purolator and many smaller dedicated cargo carriers operate fleets of all cargo aircraft delivering goods around the globe. A few primarily passenger airlines still have some cargo configuration aircraft in service; Cathay Pacific still flies a B747 daily from Hong Kong to Vancouver.

As the on-line ordering for both personal and industrial goods continues to grow so does the air freight industry. Today’s demands are for products purchased across the continent to be delivered overnight and products purchased overseas within a couple of days. Air freight is now critcal to the global economy.

I wonder if anyone back in 1953 considered how the air freight industry would evolve and the brief but significant role of the Bristol Freighter.

Reader's Feedback

Terry Kerr has sent us this information -

NL #1349 - Photo, Place Jacques Cartier - I'm pretty sure the gentleman, 5th from left kneeling front row, blond hair with right hand on bottle is Ian Buchanan. I worked with him for a few years at Dorval.

Terry Kerr - Vancouver BC

Nancy Greene, from Dartmouth, N.S. was involved with the TCA Alumini in the past, and has sent us a copy of the letter sent to members inviting them to the 25th reunion held at the Tradewinds Resort, in St. Pete Beach in Florida on November 25 - 29th, 1996. Also Nancy included a letter sent to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and his response.

Here is a transcript of the invitation –

"This is our 25th reunion. Some of you have been with us since the beginning. Others are joining us for the first time. "Ciad Mile Failte'' (100,000 welcomes) to each of you.

Because this is our 25th, we would like to have an extra special celebration. At our business meeting last year, 97% of the attendees approved a $5.00 (one time) charge to ensure an "extra special'' good time.

The luncheon cruise is again being offered. The cruise will be on the M V Lady Anderson. A minimum of 25 people need to apply. If less, the cruise will be cancelled and money refunded.

By popular request, we are also offering a Casino cruise on the Majestic Empress. The cost of $15.00 includes gourmet buffet, casino, live music, dancing, games, etc. as well as transportation to and from Tradewinds (minimum 15 people need apply).

Due to the fluctuation of the Canadian/US dollar, we request that all reunion payments be in US funds, with the exception of the $8.00 membership fee.

Appeal for new members: There are many recently retired fellow employees who now qualify for membership in the TCA Alumini. Should you know of anyone who qualities for membership, please let us know so that we can contact them, or have them contact us directly.

Also, at the general meeting, it was voted to allow members to bring friends with them to the reunion. This will be left to you own discretion. There will be a $3.00 guest charge per person. They are welcome to attend all functions at the same cost as embers with the exception of the breakfast which is free for members only. If, however, they wish to attend, there will be an additional charge of US$6.00 p.p.

Your executive:
President: Courtney Greene
Secretary/Treasurer: Nancy Greene
Vice President: Morley Ryder
Social Director: Mary Ryder
Past President: Frank Gormley

Plan now to attend. Come on down and enjoy these few days in the Florida sun and renew old friendships with members of the TCA Family.

(signed)
Courtney Greene, President"

Following is a transcipt of the letter from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien

It is with great pleasure that I extend my warmest greetings to everyone attending the 25th reunion of TCA Alumni, taking place in Florida.

This gathering will provide you with the ideal forum in which to exchange views and discuss issues of mutual concern with fellow members. You will also have the opportunity to review past achievements and set new objectives for the future. I am sure that you will find your participation in this reunion both enjoyable and rewarding. Please accept my best wishes for a memorable session of activities.

(signed)
Ottawa, 1996

(If anyone has any photos from their alumini days to share with us, please do so - eds)

The photo includes four ex-Alumini presidents. Here are the names as remembered by Nancy -
Frank Gormley, Jean Gheslin, ?, Courtney Greene and Claude Taylor.

(Can anyone can supply the missing names? - eds)

Jack Morath has sent us this photo to go with the article on the car rally in London town which appeared in NetLetter NL # 1349.

This photo was taken by the Peggy Bedford Pub - which I am sure you will remember!

Peter Baldry and I organised this event. The names of the people there are as follows from left to right:- Stan Rogers (Asst Stn Mngr AC.) Brian Davies, John Croxford, Peter Beasant, myself (Jack Morath), Frank Knight. On the right side of the car John Glew at the front and Peter Baldry behind him.

Michael Stambois sent in these comments -

I've been intending to thank you guys for this excellent NetLetter for sometime now. I know it requires a lot of planning for each issue. It really is a first rate production - thanks.

Regarding this issue I have a couple of comments.

(1) I may need correcting but I think that Nordair Ltd. was the first Canadian airline to operate the Boeing 737-200 series and this was out of Dorval. I think the delivery date was 28th October, 1968.

(2) BOAC also operated Canadair 'North Stars'. However BOAC called them Argonauts. When the late King George Vl died and the then Princess Elizabeth returned from Kenya to England as Queen Elizabeth 2, the now Queen flew into LHR Airport and is seen alighting from a BOAC Argonaut.

