The NetLetter

For Air Canada Retirees
(Part of the ACFamily Network)

 

June 22, 2013 - Issue 1260
First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
In This Issue
TCA/Air Canada People Gallery
Upcoming Events
Women in Aviation
Reader Submitted...Photos
TCA/Air Canada People Gallery
Alan's Space
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc
Reader's Feedback
Odds and Ends
Terry's Trivia
Smileys
NetLetter Past Issues

Past Issues
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Greetings!
Terry Baker
Welcome to the NetLetter!

We welcome you to allow the NetLetter to be your platform, and opportunity, to relive your history while working for either TCA, AC, CPAir, CAIL, PWA, AirBC, Wardair, etal and share your experiences with us!

The Netletter

Terry Baker and the NetLetter Team
Air Canada News
Air CanadaThe Airport Authority at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) recently announced the 2012 winners of its 8th Annual YVR Fly Quiet Awards. Presented annually, these awards are earned by airlines that demonstrated the lowest levels of noise within the community during the year.

It's one way that we can recognize the dedication of our airline partners to reducing their noise footprint within our community. We work closely with these and other industry partners, including the City of Richmond, to ensure we are the best possible neighbors. Awards are presented in three aircraft categories. This year's winners include Jazz Airlines - Propeller Aircraft. (source YVR newsletter)

Upcoming Events - Compiled by Terry Baker
header 10th Annual Dreams Take Flight Golf Tournament August 28th 2013 at the Royal Ontario Golf Club.




Highlights of the tournament:
  • $185.00 per single golfer
  • Entry of a foursome - $175.00 each player
  • 18 holes of golf, powered cart, BBQ lunch Prime Rib buffet dinner & dessert
  • Golfer gift pack and tons of prizes
Special events on the course include:
Putting contest, closets to the rope,
closest to the pin, (women and men)
fabulous hole-in-one prizes.

To join please contact: Josie Canning
(905) 457-1847 or email:


Fly-In
There seems to be interest in having another Fly-in at the Edenvale airport, (CNV8). After consulting with others we have decided to hold it on July 9th, 2013 with a rain date of July 10th. Arrivals anytime after 10:00 am, with lunch at 12:00.

For those who are driving, Edenvale airport is located on HWY 26 between Barrie and Stayner. For any further information please call me at 705 797-0083, or Fred Thompson at 905 848-3339.

Cheers
Ken Patry
Women in Aviation - Compiled by Terry Baker

beaverAn extract from "Sudbury Aviation" Story and photos by Robert S. Grant - first published summer 2000. For more information, visit: www.canaero.ca  or email:
"However, in this case it was Sudbury Aviation Ltd. at Azilda, a mining community eight miles northwest of Sudbury, Ontario, where owner Margaret Watson Hyland depended on a five-airplane fleet for charter flying and flight instruction."

Reader Submitted Photos - Compiled by Terry Baker

Readers PhotosReader Submitted Photos -  The photos and information below have been submitted to us by our faithful readers.  


 

moth Here we have more  interesting information and a photo from Robert Arnold:
I thought I would send this along to your readers who might be interested in TransAir and the Tiger Moth. The aircraft pictured here is a De Havilland DHC-82C Tiger Moth, and is registered as C-GTAL. The fuselage for C-GTAL came from RCAF Tiger Moth No. 5945, serial number 1248. The wings were from another Tiger Moth.

Tiger Moth 5949 went into civilian service as CF-FZS in July 1945. It operated in Northwestern Ontario for a while until it crashed on the shores of Sidney Lake in the late 1940's. The remains of CF-FZS were salvaged from the lake shore in 1974 by the WCAM from Winnipeg. The aircraft was rebuilt to flying condition by the Winnipeg based staff at TransAir and was the last aircraft to be registered to the TransAir Fleet back in November, 1979.

 It was a project to help as a reminder to the company's long history in Canadian aviation. Shortly after November 1979 TransAir Ltd merged with Pacific Western Airlines. C-GTAL was on display at the Western Canada Aviation Museum from November 1979 till September 2007 when it was sold to a private owner.


