The CAHS is in the final stages of developing a new website.

We invite you to Click Here to visit www.cahs.com now to view the new site and take advantage of the new features.

Once all relevant material from the old website has been transfered to the new website,
typing www.cahs.ca will automatically bring you to the new website.

Also visit the Newsflash page at www.cahs.com to read about the latest developments.

Thanks for your patience, support, and interest!

Membership

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Journal Report

Dear CAHS National Members:
Journals Volume 55 Numbers 1 (Spring 2017 cover date) and 2 (Summer 2017 cover date) are scheduled to be in the mail, together in the same envelope, through next week. we will also be emailing the digital version to online members immediately on confirmation of this by the mailing house, if not slightly beforehand. Although we’ve had the pre-press work completed on 55-1 since mid-late February, and on 55-2 since early April, with the inside pages of both printed within a week or so of each of those dates, a persistent technical issue with the new digital press used to produce our colour covers was not fully resolved until the end of last week.

With that our printers rescheduled the colour printing and bindery operations ASAP and we can anticipate consistent colour printing results going forward. This also lets us get back to the editorial and layout work in progress on Journals 55-3 and 4 to complete the 2017 publication year.

Although completion will be later by a few months than that previously reported, we have definitely “moved the needle” in the right direction on catching up production. I anticipate having both remaining 2017 number through proofreading and into print within the first two or three weeks of May, and work resuming on the first 2018 cover-date issue (Volume 56 Number 1, Spring 2018 within the weeks following that. This will have us in a good position to have the Summer 2018 edition in print by early August, in keeping with its actual cover date. The Fall edition will then follow on schedule in the first weeks of October and the Winter edition through January 2019.

Meanwhile, here is a preview of the contents for the soon-to-be-mailed Spring and Summer 2017 editions…

Journal 55-1 (Spring 2017):

CAHS 55 1 sidebar bannerHome on the Range – Chezzetcook Air-to-Surface Weapons Range
A collection of stories reflecting the experiences of Royal Canadian Naval Aviators on the range on the coast of Nova Scotia starting in the early 1950s. Compiled by Leo Pettipas.

In Brief: RCN Carrier Aviation
A photo essay featuring mostly colour images unearthed while researching potential additional photos for the above article and the RCN Air Branch coverage in the previous issue. Compiled by Terry Higgins, with Bill March.

The Curious Case of Ernest Lloyd Janney and the Mysterious Disappearing Canadian Aviation Corps (Part 3)
Hugh Halliday’s fascinating reconstruction of the life and times of Janney continues with Janney’s return to North America and the resumption of shenanigans. Includes a couple of rare photographs of the Janney ELJ-5 aircraft.

Historical Snapshot: Bellanca + Canoe – Attachments of Canoe to Bellanca Pacemaker Photographic Seaplane
Based on RCAF Test and Development Report No H23, author Carl Vincent paints a picture of one of the primary occupations of the RCAF’s bush pilots in uniform of the pre-Second World War era, and a seemingly minor equipment trial that may have resulted in increasing their comfort and safety at remote locations.


 

Journal 55-2 (Summer 2017):

CAHS 55 2 sidebar bannerThe Curious Case of Ernest Lloyd Janney and the Mysterious Disappearing Canadian Aviation Corps (Part 4)
Janney continues to get himself in trouble even when out of uniform and now on civvy street. In this instalment author Hugh Halliday tracks our unreluctant hero through a scheme or two involving surplus military aircraft and great (mis)adventure.

NASA’s Super-STOL Buffaloes: Part 1 - The Road to AWJSRA
A historical appreciation of the Canadian-content contributions made to NASA’s powered-lift research and technology efforts in the 1960s and ‘70s. Part 1 is about the developments leading up to the Augmented Wing Jet STOL Research Aircraft. By Terry Higgins.

In Brief: Canadian Aircraft in South Vietnam
A collection of rare photographs from the personal albums of Norman Malayney and Richard Dumas populate this photo essay (which continues on the back cover), with notes on the history of some of the individual aircraft compiled by Terry Higgins.

The Highest Speed of the Avro Arrow: Reconciling Assorted Claims
Dr. David Waechter shines new light on an old subject, drawing on material found in papers belonging to his late father, Avro Engineering Aerodynamicist Ralph Waechter.