Have fun confirming the two comments above and let me know if I am correct or not.

I'll have to dig into my 'old' 35mm slides of aircraft and see what I can find of TCA and Nordair Ltd. Surely I'm not be the only one-time TCA, Nordair and Air Canada employee who receives your NetLetter?

Regards,
Mike Stambois.

Our response to Michael -

(1) We checked Planespotters.net which shows CF-CBP as being the first B737 delivered to CP Air on October 21, 1968. Nordair took delivery of CF-NAB on October 28, 1968. Can anyone confirm which aircraft actually saw service carrying passengers first? (Note: CF-NAB was merged into the CP Air fleet on January 2, 1987).

(2) Regarding the BOAC Argonaut, Ken Pickford advises of a couple of YouTude videos that confirm Mike's statement.

Click Here for newsreel footage of that aircraft, with King George VI seeing off Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their trip to Kenya.

Click Here for the same aircraft that brought her home as Queen a few days later after her father's death.

Many people probably aren't aware that her last trip as Princess and first trip as Queen were both on a Canadian-built aircraft.

Eds

Ken Pickford sent in some additional info on the North Star/Canadair Four/Argonaut -

I've always found the North Star a very interesting aircraft with its mix of US DC-4/C-54 origins with some early DC-6 features, plus the loud (but reliable) Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of WWII fame on the Lancaster bomber and many other types, but built in Canada. I'm sure many TCA oldtimers will enjoy reading your article. I could have made my input longer but decided to keep it brief! Re CP using the "Canadair Four" name, as you're probably aware the only other original airline customer was BOAC which used the name "Argonaut".

Like TCA, the RCAF used the North Star name for their unpressurized military transport version. Also, as you're likely aware, TCA "borrowed" 6 of the early RCAF aircraft before they were delivered to the RCAF. Canadair equipped them with a passenger interior. They were used as a stopgap by TCA for a year or slightly longer while waiting for their own pressurized North Stars to arrive. So in fact TCA actually operated a total of 29 North Stars if you include those 6 borrowed RCAF aircraft. They're easy to identify in photos since they have the round windows of the Douglas C-54 military transport (and DC-4 passenger version), while the pressurized passenger models of the North Star used the same rectangular windows as the Douglas DC-6. The North Star also used a few other DC-6 features.

Unfortunately I never had the chance to fly on a North Star, although I did manage to make it onto about 4 TCA Super Connies at about age 10 to 12, all between Edmonton (where I grew up) and Vancouver. My very first flight was on a TCA Viscount from Edmonton to Calgary soon after the Viscount went into service on that route. I'm guessing that flight was in 1955. I still remember it quite clearly.

Regards,

Ken

David Shore advises-

There is a nice (and big) picture of the "Cornwallis" opposite the domestic check in counters at YVR.

(Found it - Wayne)

Terry found this great picture of a billboard advertising "North Star" service to Europe. Look familiar to anyone?

Odds and Ends

In NetLetter nr 1348, we had an appeal from Robert Pelley for information. His question was -

Have you ever heard of a trans-Canadian flight between St. John's and Victoria made around 1974 by Wayne Tuck and Craig Loweys?

Robert has advised us of an answer he received -

You have probably already received a definitive answer to your question but if not, I would refer you to Roderick F Goff’s book “Crossroads of the World”, Flanker Books, 2005. While the two names you gave were not specifically mentioned, the last chapter of his book talks about such a trip.

It is quite probably the trip you were looking for.

Quote
"IT WAS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 1974 that a group of twenty-two people, employees and close relatives of employees of Eastern Provincial Airways, boarded one of the company's Boeing 737 aircraft for a flight from Gander to Vancouver. The flight was not a scheduled commercial one that was open to the general public. Because it was being ferried to Vancouver for technical reasons, revenue passengers were not permitted on the aircraft."
Unquote.

I would like to thank Catherine Chafe, a reader of the NetLetter, who read my request for information and very kindly gave me lead to Mr Goff’s book. And of course thanks to Terry Baker of NetLetter for having published the general call, a wonderful community effort!

Robert has a very interesting web site at www.bobsganderhistory.com

Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips

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Smileys

Our cartoon by Dave Mathias appeared in the "Between Ourselves" magazine issue dated October 1945.

The caption "Yes. Indeed, Sir. That is a very difficult lie!"

Terry Baker | Alan Rust | Wayne Albertson
NetLetter Staff for 2016
(you can read our bios at www.thenetletter.net/history)

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. We do publish corrections (and correct the original article) when this is brought to our attention.

Disclaimer: Please note that neither the NetLetter or the ACFamily Network necessarily endorse any airline related or other "deals" that we provide for our readers. We would be interested in any feedback (good or bad) when using these companies though and will report the results here. We do not (normally) receive any compensation from any companies that we post in our newsletters. If we do receive a donation or other compensation, it will be indicated as a sponsored article or link.


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