Back to Newsletter Archive

The Canadian Aviation Historical Society May 2022 e–Newsletter From the Desk of the Executive Well, here we are, near the halfway mark for 2022. COVID is still with us, and we continue to address the situation with alternative ways to stay in contact with everyone. Zoom has improved its platform and allowed us to hold our chapter presentations as well as our Board of Directors meetings successfully during the past two and a half years. Our Annual General Meeting will again be held virtually on June 16. We are all hoping that this will be the last time we have to meet this way as we all desire to get back to in-person conventions and meetings. The success of this newsletter has been instrumental in keeping us connected and informed of what is happening on the historical side of Canadian aviation and providing an avenue for everyone to share information. We are very near to publishing volume 57, number 4 of the Journal. I know that the volume 58 and 59 Journals are well on their way as we look forward to bringing our schedule up to date. Financially, we are sound, but we depend on and are so grateful for every donation, regardless of the amount. We still need your help so please consider making a tax-deductible donation if you can. Thank you again to our Newsletter Editor, Katherine Simunkovic, our Journal Editor and Website Administrator, Terry Higgins, and our Webmaster and Data Administrator, Zach Downey-Higgins. These three individuals work to keep all of us informed and our social media presence current and alive. On behalf of your National Executive and Board of Directors, thank you for your continued interest and support. Blue skies, Gary Williams, National President, Canadian Aviation Historical Society Join the CAHS – Information for New Members… Renew or Extend Your Membership Here… Browse our Shop… Looking for a specific Journal or Article? Click the button above, then click on the little magnifying glass to begin your search. Donate any Amount… Click the button above or, if you have a smartphone, simply point its camera app at the on-screen QR code to donate via mobile. From the Desk of the Journal Editor Photos and other imagery follow-up & Journals 57-4, 58-1, & 58-2 This montage, sampling nearly six decades of CAHS Journal covers, illustrates the evolving style of imagery used. Following on from last month's Journal column in this newsletter, I just wanted to thank all who have reached out regarding photo collections and "family archives" of other supporting materials. Once we get them in-house and digitized here, I'm confident they will go a long way towards helping us continue to document Canadian aviation history. If you are a respondent to April's plea that has yet to hear back from me, please give it a little more time. The inbox filled up rather quickly, and I am still catching up. Nevertheless, I hope to have responded in kind to one and all before the end of June. The front cover layouts for CAHS Journals 57-4, 58-1, and 58-2 featuring the artwork of Franklin Arbuckle (Norseman), Ken Mallett (Voodoo), and Cher Pruys (Beech 18). In the meantime, please note that we've wrapped up the proofreading on Journal 57-4, and our to-press window for the print edition is now 3 to 6 June. The layout for Journal 58-1 is very near completion, and I will be sending the "galley proofs" to authors (the step before editorial board proofreading) around the same time that 57-4 is in pre-press. So by the time 57-4 is in mailboxes (or inboxes for the digital edition), 58-1 should be with the proofreading team. And 58-2 is not too far behind. Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator, CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director, Canadian Aviation Historical Society From the Desk of the Treasurer For the past 21 years, CanadaHelps has helped promote fundraising for Canadian charities, including the provision of an online platform for donating and creating tax receipts. In the month of June 2022, CanadaHelps is hosting the Great Canadian Giving Challenge for the purpose of encouraging Canadians to donate generously to their favourite charity with the following incentive – the opportunity for your favourite charity to win $20,000 from CanadaHelps! How does this work? Every dollar donated to your favourite charities in June 2022 via www.CanadaHelps.org is an entry for a chance to win a special donation from CanadaHelps. The minimum donation required to participate is $3. So a $5 donation will get the CAHS five entries into the contest. A $10 donation will get us ten contest entries. A $50 donation gives us fifty entry ballots, etc. The contest runs from 1 June 2022 at midnight Newfoundland Daylight Time (NDT) to 30 June 2022 at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). You can view the full context rules at: www.canadahelps.org/en/givingchallenge-rules Why should you donate to the CAHS? Your donations help us produce our quarterly Journal, maintain our website, and pay the many bills that underlie our operations. We try very hard to keep the membership fee as low as possible, so as many people as possible (from students to working parents through to retirees) can afford our publication. Your donations help us cover costs, keep the membership fee lower, and take on new initiatives for preserving and celebrating Canada’s aviation history. Please be a part of this exciting and meaningful effort! The CAHS page on Canada Helps is here, and you will receive a tax receipt from CanadaHelps directly. You may view the contest rules at this page. Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide, National Treasurer, Canadian Aviation Historical Society Yukon Wings Thorough, authoritative, and filled with over 700 superb previously unpublished photographs, Yukon Wings is an illustrated history of the birth and development of the aviation industry in Yukon. An astonishing book of ingenuity, courage, and determination, by engineer, researcher, pilot and long-time CAHS Member, Robert Cameron. Get your copy of this treasure trove for only $45 (the Publisher's retail is $60) plus $20 shipping (within Canada) while supplies last. Check out the review by Journal Editor Terry Higgins here. Get your copy here… Click/tap anywhere on the montage below to to explore all the other books that the CAHS is offering for sale! Our Society is very thankful for the support of our Corporate Members, Museum Members, Individual Donors, and from the proceeds generated by the time-limited Special Offer items in our e-shop. Aviation News and Events CH-124A Sea King 12428 on display at DND HQ Have a look at CH-124A Sea King 12428 at its new home, on display in front of Department of National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. by Rod Digney View the gallery… Canada's Newest Aviation Museum! When was the last time a Canadian aviation museum was opened in a brand-new building? The Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa in 1960? The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year? The Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw? The Bomber Command Museum in Nanton? by John Chalmers Read more… The Bjarni Tryggvason celebration of life at CWHM Bjarni Tryggvason was remembered at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum on April 26, 2022. by Gord McNulty Read more… Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame 2022 Inductees and Ceremony Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame is excited to host an Induction Ceremony for the first time in two years! Scheduled for June 23, 2022 at the Marriott Calgary Airport In-Terminal. For information on the event and the inductees that will be honoured at the event… by Katherine Simunkovic More info… Wing Commander James "Stocky" Edwards June 1921 - May 2022 The CAHS is deeply saddened to relay the news of the passing of Canadian fighter pilot legend Wing Commander James Francis ‘Stocky’ Edwards. Our condolences to family and friends. To read about Stocky’s incredible story and achievements published by Vintage Wings Canada, click here. via Katherine Simonkovic Major Bob Tracy passes away With a heavy heart, the CAHS relays the passing of RCAF Major Ret’d Bob Tracy. Bob passed away on March 29, 2022, in Ottawa, at the age of 90. To read about Bob’s life, please visit his obituary here, and to read a personal telling of his own story, please click here. via Katherine Simonkovic Blue Skies, Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen The CAHS is saddened to relay the news of the passing of Gail Halvorsen, famously known as the “Candy Bomber”. An Air Force pilot during the Second World War, Colonel Halvorsen is fondly remembered for dropping tons of candy during the Berlin airlift. To read about his life and accomplishments, please click here. via Katherine Simonkovic Freddie the Flyer Fred Carmichael at the controls of his Cessna 170 with 'co-pilot' and co-author Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail. Inuvik, NWT in April 2019. (Miki O'Kane photo) Former CAHS president Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail and co-author Fred Carmichael (Inuvik, NWT), are excited to announce that Tundra Books will publish FREDDIE THE FLYER about Fred's life as a pioneering Gwich'in pilot in the Western Arctic. Fred was the first Indigenous pilot inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016 and is the recipient of the Order of Canada among many other honours. British Columbia-based Inuvialuit artist Audrea Wulf will illustrate this nonfiction picture book biography that features the months of the year in Gwich'in and Inuvialuqtun. It is set to publish in Fall 2023. Engine Run Days at the Bomber Command Museum The Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, AB, is excited to announce its schedule for engine run days! The museum is open daily from 10:00 – 5:00 (closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays). Be sure to check the museum's schedule page – which also includes other events – for updates. Check out this year's schedule… Canadian Aviation Moments Question One: What