From the High Arctic to Vietnam:
Reflections of Squadron Leader Harley Lang (Retired)
Based on personal interviews, veteran journalist Gord McNulty relays more than six decades of recollections from the widely varied career of a very experienced aviator.

With thanks!
Terry

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Attention Aviation Book Lovers - Books for Sale at the Calgary Convention

booksThe CAHS Vancouver Chapter will be bringing some used books and DVDs to sell at the CAHS convention in Calgary. Below is a sneak peek at what the CAHS Vancouver Chapter has available. If you plan on attending the convention and you see a book on the list you would like to purchase, contact Chapter President Jerry Vernon (jevernon@telus.net) for him to reserve and bring the book for you.

Please Note: Due to high postage costs, mailing books from this list is not an option. All sales must be in person at the convention.

 

To view the list, CLICK HERE.


 

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The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS. Spoiler alert - if you read any further than each question, you will find the answer to the questions directly below. Good luck and have fun!

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions and answers for April are:

Question: When Ace Wop May was awarded the DFC in 1918, it was mentioned in dispatches (the citation stated) that he shot down 7 aircraft. How many aircraft was Wop May credited with at the end of hostilities?
7 aircraft shot down and 1 probable
10 aircraft shot down and 0 probables
13 aircraft shot down and 4 probables
18 aircraft shot down and 3 probables
19 aircraft shot down and 5 probables

Answer: “Ace Wop May was credited with 13 German Aircraft, and there were 4 other “probables”. The figure 7 was mentioned in Dispatches (in the citation) when he was awarded the D.F.C. in 1918.

Source: Website – The Wop May Chronicles


Question: How many of the BCATP sites in Canada were chosen because the riding for the site had elected a Liberal candidate for Parliament?

Answer: “In 2000, Carleton University student Rachel Lea Heide completed a paper entitled “The Politics of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Base Selection in western Canada” “It seems that communities were awarded bases only if their sites met technical criteria and were cost effective. Officials would not budge on their decisions, even with extensive lobbying efforts. This did not, however, stop various communities from trying. In fact, Heide discovers lobbying occurred to such an extent that she breaks it down into segments. In what she calls the early lobbying years, Heide describes lobbyists as altruistic. The correspondence on file documents community sentiment to be eager to participate in the war effort by hosting an air base. As base selection continued, correspondence from communities became more insistent. The people in the lobbying communities wanted to participate in the war effort, but expressed that this opportunity was inaccessible to them because the government had not presented them with an airbase from where to do so. Later still, these communities lobbied on the premise that they simply deserved a school because of their political affiliations to the Liberal government. When this approach didn’t work, lobbyists became even more aggressive, threatening to discontinue their support for the government if they did not receive an air base. Even still, base selection officials did not waver. Another reason for Heide’s conclusion of lack of partisan politics in base selection is that decisions about base selection were made by RCAF officers and elected officials merely signed their recommendations. The site selection reports, final decisions and reasons for awarding or rejecting a site illustrate the effort to meet technical criteria, not political ends. In evaluating which constituencies were awarded aerodromes, no political pattern can be found. Liberal ridings were not awarded airbases any more or less than ridings that had elected members of other parties.”

Source: Website - Wings Over Alberta – Homefront


Question: Which bomber carried the heaviest individual bomb loads of the Second World War and which bomber was it derived from?

Answer: “The Avro Lancaster was derived from the unsuccessful twin-engine Avro Manchester bomber that first flew in 1939. The decision was made in late 1940 to replace the two Rolls Royce Vulture engines of the Manchester with four of the more reliable Rolls Royce Merlin (in Canada, Packard Merlin) engines, which had a proven record in the Hurricane and Spitfire fighter designs. The revised design was an immediate success and the Lancaster went on to carry the heaviest individual bomb loads of the Second World War. The Lancaster was manufactured in Canada by Victory Aircraft Ltd. in Malton, Ontario, and 430 Mk X versions were built. In post-war use, the Canadian built Lancasters went on to serve in highly useful roles. Quickly converted into photographic reconnaissance variants for charting and mapping and into maritime patrol versions, the Lancaster soldiered on well into the Cold War era.”

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft – T.F.J. Leversedge – Page 64

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 norad60 logo

 

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 – 10H00 - 16H00 - arrive at 9h30

Join us to celebrate NORAD’s 60th anniversary on 24 May 2018 at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

CLICK HERE to register.
(Registration is essential and you must bring photo ID to the event.)