Nina Nolan has sent this information with the heading - Baseball in Regents Park.
Londoners were introduced to a game of good old-fashioned Canadian baseball... ("migosh, this just isn't cricket")... when two Halifax Base L1011 crews decided to make the most of a two-day layover in London.  The game was played August 13th, 1979 at London's fashionable Regent Park and featured Richard Nolan's crew complete with tuxedo clad Richard Vincellette versus Bob Sergent's crew.

Here, in the left photo of Bob Sergent's team
from the left: Marie Yvonne Letourneur, Yvon Biron, Marc Leblanc, Jane Querengesser. Back row: Bob Sergent, Lorraine Walker (YYC Base), Bob Bourdon (YYZ Base), Clive Rayman, Sandy Hinves and a London cab driver.

The photo on the right is of Richard Nolan's team (kneeling) Margaret Kilgour (YYZ Base), Richard Nolan, Marie Fris, Helene Pronovost, (standing) Kevin O'Conner, Diane Lebol, Gail Love, Richard Vincellette (in his tux) and Elizabeth Asencio.

TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker
 
TCA/Air Canada  LogoBelow we have musings from the "Between Ourselves" and "Horizons" magazine, Air Canada publications from years gone by, as well as various in-house publications.

The NetLetter has been fortunate enough to have our readers donate vintage Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada publications from as far back as 1941 to share with you. These have been scanned and are being prepared for presenting in a special area of the ACFamily Network for archival and genealogy research.




 
1977 - May 12 - Inaugural L1011 service ZUR-YUL-YYZ commenced.

Issue dated - July 1977
Some items gleaned from the "Horizons" magazines.
It was the Air Canada 40th anniversary Celebration night in Hong Kong, when the company hosted a reception for guests from the local travel industry. M. G. Clark, Canadian Commissioner cuts the cake surrounded by from the left: Doug Russell, Regional Manager Cargo & Pacific; Dunc Laing, Vice President, Western Region. Anita Lee, Secretary: Mrs Noreen Snidanko; Dave Kettler, Manager, Southest Asia; Mrs Francis Yuen; and Patrick Ho, Sales Representative. Mrs. Snidanko - nee Moran - was formerly a Flight Attendlant in Montreal
from 1962 to 1969. Mrs.Yuen - nee Wong - was a Toronto-based Flight Attendant in 1955.


Just about the whole staff of the Avionics Shop at Dorval Base turned out June 13th 1977 to offer their congratulations to Secretary Marie Ranger on her attaining 35 years service with the company, 15 of which were spent in the shop. Shown with Marie to the left of the table is Ben van der Sluys, President of the Shop Employees Benefit Association who made a presentation to her on behalf of "the boys".


The reception is over, the invited guests leave Zurich Airport and the inaugural Tristar flight is enroute to Montreal and Toronto. The date is May 12th 1977. Only then could staff relax and celebrate that occasion and the company's 40th anniversary. Doing just that are, from the left: Rolf Holceregger, Cargo Sales Rep;  Operations Agent Peter Schorer standing behind Secretary Anita Baumgartener, Peter Muller, Airport Customer Service Manager; Verena Schabron, Passenger Agent, Tony Schoen, Manager, Switzerland and ltaly and F. Daoud, Internal Auditor, Montreal. Missing from the photo is Rolf Weinmann, Passenger Sales Manager. To gain familiarity with the aircraft, guests were treated to a tour of it by local staff assisted by Toronto FSD Egan Keist and Flight Attendant Kalterine Gass.


Regional facility supervisors participated in a training session on the fundamentals of heating, ventilation and refrigeration. An objective of John Harper, Manager, Facilities Maintenance, P&F, the three-day course was conducted by Comstock International at Dorval's International Motel. Shown at the seminar are, front row from the left: Barry Knox, Facilities Maintenance Manager, London, England; Roy Symons, Vancouver; Denis Larouche, Montreal and Carl Gyra, Toronto. Back row, from the left: John Harper; Frank Franke, Facilities and Equipment Project Mgr., Dorval; Ted Dobrlk, Airport Facilities Coordinator, Montreal and Jean Guy Courtois, Facilities and Equipment Project Mgr., Dorval.

