It almost feels like we’re getting back into the swing of things with restrictions lifting across Canada. While case numbers for COVID seem to be rising again though, we’ll have to wait and see what will take place in the coming months for events going into the summer.
Out here in Calgary, Alberta, everything seems to be opening up as people start to enjoy the warm weather and are looking forward to seeing each other again. And what comes with warmer weather? Airshows! The Springbank Airport in the South of Calgary has already announced their airshow, Wings Over Springbank, set to take place July 23rd and 24th with a featured performance from the Snowbirds.
A quick search online reveals that Springbank isn’t the only airshow scheduled to take place this year either. There are four scheduled for June, seven in July, six in August, and five in September. While not all airshows were cancelled for 2021, and some opted to perform virtually or over homes in 2020, the opportunity to gather and attend airshows again this year seems almost surreal. I know I’ll be keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for an opportunity to do so!
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From the Desk of the Journal Editor
CAHS Journal volumes 57 and 58
The covers for all numbers of Volume 57, the last of which, 57-4, will go to print shortly.
This is more or less a brief recap of the Journal report in last month’s newsletter. The final number of Volume 57 should be in publication by the time you read the next newsletter while the editorial and design/layout work on all four numbers of Volume 58 is already underway. Click/tap anywhere on the Volume 57 covers array above to access more detail on our website’s Journal page.
Meanwhile, the digital edition of Volume 57-3 is now perpetually accessible by current CAHS National members in our Members-only area (see “And a Few Reminders” below for members-only log-in information), while both digital and print editions are now available to the general public in our e-shop:
Beyond Volume 58, we have enough of a range of articles in the work-in-progress file to help us fill out at least two years of publication schedule. However, we can always use more to ensure we continue to deliver variety in both subject and theme across each upcoming publication year. I’m happy to see such a variety in both proposals and new submissions that continue to come in. If you have something – anything from short snippets to more in-depth histories – you would like to see developed into CAHS Journal content, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the editorial team at these links:
Thanks again to all contributors who continue to fill out our pages with such a broad range of Canadian aviation history. Please keep them coming!
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And a Few Reminders:
If you have already accessed the Members Only area of the site and have not logged out, then MY ACCOUNT should appear in the main menu of CAHS.com in your browser. Just follow that link and scroll to any single publication year, the Other CAHS Publications, orthe Members Area Launchpad page to begin viewing or downloading any of the free content.
If you have already accessed the Members Only area of the site at least once but are not presently logged in, just log in again (via LOG IN in the main menu above) to proceed as noted above.
If you are a National Member who has not yet accessed the Member’s Only area already, click (or tap if using a smartphone or tablet) the LOG IN link above and follow the “reset password” prompt. You will need to type in the email address of record associated with your membership. After logging in, you may proceed as noted above.
Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator,
CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
From the Desk of the Treasurer
The CAHS is excited to have partnered with author Chris Weight to offer CAHS friends and members a discounted price for seven books in his Air Pilot Navigator series. Please check out the descriptions, pricing, and links below. The CAHS is also launching access to the Retired Airline Pilots of Canada (RAPCAN) Archive. If you are a CAHS member, you can access this research tool for free in the Members Only section of our website. Non-members can purchase a copy for $15 (or join the CAHS for as low as $25 and access the RAPCAN archive, as well as digitized Journals back to 2010, for free).
You can still browse all the aviation books for sale by Shelia Serup, Carl Vincent, Shirlee Matheson, Tim Cole, Deana Driver, Joel From, Terry Higgins, and others. Click on the montage image below to find out more information about the books. It also isn't too late to order a copy of our 13-month, full colour, bilingual 2022 CAHS Aviation Art Calendar. The National Executive and Board thanks everyone for their financial support of the CAHS through your membership, donations, and merchandise purchases.
Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide,
National Treasurer,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
Retired Airline Pilots of Canada Archive
The introductory price of $15 for this 2000+ page digital publication is for a limited time, after which the regular price will be $20.
If you have been considering becoming a CAHS National Member (starts at just $25), once your registration is complete, you can access this publication, along with every CAHS Journal digital edition published since 2010, for free.
North by Northwest is the first volume in Chris Weicht's very thorough narratives on aviation in western Canada. This ca. 300-page book is illustrated throughout with mostly rare photographs. The CAHS is able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
Pacific Airway is the second volume in Chris Weicht's Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca. 300-page book has a forward by Harbour Air Seaplanes President Greg McDougall. The CAHS is able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
Air Route to the Klondike is the third volume in Chris Weicht's Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca. 300-page book has a forward by Alkan Air President Barrie Watson. The CAHS is able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
Trans Canada Airway is the fourth volume in Chris Weicht's Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca.375-page book has a forward by retired Air Canada Captain William L. Marr. The CAHS is also able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
Yukon Airways is the sixth volume in Chris Weicht's extensive Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca.400 page book has a forward by CAHS author, Fokker Super Universal restorer, and pilot Clark Seaborn. The CAHS is also able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
First Flight West is the sixth volume in Chris Weicht's extensive Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca. 250-page book has a forward by Barry Marsden, Chairman of Conair Group and Cascade Aerospace. The CAHS is also able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Stations is also part of Chris Weicht's extensive Air Pilot Navigator series about narratives on aviation in western Canada. Illustrated with rare photographs, this ca. 300-page book has a forward by LtGen A.M. DeQuetteville. The CAHS is also able to offer this book via our e-shop at a flat rate of $50 + $20 shipping in Canada.