Speakers include: current and past senior leaders of NORAD

For more information: NORAD.60@umanitoba.ca

Global Affairs Canada

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CAHS Museum Members

By John Chalmers, CAHS Membership Secretary

Museum Members of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society comprise a valued component of our membership. This is the fourth in a series of items about those members. There are some 40 aviation museums in Canada. We are pleased to have 17 of them in our membership, and encourage CAHS members to enjoy our aviation heritage as displayed at our museums. As additional museums take out a membership with the CAHS, we will feature them in our newsletter. There is more to our museums than aircraft! Displays, programs and activities add to the diversity in which they present our aviation heritage. If you can’t visit the museums, be sure to see their web sites. All are linked in the list at the end of each CAHS newsletter, and to their names below.

National Air Force Museum of Canada

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At Trenton, Ontario, this museum is dedicated to honouring the Royal Canadian Air Force. The showpiece in the museum is a Halifax bomber, recovered from a lake in Norway, brought to Canada and restored in a 10-year project. Adjacent to the museum is the 16-acre Airpark, where historic and active aircraft are on display. At the Airpark, some 11,000 Ad Astra stones and 35 monuments pay tribute to past and current members of the RCAF. (Museum photo)

Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

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Housed in a hangar at the Winnipeg airport, the museum’s collection ranges from bush planes to passenger and jet aircraft. Permanent and special exhibits are based on significant events, innovations and contributions to Canadian aviation. Under restoration are a Bellanca Aircruiser, a Fairchild Razorback and two types flown by the RCAF –a Harvard and a Vampire. Shown here is the Fokker Universal restored and flown by CAHS member Clark Seaborn, then placed in the museum. (Chalmers photo)

Secrets of Radar Museum

Photo3 545

Located in London, Ontario, the Secrets of Radar Museum was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to preserving the experiences, stories and history of men and women who helped develop, operate and maintain Canadian radar, both in Canada and abroad. Radar history, training and people involved are presented in the museum’s displays and in outreach programs. Shown above is curator and CAHS member Maya Hirschman with a portable radar set from 1960 at the museum. (Morris Lamont photo, The London Free Press, via the internet)

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Celebrating Aviation in Calgary

Just days apart this spring in Calgary, two major events recognizing history and achievement in aviation will be held in Calgary.

CAHS Annual Convention

From May 30 to June 3, the annual convention of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society will be held at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel. Organized by convention chairman from the Calgary CAHS chapter, Bert Furlong, the program offers a wide spectrum of informative sessions about aviation in Canada. Side trips to complement the presentations include visits to aviation museums and industrial operations.

Your attendance at the convention is your best opportunity each year to meet up and catch up with fellow CAHS members and aviation enthusiasts from across the country. See you there!

For full details and registration click here.

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame

If you are coming to Calgary for the CAHS convention, consider a stay in Alberta to enjoy the sights and scenery and attend the annual induction dinner and ceremonies for Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.

The 45th annual celebration will be held on June 7 at the Sunwest Aviation Hangar at the Calgary International Airport. Four new Members of the Hall will be honoured in a colourful event that will include some uniquely Calgarian hospitality. Those honoured are aviation pioneer, Mr. John Bogie; former Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen (Ret`d) Paul Manson; test pilot and entrepreneur, Dr. John Maris; and Dr. Greg Powell, a co-founder of the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service.

For details and ticket information, click here. Then plan to organize your table with fellow enthusiasts! A charitable donation receipt is issued for the non-expense costs of the gala.

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John Michael Stiff

john stiff obit

john stiff 545

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John Bogie – Bush pilot and entrepreneur

By John Chalmers, CAHS Membership Secretary

John BogieJohn Munroe Bogie, born September 6, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, died on April 5 in Ottawa. He is survived by his sons Iain and Craig (Alyson), his stepdaughter, Martha Lindsay (Brandon), and five grandchildren. A US Navy veteran who, because he was underage, could not fly at the time, he trained with the navy as an air gunner. The Second World War ended before John was deployed. Having earned his first pilot's licence at age 17, he then spent a lifetime in aviation.

