Vimy Flight - Birth of a Nation
VIMY FLIGHT is a team of dedicated volunteer pilots and ground support that had the honour of performing a commemorative bi-plane fly-past over the Vimy Ridge Memorial in Vimy, France this April 9, 2017.
They are now poised to bring Vimy home for all Canadians with their Birth of A Nation Tour. From Vimy, France to the birthplace of Canadian confederation, the tour will span the country from coast to coast, engaging with communities to commemorate our Canadian heroes of the past 100 years and celebrate our 150th year of nationhood.
To see the tentative schedule of the cross-country tour, please visit www.vimyflight.ca/tour-schedule.html For Canada Day (July 1, 2017) they are scheduled to be "in the air" between 1:40 - 2:40 and be on display in the afternoon at 3:00 PM at the Canadian Air & Space Museum (Ottawa).
Expo '67 - A wonderful memory
Although I enjoy researching and writing about history, I am not usually a nostalgic person. I am much more interested in the present and future but I have found that researching the past and relating events to today’s world can often make history new again.
Due to Canada reaching its 150th birthday this year, I have found myself thinking about my teenage years growing up in Montreal leading up to Canada’s centennial celebration and Expo ’67.
I remember receiving my “passport” to Expo ’67 for my fourteenth birthday just a few days after the opening of the World’s Fair and being very excited riding the new “Metro” train for my first visit the next day.
My father was fascinated by other cultures but never had the opportunity to travel. He enthusiastically led my sister and myself from pavilion to pavilion sharing his knowledge (from years of reading) for each country represented.
The theme of Expo ’67, “Man and his World”, was a prophecy for Canada. I feel extremely fortunate to live in a multicultural country and to have had the opportunity to visit several original countries of friends who now call Canada “Home”.
Click the image below for an Expo ’67 promotional video posted on YouTube.
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Len Gauthier sent us this photo -
Len was the Duty Manager at Rouyn-Noranda during the 1980's, working with Denis Perrier, Joseph Wojtczak and Marion Terlecki as Station Agents. Later they relocated to the cargo departments in Mirabel and Dorval. Air Canada operated DC-9 service in CYUY until 1987 when it was taken over by Air Alliance Dash 8’s. Len was Duty Manager in CYUY until 1983. |
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Frank Pedder has sent us these photos -
From the left: Julian Ireland, Jim Biggs, Leon Kolibaiev and Henry Hall. |
 In this photo we have: Jim Devlin, Eric Pousseur, Jim Biggs, Myles Adams, Denis Leduc and John Gauthier. |
Engine Failure
(Prompted by Lois North's story above)
An airliner is flying accross country, when the pilot comes on the PA to announce, "we have some bad news. One of the engines just failed and as a result, we will be delayed by 30 minutes."
A bit later, the pilot returns, "we have some more bad news. Another engine just failed, and we will be delayed an additional hour."
Another bit later, "Sorry folks, more bad news. A third engine just failed, and so, since we will be running only on the one remaining engine, the flight will be delayed by another two hours."
At this point, a disgruntled passenger turns to his neighbor and says, "I sure hope that last engine keeps working or else we'll be up here all night!"
This Flt Ops "Cap'n Bly" cartoon by "Jaques" has the caption "Hey, this 550 manual has some good Toronto phone numbers.."
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Leslie-Anne advised that Pionairs and retirees can expect this APP by later this month. |
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Memories by Lois North which were passed along, verbally, during the Pionairs AGM, April 30th, 2017 - Vancouver to Terry Baker of the NetLetter.
There were other times all fun. I remember we were taking an airplane from Halifax to St. John's and we had come in on a regular flight. There were just two guys and myself. Just before we left the airport, crew scheduling called and told us they needed the aircraft. Whether they had a cancellation or what we didn't know, anyway, we just wheeled around back to the airplane again and I ended up sitting up front with the flight crew, sitting in the jump seat. There was nobody in the back. We were over Cape Breton and all of a sudden the old North Star gave a real good “whoomp” and we lost an engine. I kind of looked up and I can't remember who the pilots were now, but the F.O. looked over and said "Oh it's Ok, we just lost one, but we have three others out of the four”. Later I told one of my grandchildren and they said "Was there any problem when it fell on the ground?" I said "No it just means an engine did not work, it did not fall off". (see Engline Failure in "Smileys" below) Here's another memory... My husband (he was a Captain) used to fly the lobster run between Stephenville and Boston and if they had extra lobsters in Stephenville, he would buy them, maybe 20 or 30 pounds and he did this all one summer. Many times he would come home with lots of lobsters so we bought a special garbage can to use just for cooking lobsters, but it took awhile to get the water boiling. It was common practice on his way back to Montreal he would call crew scheduling to say he was in-bound and ask them if they would they please call Lois and tell her to put the garbage can on, " I'll be home for supper". Now how many (that was in 1953) years later - well maybe 40 years later - we were at the TCA alumni at the initial opening and we had been to the Pionairs original meeting. We stayed on for the TCA one and I am sitting in the bar and there is a crew scheduler who I used to know in Montreal who logged most of the flights out for us and he said "You know Lois, I always liked your husband The crew scheduler said "I considered that most disrespectful". Of course that was also the "code" for me (Lois) to get on the phone and call up our neighbours, who were also Air Canada people, to come over for lobsters - we had lots of fun. |
One of the joys of flying in the Maritimes - (this was back in 1958). I was the only Stewardess on the North Star from Sydney to Montreal and a man got on in Halifax, an elderly man, he was probably younger than I am now but he got off, and when he got back on again, (this is before we had gates) he handed me a dollar bill and said "I want to tip you". I said "that's very kind of you but we are not permitted to take tips" and he seemed a bit crestfallen. Anyway, we went to St. John's and he got off again and when he got back on he had his hand behind his back as I greeted him and he said "If you can't take money, can you take these?" and he handed me a bouquet of wild flowers that he had picked along the way back to the aircraft. I thought it was a very insignificant thing but it stayed with me for years.