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Dear CAHS member,
September always feels like a time of new beginnings, and this is true for the CAHS as well. Many of our Chapters are getting their 2011-2012 speakers' programmes underway, and would love for you to attend as their guest (a small "landing fee" may apply at some to cover coffee and snacks). These local gatherings are a great way to meet other aviation history enthusiasts, and with a chapter in many major Canadian cities, there is likely one near where you live, or where your travels may take you. Please go to our website to see information on locations and programming.
Don't see one in your town? Consider starting your own chapter either from scratch, or by bringing an existing group into
the CAHS fold! We would be happy to work with you to make it happen. Please email info@cahs.ca for more details.
I got to see a bit of aviation history from east to west this past month, from Salt Spring Air (B.C), to the Brampton Flying Club (which has a small museum on-site, that was unfortunately closed), to the Canadian Air & Space Museum in Toronto (where I ran into David Crone of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, hard at work with the 2012 awards review committee!).
Back at home in Edmonton, I was able to attend the rollout of a B-25 Mitchell restored by the 418 Squadron Association at the Alberta Aviation Museum. What an amazing amount of time, effort, and expertise that went into that restoration project. It was a beautiful ceremony on a perfect day. For the story and more photos, please visit our website.
I hope you enjoy this time of crisp mornings and fresh starts, and seize every opportunity to learn something new - and share it with others over coffee, by email, in publications like the Journal, or on social media. It is through our collective efforts that the important stories of aviation history are researched, written, read, and discussed.
Sincerely,
Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail
www.daniellemc.com
National News
2011 Conference Updates
The 2011 conference may be over, but you can still enjoy the photos from that great event by clicking here. Also, CAHS member Dennis Casper created a fascinating Alberta Aviation Quiz for the conference. The prizes have already been handed out, but feel free to check out the questions and answers on the Regina Chapter's page.
Speaking of the conference, we just received news from the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation that our grant application was successful! This means our excellent speakers will receive a small honorarium. Thank you to the AHRF for supporting our event and Alberta aviation history generally.
New Corporate Members
Welcome to our two newest corporate members, Canada's National History Society (which produces Canada's History magazine - formerly The Beaver) and the Northern Air Transport Association!
The CAHS Wants You!
For the past year we have been noting the great ideas you have proposed. Now we are asking you to consider donating some of your valuable time, contacts, or knowledge to pursue these projects. If any of the following areas sound interesting, or you think you can give us some leads, please email the person listed in the brackets.
- Products: will look into CAHS-brand products, prices, put together a sales plan, and brainstorm items CAHS could sell or give away. (Don MacNeil at cahs.membership.secretary@gmail.com or Gary Williams at g.m.williams@sasktel.net)
- Promotions: will brainstorm ways CAHS National and chapters can promote themselves; create a list of events CAHS can participate in; etc. (Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail at info@daniellemc.com)
- Liaison: will identify other aviation groups (like airline enthusiasts), historical and genealogical societies for possible partnerships, as well as look into other possible CAHS membership benefits. (Richard Goette at richardgoette@hotmail.com)
- Corporate: will solicit memberships, donations and in-kind support from companies. Looking for provincial/regional representatives for: B.C., Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec (outside Montreal), Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland.(Rachel Lea Heide at rl_heide@yahoo.ca)
- Awards: will gather information on existing awards and write short descriptions/criteria for website, as well as the names and years of past winners. Will coordinate with website and corporate committees. (Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail at info@daniellemc.com. We are looking for someone to chair this committee, so please indicate if you are interested!)
- Website Content will work on producing new content for www.cahs.ca and for posting about the CAHS in other parts of cyberspace (for example, Wikipedia). (Rachel Lea Heide at rl_heide@yahoo.ca).
- 50th Anniversary History will brainstorm ways to celebrate the CAHS's 50th anniversary in 2013 and possibly do some of the following: gather stories and photos from long-time CAHS members; create an online archive of personal papers or photos, etc. (Rachel Lea Heide at rl_heide@yahoo.ca)
Spring 2011 Journal Update
Our graphics manager had a complete computer meltdown in July/August, which unfortunately has led to more delays. He assures me the proofs are off to the printers and will soon be headed to the mailing house. Online members will receive the issue in their inboxes as PDF files as soon as the final proofs are set to go. As the saying goes, technology is great...when it works!
Summer 2011 is in the layout stage and will (fingers crossed) not be too far behind...
Chapter News
New Brunswick in the News!
