CAHS Journal Highlights

See this page for highlights and links for the CAHS Journal.
Copies of the Journals where each article identified below have been published can be purchased in the CAHS store. Use the CAHS Shop button above to search for specific Journal issues, view the relevant Journal's Table of Contents, and choose a purchase option.

CAHS Civil Aviation Highlights

Posted by Mathias Joost
September 2025
The CAHS Journal has been printed since January 1963. It has provided coverage of a very wide range of Canada’s civil aviation history and even the early efforts in the 19th Century. Among its authors have been Canadian aviation notables. Journal authors include some of Canada's best known aviation historians, including Hugh Halliday, Terry Higgins, Fred Hitchens, Fred Hotson, and Carl Vincent.

The Journal’s authors have written about early aviation, aircraft, bush flying, operations, technology and more. They even compiled a list of the early civil aircraft registration numbers and the first 500 commercial pilots. There are personal recollections and topics of meticulous research. Here are some of the interesting articles that show the broad range of topics in the Journal.

Fixed wing flight started with the Silver Dart in Baddeck, NS in February 1909. A Silver Dart copy was completed in 1959 for the 50th Anniversary. This latter aircraft had been featured in several articles including:
C. Walker, Silver Dart Re(Air)born(e), Vol. 2-4

After the First World War, aviation expanded rapidly in Canada. Airports were built and flying schools were opened. Their evolution helped open up Canada and increased commercial air travel. Flying schools also were created to support the desire on the part of many Canadians to fly. The Journal has featured many stories on the airfields and the early flying training. One such is:
C. Don Long, Toronto Airports – Before Malton, Vol. 3-4

Canadians had to learn to fly somewhere. The flying clubs are covered, an example being:
Fred W. Hotson, The Toronto Flying Club, 1927-1944, Vol 23-3
The Journal has provided many articles that cover several issues. This allows greater detail for a single topic, such as aspects of the aviation industry. The detail the CAHS can provide is highlighted by the nine-part series on the Canadair Tutor:
Bill Upton, Canada’s Tutor Emeritus, Vols. 52-1 to 52-3, 53-1 to 53-4 and 54-2 to 54-3

Airlines big and small have been featured. For large airlines here are a few of the Trans Canada Airlines pieces that include two on the Super Constellation:
J.T. “Jack” Dument, Adapting TCA Aircraft to Canadian Conditions, Vol. 24-1
W. Glen Cawker, TCA and the “Super Connie,” Vol. 29-4
P. Marshall, Those Fabulous TCA Connies, Vol. 46-2

It is not just airlines that have been covered. Authors have written about flight research:
Dr. A.D. Wood, Thirty Five Years of NRC Flight Research, Vol. 26-4
There are also articles on manufacturers:
Robert Fowler, Turboprops for De Havilland, Vol. 26-3

Civil aviation has been involved in many large and small airlift efforts. Among those featured in the CAHS Journal are two on the James Bay airlift:
M.L. McIntyre, The James Bay Hydro Project: Flying out of Matagami, Vol. 37-4
Fernand Henley, James Bay Hydro – The Transportation Story, Phase 1: 1973-1985, Vol 48-1

Technology is also featured. Starting in 1942, Paul Dilworth was involved in the development of jet engines in Canada. He tells his story and that of jet engine development in Canada:
Paul P. Dilworth, Ab Initio to World Class: Canada’s Bid as a Jet Engine Leader, Vols 38-1 to 38-3

CAHS – Tribute to 100 Years of the RCAF

Posted by Mathias Joost
September 2025
The Journal of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society has covered the RCAF since the CAHS issued its first Journal in January 1963. The articles have ranged from aircraft to operations to people and technology. In celebration of 100 years of the RCAF, the CAHS presents some of the interesting articles about Canada’s air force by the people themselves who made this history.
The focus here is on the many personal recollections. The CAHS has been fortunate in being able to get the personal reminiscences of many of the well-known officers of the RCAF as well as many whose contributions have gone unrecognized but whose stories fill many of the gaps in the RCAF’s history. They told their stories about their role in the RCAF and its operations, preserving the knowledge of what happened.

Some of the first-hand accounts include the significant Hudson Strait expedition that operated in northern Quebec and Nunavut for a year, including over the winter of 1927-28.
Thomas A. “Tommy” Lawrence, The Hudson Strait Expedition, Vol. 20-3

Leonard Birchall recounts his time in the late 1930s and the start of the Second World War, when the RCAF was rapidly moving from a civil-orientation to a military and then wartime footing.
Leonard J. Birchall, Trenton to Dartmouth, Flying in the RCAF 1937-40, Vol. 23-2

Bill Carr, considered the father of the modern RCAF, has also provided snapshots of his career. Whether flying as a reconnaissance pilot during the war, how a lake received its name or operations in Congo, his stories provide a first-hand account that is not found in the official records.
William K. Carr, Getting the Picture: Flying Alone and Unarmed Over Hostile Territory, Vol. 39-3
William K. Carr, Victory Lake, Vol. 43-4
William K. Carr, The RCAF in the Congo, 1960, Vol. 43-1

These are but three of the RCAF and even RAF personnel whose stories are told first-hand in the Journal. Other well-known aviators include:
Russell Bannock, The Intruders: 418 Squadron, Vol. 20-3
Leonard J. Birchall, North Bay and the CF-100, Vol. 20-1
Keith R. Greenaway, To the Top of the World by Airship, Vol. 18-3
Test Pilots have been among the CAHS’ authors. The Hawker Typhoon and Tempest did not enter service without their teething troubles. The Journal brought the story of test flying these RAF iconic late Second World War ground attack and fighter aircraft.
J.R. Butler, Test Flying the Hawker Typhoon and Tempest, Vol. 18-1

The Avro CF-100 Canuck was the epitome of Canadian aviation technology when it was first introduced. The CAHS has one of the test pilot’s own words on the testing.
S.M. Haswell, Test Flying the CF-100, Vol 21-3

Renowned test pilot Jan Zurakowski even provided his input about his career as a test pilot and about the Avro Arrow specifically. (The Journal has presented other articles about the Arrow and test flying aircraft.)
Janusz Zurakowski, Test Flying the Arrow and Other High Speed Jet Aircraft, Vol. 17-4
 
These are but a sample of the first-person accounts in the CAHS Journal.
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