In the early 1950's he flew extensively for Laurentian Air Services Ltd. and various mining exploration companies in Northern Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland, Labrador and elsewhere in Canada. In 1968 he purchased Laurentian Air Services from his uncle, Barnet Maclaren, a brother of John's mother, Florence. For the next 40 years John continued to operate Laurentian and its affiliates (Air Schefferville, B.M. Aviation, Air Laurentian) in charter and scheduled flights, Delay River Outfitters for fishing and hunting expeditions in Northern Quebec, aircraft maintenance and refurbishing many US military de Havilland Beaver aircraft in partnership with Colin McOuat of Lachute, Quebec.

Together with the late Marg Carson, John was a co-founder of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. The Spring 2009 issue of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society Journal recorded John's love of flying in an article entitled "John Bogie: A Life in Aviation". The story of Laurentian Air Services Ltd. and John's involvement with the company is told in For the Love of Flying. Both the Journal article and the book were written by CAHS member, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail.

With his failing health, but still able to speak well about his long career as a pilot and entrepreneur, John was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at a special ceremony for family and friends held in Ottawa on February 10. He will be represented by his son, Iain, at the Hall's annual induction ceremonies in Calgary on June 7.

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2018 Student Awards Night at Centennial College for the Douglas MacRitchie Memorial Scholarship

Douglas MacRitchie Memorial Scholarship Jason Kot and Bruce  MacRitchie 2018

Jason Kot and Bruce MacRitchie 
Photo courtesy of Centennial College

March 7 saw the second evening of awards presented to the students in four different categories such as Health, Transportation, Communications and Hospitality as offered by Centennial College, Progress Campus, Scarborough.

CAHS attended the event, held in the new 8 storey Events Centre, to witness the presentation of the Douglas MacRitchie Memorial Scholarship that has been awarded annually since 1981 to a student registered in the Aircraft Maintenance and Avionics program. The award is now donated by Bruce MacRitchie in honour of his late brother, Douglas, an early CAHS member, who died in the crash of his Stinson aircraft in 1980. The award was initially sponsored by the CAHS but is now totally provided by Bruce MacRitchie and supported by the CAHS.

The award is given to a full-time student currently enrolled in the Aviation Technician-Aircraft Maintenance program who best exemplifies a responsible attitude combined with acceptable academic standards.

Bruce MacRitchie presented the 2018 award to Jason Kot.

DSC01931 545

Sheldon, Jason and Bruce
Photo courtesy of Centennial College

To read feedback from the 2017/18 recipient Jason Kot, click here.

The opening of the new Centre for Aerospace and Aviation in Downsview Park this summer

“In August of 2018, the Aircraft Maintenance and Aviation programs will move into Centennial’s brand new Centre for Aerospace and Aviation in Downsview Park on the site of the former Downsview air force base.

The Downsview Aerospace Innovation and Research (DAIR) Consortium, an association of all of the large aerospace companies and leading post secondary education institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), has come together with the shared mandate of developing an aerospace hub at Downsview Park in Toronto. Centennial College is a founding member of DAIR.

The new and exciting 12,700 m2 (~135,000 ft2) campus is currently under construction and makes use of the original de Havilland Aircraft production facility that was once integral to the aerospace industry in Canada. Centennial’s new Downsview Campus is an exciting blend of old and new that will bring this historic facility back to the forefront of Canada’s aerospace and aviation sectors.”

This building was scheduled for demolition in 2011 to make way for four ice skating rinks. The rinks were built nearby and the original DHC building which started in 1929 will now survive hopefully for another 90 years.

Prepared by S. D. Benner

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convention2018 save the date

2018 CAHS Convention & AGM
Calgary – May 30 to June 3, 2018

The CAHS 2018 Convention in Calgary, Alberta, is just six weeks away! But there is still time to register. Please read further for more details about the speakers and organized activities. We hope you choose to attend - see you there!

We have chosen some great speakers for the 2018 CAHS Convention and we are finalizing arrangements with them. Speakers cover topics from WW1 to the present time, military, civil and commercial. The tours that we have arranged are to the Nanton Bomber Command Museum (Avro Lancaster, restoration of a Spartan Air Services de Havilland Mosquito and a chance to get up close and personal with a running Bristol Hercules), Viking Air (building new Twin Otters, and the new Twin Otter simulator) and The Hangar Flight Museum (see a Twin Otter that flew a rescue mission to the South Pole). These should offer something special for everyone. Remember, with a full registration you will have a chance to win one of two seats onboard the Lancaster during the engine run.