The Turnbull-NB Chapter was recently involved in the Saint John Airport's open house, and had one of the most popular displays. Congrats to Jim Sulis and his group! For the Telegraph-Journal write-up, please click here.
Chapter Meetings Resume After Summer Break
Many of our Chapters are gearing up for their 2011-2012 programmes. Here are some of the events planned for September across the country:
September 8: John Moyles will speak about his aviation career and adventures in Regina at 7:30 p.m. (including being aboard one leg of a transcontinental flight in the 1930s). For more details, click here. 
September 15: Marc-Andre Valiquette, author of four books on Avro Canada and the CF-105 Arrow, will speak in Montreal at 11 a.m. For meeting information, please click here.
September 15: building on his popular conference talk, John Chalmers will speak on "Alberta Aviation: 100 Years and Counting" in Calgary at 7 p.m. Want to attend? Click here for info.
For other chapter meetings, please go to www.cahs.ca and contact their representatives directly.
Member News
Larry Gray was recently interviewed by the Journal-Pioneer, a newspaper in Summerside, P.E.I. about his research into CFB Summerside. To read the story, click here. If you have stories, photos, or memorabilia related to this topic, please email Larry at landgg@sympatico.ca.
Gordon Piro in Yellowknife has an update on the impressive displays he created for the Midnight Sun Float Plane Fly-In this summer: "I donated the displays to the Fox Moth Society here and we installed them at the Yellowknife Airport. They will be there for three months, and then we hope to move them to the Fox Moth Gallery at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre."
(Photo credit: G. Piro)
Chris Weicht: "I have committed to a presentation at the site of RCAF Jericho Beach, B.C. (established in 1920) to give a Powerpoint slide talk on its long standing aviation history. This will take place on October 18, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Jericho Sailing Centre, which is housed in one of the few existing former RCAF buildings."
Readers Write Back
After reading about Hawk One's visit to Edmonton, Paul Hayesof Markham, ON, wrote in with the following:
"I flew the Sabre for eight years, initially for a short period in Canada, and then in Germany with 422 Squadron of the RCAF and finally as a Tactical Advisor to 73 Wing of the German Air Force." I am always amazed at the combined experience of our members!
Jim Bell sent a link to a fascinating news story, "Missing plane found 71 years after it disappeared," about an RCAF A-17 Nomad which crashed during a search and rescue mission in 1940.
Derm Barrett wanted to share a story about the world's largest miniature airport now open to the public in Germany. Apparently it features 40 aircraft that take off and land! Click here to read the full text.
 Jay Hunt was on hand when Vintage Wings' Fairey Swordfish took flight for the first time and has uploaded the video to YouTube. Click here to watch!
Roger Beebe of Niverville, Manitoba forwarded news that work has begun again on the fourth volume of the Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 1945-1968. He had submitted an inquiry to National Defence about the state of the volume, and received the above reply from Minister Peter MacKay’s office.
Researcher-to-Researcher
George Skinner from Ottawa writes: “At the Aviation Museum in Ottawa we now have over 700 digitized log books on file and also have created an SQL database so someone looking for a pilot who flew Lysanders, for example, can find their log books or information pertaining to a particular aircraft." [My grandfather, Andre (Andy) Chenail's logbooks are included in the collection and they are always looking to add more... It is a wonderful, volunteer-driven effort and a terrific resource for researchers!]
Harold Wright: "I am seeking information on any pilots from Saint John, NB from 1910 to the 1970s. Particulary interested in the following pilots: Royden and Samuel Foley, Harry Hayter, Al Cheesman, Duke Schiller (not from Saint John), Duncan Hewitt, Harry Hamilton, Pat Sclanders, and Jimmy Wade or any aircraft or pilots associated with the Saint John Flying Club, the Flying Sportsman Aero Club, or the Fundy Flying Club.
I am also researching the airports at Milidgeville, Saint John; Pennfield and Blissville (civilian use only) and Clove Valley (current Saint John airport). If you have any information, please contact me at saintjohnheritage@yahoo.ca."
Leo Ryan sent in the following request for information on “two aviation mysteries”:
- On 8 May 1927, two French pilots took off from Le Bourget Airport in France. Their names were Charles Nungesser and Francis Coli. Some say they crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, while others say they crashed in Maine, USA. But I have heard another story: that they crashed into the forest in Nova Soctia. The pilots and plane, “the white bird,” burnt. Only the engine survived and a farmer found it and used it.