Alan's Space - by Alan Rust
Alan's Space
Did U.S. Government Lie about TWA Flight 800 Crash? Ex-Investigators Seek Probe as New Evidence Emerges

Seventeen years ago, TWA Flight 800 crashed off Long Island, killing all 230 people aboard. The official government investigation blamed mechanical failure, but now a group of former investigators are petitioning the National Transportation Safety Board to reopen the probe, saying the original report was falsified.

Was the plane accidentally shot down by the U.S. Navy conducting a nearby exercise, or was it a terrorist attack? We speak to the filmmakers behind a new documentary on the crash, "
TWA Flight 800," former CBS News producer Kristina Borjesson and Tom Stalcup, a physicist and co-founder of Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organization. We also play an extended excerpt of the film "Shadows of Liberty," which also explores the controversy.

 
TWA 800  - July 17, 1996 
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker
CAIL TailsNews and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and its "ancestry" of contributing airlines.

Another  gentle reminder - Hello all CP Air YXY and BC District employees! We hope you will be able to come to:

A Whitehorse and BC District Reunion 2013

When: September 20-22, 2013
Where: Quality Resort Bayside Resort, Parksville, BC

Looking forward to seeing you and catching up. Marlie & Phil Kelsey, & Brian Walsh 250-246-5265 [email protected]. Details in NetLetter nr 1243.
 

Marlie Kelsey passes along this information: On June 23, 2013 Rex Terpening will be turning 100 years old. Rex is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and one of the very last of the first generation of air engineers who flew with the northern bush pilots. He joined Canadian Airways in the 1930s and stayed with the company which later became Canadian Pacific Airlines. He is the author of  "Brent Props ad Blow Pots". As a mechanic and manager he played a leading role in the development if aircraft maintenance from the primitive days of hammering props on the tundra to the modern era of transcontinental jets. For those who wish to extend their best wishes messages can be forwarded via [email protected].


1987 - April 8th - Order for 6 firm and options on 8 Boeing B767 aircraft was confirmed.

From our only copy of "Journal Ide>s Plus" magazine issued Autumn 1998.
This team, from the Canadian Regional Airlines engine shop in Calgary. Pictured at the award ceremony hosted by Allan Anderson and Robert Reding are team members Rick Kesler, Peter Mabberly, Dragan Simic, Orlando Paladino and Dave O'Bray not pictured, team member Don McLean.

Also pictured, Chris Gardner, analyst, Ideas Plus. The team suggested performing additional maintenance of DASH-8 engines in-house. The engines were previously sent to P & W in Montreal. The idea set a record for both CRA and CDN as the most valuable to come out this program since the introduction in December 1997. 

Issue dated - Annual Report 1992
Items from the "Contact Year in Focus" magazine -
25-year A representative group of M&E employees reaching the 25-year mark with the airline in 1992, honored at a dinner in April:

standing, from left, Eric Falkenberg, shop technician, Power Plant Overhaul; Keith Zinger, lead stockkeeper; Gordon Bell, lead stockkeeper; Ivan Slatten, station attendant, Cargo; Gary Simpson, supervisor, Quality Assurance; Bob Zeiler, shop technician, aircraft maintenance; Rex Nightingale, lead stockkeeper; Ron Hutchison, lead avionics technician; Tony Dunn, foreman, Structures Shop, all of Vancouver; and Sidney Gough, supervisor, Quality Assurance, Calgary.

Seated, from left, Bill Hadfield, supervisor, Line Maintenance, Toronto; and Al Bostjanclc, foreman, Structures Stop; Pete Evans, crew chief, Line Maintenance, both Vancouver.

