On December 16th 1931, Elizabeth "Betsy" Flaherty obtained her flying license at 53 years of age making her oldest female pilot in Canada, at the time. She was a passenger on the first Trans-Canada Air Lines across Canada flight and a charter member of the "Flying Seven".

(see NetLetter nr 1367) (Source: Vancouver Sun archives)

Whirly-Girls: Silly Name, Serious Aviators.
By Rick Durden. 

When I got my first job flying freight in the mid-1970s, every single pilot I met was a white male.

I didn’t really think anything about it—it was the way of the world.

There were no women flying for the airlines or the military and the WASPs of World War II were not even a memory—no one spoke of them. Chief pilots made it clear over beers after work that they didn’t hire women or minorities (sadly, I still hear that from chief pilots, although from far fewer).

It was with that background that I was introduced to the Whirly-Girls organization by a colleague about 25 years ago. My initial reaction was that calling a full-grown adult a “girl” or a “boy” is a major league insult—fighting words in some places—so this has got to be some sort of group of bimbos that maybe get to stand next to helicopters for cheesecake photos.

Was I ever wrong.

The real name for the organization is Whirly Girls International (WGI). It was formed in 1955 by Jean Howard Ross Phelan—one of the 13 known female helicopter pilots in the world at the time (nothing was known of female helicopter pilots behind the Iron Curtain)—for the purpose of supporting women in the world of rotary-wing aviation.

It is a non-profit, charitable organization that provides scholarships for women to further their careers as professional helicopter pilots and to mutually encourage each other in the process.

(Source: avweb.com July 21/17)

Extracted from the "Horizons" magazine issue dated November 1981.

President Claude Taylor addressed the 54 charter members of the newly formed "40 year club" during a dinner held in Montreal. Following the ceremonies, Mr. Tylor unveiled a plaque which proudly displays the names of all 54 employees, with space for new members as they qualify.

The plaque will hang at Corporate headquarters in Place Ville Marie.

From the Toronto AC Ramp Rats "Rampage" magazine issue October 1989.

The caption reads: The latest Rampage "poster boys" from the left: Jeff, Steve, Troy and Opie like novels, sports and even find time to hook the odd rug. 

Nordair founded 1947 ceased operations January 1987.

Timetable effective January 1961.

(from Bjorn Larsson collection)

PWA also had a "Silver Bullet" in their fleet.

AC184 CF-PWQ, for a period in the early 70's Pacific Western operated a Lockheed Electra fuel tanker aircraft.

The equipment was used to support the Arctic oil exploration projects. It was unique in that fuel tankers were rare and this aircraft had the name and logo painted over the shiny unpainted aircraft.

(Source pwareunion.com) 

The last commercial operation of the Hercules Division at Pacific Western Airlines reported by Stu Russell.

On April 21th, 1984 Pacific Western Airlines operated the final Hercules flight with aircraft CF-PWN c/n 4129 fin nr 383 from the Panarctic Oils base camp at Rea Point on Melville Island. It was an historic event as the Hercules Division was another structural component that had built the airline. This photo is at Rea Point prior to departure.

The crew left to right: F/O Jim Semeniuk, Captain Roy Reaville, Project Manager, Stu Russell, S/O Bill Webster, Maintenance Crew Chief Brent Kirkpatrick, Engineer Robin Bergdahl and Line Maintenance Ron Howe.

This photo is upon arrival at YEG. The group now includes, with the crew, Manager, Herc & Resupply Al Philpott, Chief LM Vern Kuzio, Captain Rick Simons and our girl Nancy.

(Source pwareunion.com)

May 24, 2017 - The Sign from YMM

This object was found and rescued by Sonny and Deb Hauser and is in the process of being sent to the Alberta Aviation Museum.

(Source: pwareunion.com) 

May 19, 2017 - From Andrew Lindner - Australia

A collection of mid-1950's pictures of the Norseman (left) and the Grumman Goose* (right) taken in the Tahsis area. Sent by Andrew Lindner from Australia  (relative of passenger).

Attribution of photo(s) to Brigitte Thurandt, who sent them to her brother, Hans Lindner.

*Note: Ken Pickford, who generously volunteers his time to proof read the NetLetter, points out that the photo on the right is actually a Grumman Mallard, not a Goose.

The Mallard is larger than the Goose, has more windows and a different nose profile and cockpit windows. A major Mallard difference is the tricycle landing gear when operated on land. The Mallard has a nose gear while the Goose is a tail-dragger with a tail wheel.

Below are links to photos of the Mallard and Goose, from Airliners.net,  to illustrate the differences. The Mallard may even be the one in the photo from Andrew Lindner. (Also note the Canadian Pacific Air Lines Bristol Britannia visible behind the Mallard in the 1958 photo at Vancouver. It would have been very new then as CPAL's first Britannias were delivered sometime in mid-1958).

Mallard (fairly rare, only 59 built 1946-1951)
Goose (345 built 1937-1945)

More on the Mallard and Goose can be found at Wikipedia:
Grumman G-73 Mallard
Grumman G-21 Goose

Thanks to Andrew Linder for contributing the photos and to Ken the additional info.