There are now less than two dozen left from our initial print run. Always popular, always fresh, open up a new, colourful window on aviation history each and every month of the new year. Get yours directly from our e-shop today.
Aviation Archaeology: Three and a Half Decades Searching for Lost Aircraft
Geophysicist Bill Thuma describes some of the highlights from his more than 35-years of being involved in aviation archaeology, from his very first expedition to Greenland to locate P-38 Lightning fighters to his most recent involvement searching for a Fokker Universal on Charron Lake, Manitoba. He also shares what he learned from being involved with 18 aircraft wreck searches. This video was originally presented at the CAHS Manitoba 28 October 2021 meeting.
The RCAF Association needs your help. We have been partnering with the RCAF on many fronts, preparing for the 100th birthday of the RCAF in 2024. Our most pressing project, now, is confirming the status of RCAF (Air Force) Memorials & Monuments across Canada - possibly in your community. Our immediate goal - for which we need information by 1 May 2022 - is to identify specific memorials and monuments in need of repair/refurbishment/refreshment. We are most anxious to identify, for example, as many as two "mounted aircraft" in each province that could use some immediate attention. Can you help us? Can you venture out into your community, and get back to us with a status update? You may want to contact local (municipal) officials to inform them of this important project. This Veterans Affairs Canada website consists of a database of all such Memorials & Monuments in Canada.
The RCAF Association Centenary "Navigators" are a small group of your fellow members, working under the leadership of our Chairman Colonel (Ret) Terry Chester. This busy group of volunteers could really use your assistance, now. Please reach out to Terry Chester and let him and the "Navigators" committee know of the state of any and all Memorials & Monuments in your community, especially those featuring RCAF aircraft on a plinth (or "stick"). This will be of great assistance.
Your contribution will be duly noted and recognized as we approach 01 April 2024 and the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
CAHS & NAMS Reciprocal Membership
We are pleased to confirm that the Canadian Aviation Historical Society has made a reciprocal membership arrangement with the National Aviation Museum Society (NAMS) which supports the Canada Aviation and Space Museum through their advocacy work on the museum’s behalf and with financial support. NAMS past advocacy work helped create the museum as it exists today, and NAMS funds have been used for museum restoration projects and CASM programs.
CAHS members who wish to take out a new membership in NAMS will receive a $10 discount off their regular $25 membership fee and in addition, will be eligible to enjoy a 10% discount in the Museum’s retail outlet, the Ingenium Boutique, as do the Museum’s volunteers. A code to provide access to the discount when you order online will be sent with your membership receipt. Electronic membership application can be made through these links or by printing and mailing this paper application form.
NAMS members are now eligible for a discount of $10 off the annual subscription to the online edition of the CAHS Journal.
Aviation Non-Profit Partnership
Reaching higher altitude together
Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) is pleased to announce its relocation to Calgary, made possible through a co-location partnership agreement with The Hangar Flight Museum (THFM).
Since 1992, Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame has been located at the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. The Reynolds has given CAHF a stable and historically significant platform to share their Members and Belt of Orion recipients with a broad audience. After nearly 30 years as an on-site partner of the Reynolds, CAHF would like to thank the Reynolds Museum and City of Wetaskiwin for being a great home.
Today Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame moves to their new home at The Hangar Flight Museum located next to the Calgary International Airport. Moving to an exclusively aviation-focused facility fits into CAHF’s long-term goal of further establishing a national presence. Relocation of the CAHF collection is taking place through the months of February and March, arriving at The Hangar Flight Museum by end of March 2022.
The Hangar Flight Museum tells bold and adventurous stories allowing visitors to explore, engage, and experience the transformational power of flight. Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame will be introducing exciting new digital exhibits, with future plans for travelling exhibits that can be loaned to museums across Canada. Both museums are excited about the opportunity to supplement already existing exhibits at The Hangar with new artifacts and stories that spotlight inductees to CAHF.
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Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame is excited about this opportunity to not only move to the thriving City of Calgary, but to also call The Hangar Flight Museum its new home. Beneficial to both organizations is the parallel content and opportunity to create new exhibits and tell our Member stories in new ways. We hope you will come visit us at our new home soon.