Reader's Feedback - Compiled by Terry Baker
Reader's Feedback
Every week we ask our readers for their stories or feedback on what they have read here in previous issues. Below is the feedback we have received recently.
Following on from the comments in NetLetter nr 1259, Dave Welham was recently catching up on his NetLetter reading, and sent us some more of his observations: In NetLetter nr 1193 issued Jan 20th 2012, we had this article taken from the "CPAir News" April 1975 edition. Under the banner "No frills SkyBus, a chance to picnic in the clouds", CPAir announce their new service "SkyBus" utilizing Boeing B747 aircraft. A year round weekly service to link YYZ with YEG, YYC and YVR. The schedule begins June 1st. One-way fare between YYZ and YVR is $94.50 and $79.50 between the other two sectors. Purchase of the ticket ensures a seat, and will serve as a boarding pass too. Passengers will tag their own luggage and bring their own "picnic lunch". No meals, movies or reading material will be supplied. There will be a SkyBar service however for purchase of soft and alcoholic drinks. NO, its NOT SKYBUS but it foretold the advent of mass air travel 20 years ago.

Proving that there's nothing new under the sun, this cartoon by the Vancouver Sun's Len Norris (now retired) ran when CP Air inaugurated its transcontinental service which was restricted to only one flight per day in each direction. Charter flight seats were made available to employees. The destinations include Britain from YYZ and YVR.

Dave's comment - Skybus, April 1979.  A CP bright idea that backfired in our faces. It was supposed to be a "no frills" scheme, with a lot less work. Wrong! In those days it attracted a different class of passenger who had no idea about flying. They didn't listen to announcements, and practically had to be herded on board. Bag allowance: one suitcase. But most passengers brought more than one, and the collection of excess baggage fees took more personnel and time than did regular flights!  Eventually we started split-class flights, with SkyBus in the back, then regular Y, then Empress C, then J and in some cases F, with moveable curtains. Only problem was: on the last day when one class overbooked and another showed adequate space, we had to either move the curtain, or upgrade passengers to a level of service they had not paid for.  Always a last-minute headache.

Odds and Ends.

Image Blank 200pxSometimes we receive articles and information that just doesn't fit in our other areas. This is where it goes!

Jack Morath of the Pionairs in London, UK sends this: In the skies over Britain in the summer of 1940, the German Dornier 17 was an all too familiar sight. But few examples of the Battle of Britain bomber survived the fall of Nazi Germany and some 70 years later military historians say there is only one left. That unique aircraft has finally been raised from the bottom of the English Channel in the biggest salvage operation of its kind in British waters. It will eventually be restored and go on display as an 'evocative and moving' reminder of the young men of both sides who lost their lives in the battle for air supremacy in 1940.

 

 

   


Avro Lancastrian
The Lancastrian was a Lancaster bomber with the military equipment removed, passenger accommodation added plus a new streamlined nose and a new tail cone. It was first produced for a 'Trans-Canada Air Lines' North Atlantic service with ten seats and a range of 4,000 miles (6,437km). Its maximum speed exceeded 300mph (482km/h). By the time the Canadian aircraft were withdrawn in 1947, they had made 1,900 ocean crossings.

Several Lancastrians were made available to BOAC and in conjunction with Qantas they operated United Kingdom-Australia services. The Lancastrian initially had a very unusual layout. There were nine inward-facing seats along the port side. Three sleeping berths could be made up from these seats and another three could be let down to form an upper tier. Passengers could only see out of the starboard side. It was the first British aeroplane capable of operating services across the South Atlantic and British South American Airways (BSAA) used 18 on services to South America. They had more orthodox accommodation for 13 with single forward-facing seats on each side of the cabin and two front seats facing aft. There were also two forward-facing seats at a higher level over the main spar.

lancaster1


Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker

Terry BakerFlying off somewhere soon? You may not want to watch this url - Crosswind landings and takeoffs at Dusseldorf during a storm on an icy runway. (12 mins)  

 

Crosswind Landings during a storm at D??sseldorf on an icy runway. Boeing 777, Airbus A340, A330
Crosswind Landings during a storm at D??sseldorf on an icy runway. Boeing 777, Airbus A340, A330

Your chief pilot had occasion to use the GO FAMILY system to book a return trip within Canada.