Paul Gauthier sets the record straight -

As always, thank you for an interesting newsletter; it is with interest that I read Air Canada resumed flights from Toronto to New Delhi in October 2004. However, these flights were operated by A340-300 as the only two -500 we had were deployed exclusively on the Toronto-Hong Kong flights. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely, Paul Gauthier, Retired Service Director, YYZ

In NetLetter # 1371, we requested additional information regarding the career of Britt-Marie Ferst and received the following comments:

From Len Neath; Britt-Marie ended up back in Sweden, Click Here for her bio (as Britt-Marie Karlin) as published by the Swedish Transport Agency.

From Colleen Pulley; Re the article about Britt Ferst. It's my understanding the she did not qualify on her left seat checkout so went as an SO on the "Classic" and then retired.

In 1962, 40 members of the Abbotsford Flying Club collected $700.00 to put on the first Abbotsford International Air Show which attracted 15,000 spectators.

(Source Vancouver Sun)

Flying bikes.

This photo from Canada's Murphy Aircraft was snapped at the world's biggest fly-in, AirVenture in Oshkosh, USA.

While it might look like the outcome of something that went wrong in the factory, the two-seat Radical STOL kit plane is actually offered with an optional underwing fitting to carry bikes. 

(Source: Flight International August 2017)

The days of passengers arriving at their destination without their luggage, as it had been sent in the opposite direction, may soon be over.

This from IATA -

“Resolution 753” may not seem like something the average passenger would be interested in, but it will have a significant impact on something travellers care about: keeping tabs on their bags.

The IATA mandate for airlines to track a passenger’s checked baggage at every step of the air travel journey, which will take effect in June 2018, is pushing airlines around the world to invest in and upgrade their baggage handling systems.

(Source: atwonline July 25/17).

As it is prepared for its first flight, the world's largest aircraft was rolled out of its hangar in Mojave, California on May 31st, 2017.

The Stratolaunch aircraft, built by Scaled Composites in powered by six PW4000 engines and is 117m (385ft) wingspan. Trials of the air-launch system are due in 2019. 

(Source: Flight International Magazine June 14/2017)

Jim Griffith has sent us this information -

The Ottawa Airport Authority just recently announced that they were closing a long-standing airplane spotter's perch close to the threshold of YOW's Runway 32, a place where folks, families and aerogeeks have been coming for as long as Runway 32 has existed.

The closure was due to other less scrupulous people abusing the place by throwing litter, dumping garbage bags and other trash under the approach to this wonderful spot. Jerks. The YOW people had no option but to close it down for safety reasons with strong winds often blowing FOD high into the glide path. Others were off-roading under the approach, leaving furniture and dumping chemicals. Jerks.

These nincompoops, these knuckleheaded abusers, managed, as nincompoops always do, to ruin it for everyone else—people who loved to spend an hour or so out in the sun and the fresh air watching airplanes; families who could entertain excited kids for no cost at all.

Click Here for the full article

CHORUS AVIATION had C$40.8m net income for 2Q17 (vs $23.7m in 2Q16) on 7.5% higher revenues. It says its newly formed aircraft leasing unit has acquired 17 aircraft to increase fleet total to 54 that includes 39 under lease in Air Canada's CPA.

(Source: SpeedNews Aug 2017)

Vancouver Interline Club

The Vancouver Interline Club held their 50th anniversary at the Richmond Curling Club on May 5th 2017, attended by approximately 140 people.

Several came from far away....England, Germany, Iceland....some closer; from Vancouver Island, B.C., Winnipeg, some from U.S...Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and of course many locals.

The idea of an interline club in Vancouver was conceived in 1952 with a few interested airline parties. The club became a legal entity in 1964 with 30 members and the Club was formed on February 28th, 1967 at the Newsman's Club in Vancouver with representatives from 12 airlines who operate into and out of Vancouver. 

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

Atlantic Central Airlines Ltd founded in 1960 at Saint John, New Brunswick and ended operations in 1979. On February 2nd, 1976, their DC-49J (DC-3) C-FHPM was destroyed by a windstorm at Saint John, New Brunswick.

Here is their timetable effective February 24th, 1975. 

(from the David Zekria collection)

Indian airline offers "women flyer" service.

An Indian airline is taking a stand on chivalry by offering a special "Women Flyer" service to make solo female passengers feel more comfortable in a country where sexual harassment is rife.

Vistara airline says women using the complimentary service will always get assigned to an aisle or window seat - never a middle - and will be offered help with luggage and ground transportation. "This service is a sincere effort to ensure peace of mind for our female customers", Vistara added.

The New Delhi based carrier says between 75 and 100 passengers use the service daily and hops to extend the service to its international flights.

Street harassment, known as "Eve teasing" is common in India. The U.S. State Department has warned female passengers against travelling alone in the country.

(Source: Vancouver Sun 5/8/2017)