- A passenger jet came in for a landing at Toronto Airport on a rainy night back in the early 1970s, and was only found in bits and pieces 20 years later when a housing estate was being built. The jet was 20 miles off course.
If you know anything about these items, please contact Mr. Ryan directly at: 5 Foxwood Pl. Somerville Vic 3912 Australia.
Announcements and Events
The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center are around the corner, and many who were stranded in Gander, Nfld during those dark days are returning to mark the occasion and thank those who took them in. This is a very recent piece of our aviation history, but one that will no doubt make it into future history books. For the full-text article on the marking of this anniversary, please click here.
Congratulations to Roberta Taylor for being selected as the 2011 recipient of the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award! For more details, please visit our website.
Larry Milberry just announced his Fall 2011 CANAV Booklist is now available on his website. Time to start making your holiday wishlist!
TG Byrne of the Gyrox Goes Global Team sent in the following announcement:
"Norman Surplus, a UK aviation adventurer, has resumed his attempt to be the first person to fly a gyrocopter around the world and is heading to Canada soon.
The first half of his journey has seen Surplus fly almost 18,000 km across mountains, desert, forest fires, sandstorms and open sea. After the Russian Far East, he will attempt a flight over the Bering Strait to Alaska and then follow the Alaska Highway down through the Yukon enroute to the USA. His route in Canada is not yet fixed as it is subject to weather conditions and flight permissions. Surplus would be pleased to meet up with CAHS members along the way!
We announced Norman's adventure last year at the aviation department of the Imperial War Museum Duxford (IWN Duxford) Cambridge, England. IWN Duxford has one of original gyrocopters that took part in highly secret work developing radar during the Second World War. Gyrocopters were used to calibrate the 'new' RDF (range and radio direction finding) or radar system as they are the only aircraft able to hover at fixed heights and distances.
Surplus, a cancer survivor, is working with cancer charities during his flight to raise awareness and funds. To learn more, please go to www.gyroxgoesglobal.com.
What's in a Name?
The Canadian air force and navy have recently returned to their traditional names, which include the word “Royal” at the beginning. The Navy originally gained its “royal” prefix in 1911, and the Royal Canadian Air Force had it from its creation in 1924. When unification of the Canadian Forces happened in 1968 the prefix was dropped. The army never had a royal title and has been Land Forces Command since 1986 (although individual corps were designated "Royal"). Now it will revert to its old title of the Canadian Army.
Calgary-Area Remembrance Day Speakers Sought
The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta has taken on the task of coordinating event requests for public speakers in the days and weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. If you are in the Calgary area and would like to speak about your personal military experience - past or present, the importance of remembrance, and would be willing to respond to questions from the public, you are encouraged to participate.
Information and participant forms will be available online at www.themilitarymuseums.ca shortly. In the meantime, you can contact: 2Lt Pete Musters (403) 246-3392 or peter@themilitarymuseums.ca
Alberta Aviation Museum has partnered with Buffalo Airways to create a twenty-first century Lockheed Electra Procedural Flight Training Simulator. The simulator will be used by Buffalo as a procedural trainer for its Lockheed Electra Cargo and Water Suppression aircraft. The complex electronic systems will be mounted into a 1959 Simulator cockpit that will be restored in the AAM to its original appearance.
Mark Your Calendars!
September 9-11: Windsor International Air Show at the Windsor International Airport, in Ontario. It will feature the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, Skyhawks, CF-18 demo, Pete McLeod, Jacquie B and many other flying and static displays too numerous to mention. More information at www.winairshow.com.
September 16-18: Wings over Gatineau – Vintage Wings Air Show and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) member fly-in to be held in Gatineau, QC. Over 200 aircraft are expected to visit the Executive Gatineau-Ottawa Airport during the event. For more information, click here.
October 19-21: Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace (CCAA) Forum & AGM in Winnipeg, MB. The goals of the Forum are to provide industry professionals with the opportunity to examine current trends and best practices, and for CCAA to consult with industry on its projects and priorities. This year’s Forum will include a full week of industry, committee, and board meetings, as well as informative keynote presentations, interactive panel discussions and workshops. Full information available here. Space is limited, so please register using the attached form by September 17, 2011.
October 21: Snowbirds Year End Show at CFB Moose Jaw, SK.