practicing did Billy Bishop do during the First World War, that he himself attributed most of his success to? Source: Canada’s Fighting Airmen, pg. 28 (Drew) Question Two: What were the Fairchild FC-2, 71 floatplanes used for by the RCAF? Source: Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations, pg. 243 (Weicht) Question Three: What statement, made by Albert Speer, after the bombing siege of Hamburg, validated the strategy of area bombing? Source: No Prouder Place, pg. 246 (Bashow) The answers will appear in the June 2022 Newsletter Here are the answers to April's Canadian Aviation Moments: QUESTION 1: How long was the observer course that was given by the IRFC (Imperial Royal Flying Corps) training plan in Canada during the First World War and how many had graduated by the end of the war? ANSWER: “The entire observer course took about six months, two to three months shorter than the training of a pilot-cadet. The first observers graduated in mid-July of 1918 and by the armistice, a total of 137 observers had successfully completed the course. Of these some eighty-five had proceeded overseas. The output of observers continued to increase monthly until the war’s sudden end. Hoare anticipated that, by late fall, they would be graduating 100 observers per month.” From Dancing In The Sky, pg. 252 QUESTION 2: What airplane was the Consolidated 0-17 Courier a development of? ANSWER: “Following a flight demonstration by Fleet Aircraft of the Consolidated 0-17 Courier in July 1928, three Couriers were purchased by the RCAF. One of these aircraft was a single float model 8 (0-17), which was assigned RCAF serial #24. This aircraft was powered by a single Wright R-790-1 nine-cylinder 225 hp Whirlwind engine. The 0-17 Courier was a development of an earlier model PT-3 (in turn, an improved NY-2) but with fuselage streamlining, oleo shock absorbers, wheel breaks, balanced elevators, and increased fuel capacity. The other 0-17 Couriers, RCAF #25 and 26 were model 7 wheel-equipped aircraft.” From Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Stations, pg. 241 QUESTION 3: What did Russ Hubley, a star wartime gunner and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) winner on No. 405 Squadron, think of the groundcrew? ANSWER: “Groundcrews were also greatly appreciated by the operational aircrews. Russ Hubley, a star wartime gunner and DFC winner on 405 Squadron, recalls: The groundcrew were always there. They had their little quirks, but they kept the aircraft in the air, no matter what. They told us in no uncertain terms that the aircraft belonged to them and we could only borrow it. We were to return it in the condition they gave it to us. They’d be there when you took off and they were there when you returned. If there were any problems, they’d work all night to fix them. In my opinion, the groundcrew were our unsung heroes and never got the credit they deserved. Without them, we’d have been “up the creek.” They performed miracles on a daily basis.” From No Prouder Place, pg. 244 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. Corporate Members: Corporate Partners: Aviaeology Publishing / SkyGrid Studio CANAV Books Northern Lights Awards / Elsie MacGill Foundation The RCAF Association Vintage Wings of Canada Museum Members: Alberta Aviation Museum Billy Bishop Home and Museum Bomber Command Museum of Canada Botwood Flying Boat Museum British Columbia Aviation Museum Calgary Mosquito Society Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre Canadian Historical Aircraft Association The Canadian Museum of Flight Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Comox Air Force Museum First In Last Out Great War Flying Museum The Hangar Flight Museum Harvard Historical Aviation Society Montreal Aviation Museum National Air Force Museum Quebec Aerospace Museum Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada Shearwater Aviation Museum Western Development Museum Follow us on Facebook and Twitter e-Newsletter Archive 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. Click here to renew immediately online, or to join as a new member. If you would like to register or renew by mail, printable forms are also available in the bottom area of this page on our site. If you have any aviation history-related news or events to share, please contact our newsletter editor here. Please feel free to forward to friends and family members, or encourage them to sign up on our website to receive the newsletter directly for FREE. We hope that you enjoy receiving this monthly newsletter and find the contents informative and enjoyable. If you no longer wish to receive it for any reason, please use the unsubscribe option below to have your email address removed immediately from the mailing list. The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) P.O. Box 2700 • Station D • Ottawa • Ontario • K1P 5W7 visit us at www.cahs.com The CAHS is incorporated as a Canadian Registered Charity under a Federal Charter with the business registration number 118829589 RR001

Back to Newsletter Archive