Rod Sheridan,
Chair, National Board of Directors,
Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame
…
When you look at the alignment between our collections and missions, this agreement makes absolute sense. For future visitors to The Hangar, the life stories of CAHF inductees will bring a new dimension to our exhibits, especially since those inductees have flown nearly every one of our aircraft. The Hangar Flight Museum is honoured to become the new home of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.
Nora Molina,
Chair, Board of Directors,
The Hangar Flight Museum
…
This new location for CAHF, in an aviation hub in the growing city of Calgary, will increase the active aviation audience for both organizations and is also the first step in CAHF members having a presence across Canada. These initiatives will be supported by a diverse team with a broad range of specialized skills that can contribute to all facets of both organizations’ future plans. The Hangar Flight Museum is in the process of a feasibility study for the creation of a bigger and better permanent structure to replace the canvas Tent Hangar on site. The two organizations look forward to creating these growth plans together.
WHAT: Partnership between Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame and The Hangar Flight Museum
Question One: What did the ground crew of the IRFC (Imperial Royal Flying Corps) First World War training plan in Canada do to make the aircraft easier to start in the morning during the winter?
Source:
Dancing in The Sky,
pg. 214 (Hunt)
Question Two: For what was the only Canadian Vickers Vista seaplane taken on by the RCAF used?
Source:
Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations,
pg. 239 (Weicht)
Question Three:What did Sir Arthur Harris C.O. of RAF Bomber Command, at the end of the Second World War, say about the groundcrew and the many non-combat casualties?
Source:
No Prouder Place,
pg. 244 (Bashow)
The answers will appear in the April 2022 Newsletter
Here are the answers to February's Canadian Aviation Moments:
QUESTION 1: When the United States entered the First World War, what was the size of their air power?
ANSWER: “When it entered the war, the United States was just emerging as the greatest economic power on the planet. Although it had enormous potential, their military power was largely undeveloped. According to Bingham, American airpower consisted of two small flying fields, 48 officers, 1330 men of all ranks, and 225 airplanes, not one of which “was fit to fly over the lines.”
FromDancing In The Sky, pg. 177
QUESTION 2: What was the role of the “Moth” airplane in the British Commonwealth starting in the mid-1920s, and were they used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War?
ANSWER: “Throughout the British Commonwealth, beginning in the mid-1920s, “Moth” aeroplanes became associated with training. During [the Second World War], 1,546 “Tiger Moths”, a descendant of the earlier Moths, were used in association with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The Moth’s first Canadian use was by the Ontario Provincial Air Service in 1927. Subsequent to this, the RCAF took delivery of at least 3 DH-60X Moths, powered by a Genet engine, and one Moth on floats, #377, powered by a Cirrus II engine. This aircraft was registered to the Department of Marine and Fisheries, Ottawa and was destined for use by the Hudson Strait Expedition. The RCAF assigned serial numbers 55, 56, 57, and 58, to its first four Moths. In 1928 the DH-60M, or Metal Moth, was evaluated and an initial order for 50 aircraft was placed. In all, the RCAF received 17 DH-60X model Cirrus Moths, and 72 DH-60M Moths with a Gipsy engine.”
From Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Stations, pg. 236
QUESTION 3: What was one of the most profound stresses of the bombing campaign during the Second World War?
ANSWER: “Perhaps one of the most profound stressors of the bombing campaign, both to aircrew and to ground crew, was the psychological impact of battle-damaged aircraft returning with dead or wounded on board. At RAF Station Woodbridge, which was only one of the RAF’s master emergency airfields, 516 killed or wounded airmen were returned in 1720 aircraft in a one-year period from January 1943 to January 1944. The following excerpt, although from an American airman’s diary, typifies the carnage involved in these occurrences: B-17 Tinkertoy ground-looped just off the runway. Tinkertoy had her nose shot out and the pilot had his head blown off by a 20mm cannon shell. There was hardly a square inch of the entire cockpit that was not covered with blood and brain tissue. One half of his face and a portion of his cervical vertebra were found just in front of the bomb bay. The decapitation was complete.”
From No Prouder Place, pg. 214
Chapter News
Select a chapter to discover what they have been up to since the last newsletter.
Many of our Chapters remain very active on Zoom with presentations every bit as good as they would be if we did not have pandemic restrictions to deal with!
Special Thanks To Our Supporters
In addition to its members, contributors, and newsletter subscribers, the CAHS is thankful for the ongoing support of its Corporate Members, Museum Members, and Partner Organizations, as well as the many individuals and organizations whose financial donations are so generously given.
If you would like to become a Corporate Member or Museum Member - or if you know an organization that might like to join - we are always happy to receive new applications. Please use the hyperlinks above to learn more about our corporate members and partner organizations.
If you have changed your mailing or e-mail address, please get in touch to keep us up to date. Contact the Membership Administrator here. To enquire about membership payment records, contact the Treasurer here.
If you have any aviation history-related news or events to share, please contact our newsletter editor here.
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The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS)
P.O. Box 2700 • Station D • Ottawa • Ontario • K1P 5W7