November 10: Launch of Lancaster refurbishment project and fundraiser at 11 a.m. It will commence with the unveiling of the new nose art that is being added. As you may know, there are only 26 Lancasters left in the world of 7,377 built for the war. Two of them are in Alberta, one at Calgary and the other at Nanton. For more information, please contact Lucile Edwards, CEO Aero Space Museum of Calgary at (403) 250-3752 ext. 106 or ceo@asmac.ab.ca
Skyward
Active CAHS member and former NB Chapter Director Clarke Edgar Sheppard passed away Monday June 27, 2011 at Moncton City Hospital after a brief illness. His son, Norman, provided the following information about his dad:
"Clarke was involved with aviation for most of his life, dreaming about SE-5’s, Sopwith Camels and Brisfits from a very tender age. He joined the RCAF in 1942 in Toronto, hoping to be a fighter pilot in Europe, but was thwarted by an eye injury. He served in Canada as an airframe fitter and then as a draftsman at various bases including Moncton and Scoudouc NB, Debert and Dartmouth, NS, and others.
After the war he worked first as a land surveyor for Ontario Hydro, working on the Saint Lawrence Seaway project. He then became a Certified Engineering Technologist – Mechanical and worked in that capacity to retirement. He built a Corben ‘Baby Ace’ in his basement in 1959, and a Piel ‘Emeraude’ two years later. He finally obtained his private pilot licence in 1963 after years of refusals due to his vision. He flew until the late 1980’s and loved every minute he spent in the air. He worked with several Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadrons through more than three decades in Ontario and New Brunswick and served as a director with the CAHS Turnbull NB Chapter. Several of his scratchbuilt scale aircraft models are on display at Moncton International Airport. He was passionate about preserving aviation in Canada."
 Norman Muffitt passed away August 19 at the age of 69, after a short but brave fight with cancer. After learning to fly in the air cadets, Norm joined the RCMP at the age of 18, eventually transferring to the Air Division as a pilot. In addition to busy flying in the Arctic and western Canada, he flew dignitaries such as Princess Margaret, Pierre Trudeau and Joe Clark. He retired in 1986 and joined Transport Canada Aviation Enforcement, retiring as the head of Western Region in 2002.
Norm received the RCMP Long Service Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, and the Alberta Centennial Medal as well as the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence as a member of the RCMP Air Division from Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.
His memorial was held at the Alberta Aviation Museum on September 1. In lieu of flowers, friends may make memorial donations to the RCMP Veterans Association - Edmonton Division or the Alberta Aviation Museum. His full obituary can be read here.
Robert "Bob" Fowler died August 23rd at the age of 89. He served in the RCAF as Flt Lt/pilot with RAF squadron 226, flying forty eight operations over Europe with 226 Squadron, RAF, as a flight lieutenant. After the war, he did survey flying for Gulf Oil and Spartan Air Services before joining de Havilland Canada in 1952 as a test pilot, progressing to Chief Engineering Test Pilot.
In 1980 he was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. He was also a longtime CAHS member, fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, winner of the Trans Canada McKee Trophy and Officer of the Order of Canada. His full obituary can be read by clicking here. To see the articles he wrote for the CAHS Journal, go here.
Donald William "Bunny" McLarty passed away August 24 at the age of 89. On November 28, 1940, he volunteered as an Argentine national for the RCAF in Ottawa. During the war he flew Hurricanes over North Africa, and after completing 199 operations he was shot down over El Dava Airport. After a year in two Italian POW camps, Don and his POW camp roomate, Ray Sherk, escaped and found their way to the Allied lines. For more information on this part of his life and the RCAF Escaping Society, please click here.
After the war, Don returned to Canada and enjoyed a successful career in the Canadian Air Survey Industry, becoming President of the Canadian Association of Aerial Surveyors. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you send donations to Vintage Wings of Canada. To read Don's full obituary, please click here.
 Douglas "Duke" Warren died August 27 at the age of 89. Vintage Wings of Canada published a lovely tribute to him on their website. A friend of his, Dave Brown, wrote: "For those of you who may not have know him, he was a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War. He also had a twin brother who also flew Spits during the war, and was also known as Duke. (During the war they were referred to as Duke mk 1 and Duke mk 2)."
Dave Birrell, a CAHS member and head of library and archives at the Bomber Command Museum, wrote in with a story on the Warren twins featured on the BCM website. As he says, "they were born in Nanton, AB, site of the museum, and so have a special connection to it."
Thank you, {tag:email}, for reading this newsletter - I hope you have enjoyed it! Please feel free to email me with your news, events, and comments at info@daniellemc.com. I also hope you will forward this newsletter to anyone you think will enjoy it, and remind them they can sign up to receive the newsletter for free at www.cahs.ca.
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