After making the booking for a return flight, the following notice appeared "Your booking is confirmed. Not all your seats could be confirmed. If you wish to confirm your preference, please contact Air Canada reservations assistance (68008)."

I did not select seats at $20.00 a crack just for an hour flight with 20 minute flight connection. My itinerary showed just one seat assigned, so I contacted Air Canada, as suggested, who gave me another seat, so that both outward flights had seats assigned, but the inbound seats, 7 days later, could not be confirmed as the reservation was outside a 24 hour window, and would be assigned at check-in.  If I had delayed making the return reservation in order to have the seat selected, I would have needed another promo code.  

 

According to the Rules and Regulations for GO FAMILY, No advance seat selection. (But you are able to select at $20 a crack)
Aeroplan mileage cannot be accumulated. (Why does the system invite one to enter the aeroplan number?) 


 
Cruisers are a unique visitor to Vancouver, often arriving and departing within 24 hours, our fair city a pit stop on their way to the high seas and onwards to Alaska. A fair amount of folks even arrive on the same day as their cruise departs, touching down in the AM and shoving off in the PM. And for a select group of these travelers arriving directly from the United States, US Direct has significantly streamlined this process. 

 

The US Direct program allows eligible guests arriving directly from the U.S. on the day of their sailing to utilize an expedited and secure in-transit transfer between the airport and port. Spearheaded by the Vancouver Airport Authority, in coordination with Port Metro Vancouver, participating cruise lines (see below), as well as Canada and U.S. Customs, US Direct could save traveling guests up to 2 hours of customs and immigration wait times. 

 

To participate in US Direct you must meet the following requirements:
US citizen arrive in Vancouver on a direct flight from the United States prior to 2 p.m. on the day of your cruise and possess an airport to pier bus transfer. If you do not have a transfer, please contact your cruise line or travel agent before arriving. Place ship baggage tags on your checked baggage prior to airline check-in; tagged luggage is transferred directly from the aircraft to the cruise ship. If you do not pre-tag your baggage you will not be eligible to participate. Participating cruise lines for 2013 are Princess, Holland America, Disney, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.


Upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport, follow the US Direct signage (as indicated below) and look out for YVR customer care staff.

 

Passengers should have their proof of citizenship and bus transfer readily available. US Direct runs from late-May until mid-September. (source yvr newsletter)

 

Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker
Smileys
As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.

From the "Canadi>n Flyer" magazine issued August 2000 by Jake Visser.


INSURANCE FOR the SENIOR pilots: 70 IS THE NEW 65
The insurance market for older pilots isn't as grim as it once was. Stick with the same company, fly often and get recurrent training.   


The NetLetter is an email newsletter published (usually) once a week and contains a mixture of nostalgia, current news and travel tips. We encourage our readers to submit their stories, photos and/or comments from either days gone by or from present day experiences and trips. If we think that the rest of our readers will enjoy it, we will publish it here.

We also welcome your feedback in regard to anything we post here. Many readers have commented with additional information, names and personal memories from the photos and articles presented here.

The NetLetter, which is free, is open to anyone that wishes to subscribe but is targeted to retired employees from Air Canada, Canadian Airlines and all the other companies that were part of what Air Canada is today. Thanks for joining us!

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the NetLetter, see you next week!  
Sincerely,
Your NetLetter Team

Disclaimer: Please note, that neither the NetLetter or the ACFamily Network necessarily endorse any of the 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.

 

E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted) - The historical information as well as any other information provided here is subject to correction and may have changed over time. We do publish corrections when they are brought to our attention.
First published in October, 1995
  • Chief Pilot - Terry Baker, Nanaimo, B.C.
  • Co-pilot - Alan Rust, Surrey, B.C.
  • Flight Engineer - Bill Rowsell, Londesboro, Ontario 
  • Stewardess - Lisa Ruck, Brooklin, Ontario 
To contact us, send an email to [email protected]