There are a great many aviation related attractions available in the immediate Calgary area. Some of these include: the Military Museums featuring the RCAF Museum, The RCN Museum and the Cold War Museum with seven aircraft on display; the AVRO Museum at Springbank with a scale flying Arrow replica under construction; an outstanding art display at Mount Royal University and more smaller aviation exhibits elsewhere. There are also things to see in Red Deer and Wetaskiwin. If you registered, and are interested in visiting any of these other attractions please let us know and we may be able to help arrange transportation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit Calgary and sample some of what we have to offer, including the Calgary Zoo featuring dinosaurs, penguins, lemurs and pandas. The Convention is from May 30 to June 3. Please refer to this newsletter or the CAHS website for a registration form and a link to the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel (special Convention rates for us).

There is a preliminary list of speakers and their topics listed below in this newsletter.

See you in Calgary,
The Convention Committee

 

CAHS 2018 Convention Preliminary List of Confirmed Speakers

The Canadian Aviation Historical Society Executive and Convention Committee are excited to announce the preliminary list of confirmed speakers for the 2018 Convention in Calgary, Alberta. Topics span both civil and military aviation, from the First World War through to the present day. There is no particular order in the list below.

Speaker Topic
Richard de Boer The Spartan Mosquito History to Date
Jack McWilliam The Spartan Mosquito Restoration
Robert Galway The Places, Planes, and Pilots of the Red Lake Gold Rush
Carl Mills Canadian Fighter Pilots In The Korean War
Jerry Vernon The Mystery of TCA Flight Three
Will Chabun RCAF Station Saskatoon
Bill Cameron The Norwegian Flying Training Schools In Canada
Bill Cameron Don Franko: An Orkney Island Miracle
Jim Bell 403 "City of Calgary" Squadron, an Overview
James Winkel Saskatchewan Government Air Services
Mark Cote That Lucky Old Son
Richard Goette Air Defence Cooperation During the Cold War
David Waechter Aeroballistic Testing Of The Avro Arrow
Fred Petrie F/L Herb Briggs DFC
Bill Zuk Finding Amelia: Amelia Earhart in Canada
Allan Snowie
The Vimy Flight
Shirley Smith Matheson Fred McCall
Karl Kjarsgaard Halifax Recovery and Rebuild

 


 

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 Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel

The Sheraton Cavalier Hotel 

Our special convention rate is $139 per night plus taxes (the regular rate is $169 per night). Check out the Sheraton Cavalier and book your room before the hotel fills up. Click here to register.

 

Convention Partners

We are pleased to work with the following partners:

sheraton calgary logo cibc wood gundy logo
   
 RCAF Heritage Fund  

We thank Challenge Publications for providing draw prizes for our convention attendees.

 challenge publications1

 

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2018 merch

Want something special to wear at the convention this year? Want to advertise the CAHS while you attend other aviation events or just go about your daily errands? Then how about buying a CAHS polo or t-shirt with either the CAHS convention logo or the CAHS conventional logo? The CAHS is offering a variety of merchandise for purchase. The CAHS is offering for sale polo shirts, t-shirts, baseball caps, mugs, mouse pads, and canvas tote bags, all featuring the distinctive CAHS 2018 convention logo. Merchandise details are presented below and on page 2 of the order form. Orders picked up at the CAHS Convention in Calgary on May 30 - June 3 will be free of shipping charges. For those unable to attend the Convention, shipments will commence after the Convention. Payments can be made by cheque, credit card, or Paypal.

2019 Calendar 320Additionally, the CAHS has partnered again with our amazing Canadian aviation artists to produce a stunning full colour bilingual 2019 calendar. These will make beautiful Father's Day, birthday, and even Christmas gifts, so stock up now! To learn more about the gifted artists involved, click here.

Orders picked up at the CAHS Convention in Calgary will be free of shipping charges. For those unable to attend the Convention, shipments will commence after the Convention. Payments can be made by cheque, credit card, or Paypal.

The deadline to order and pay is 7 May 2018.

To download the 2018 CAHS Convention merchandise order form, CLICK HERE.

Please email the completed order form to treasurer@cahs.ca, or return by mail to:

Canadian Aviation Historical Society,
P.O. Box 2700, Station D,
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada K1P 5W7