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Retired Captain Billee McConachie sent in the amusing story below -
Editors' Note:
We noticed Billee's very recognizable family name and and inquired if there may be a connection to Grant McConachie.
"My Dad and Grant were cousins who remained close during their lives. As a young boy it was Grant’s amazing stories of his most eventful career from his early years of bush flying to his founding of Canadian Pacific Airlines that stimulated my interest in becoming a pilot, for which I remain eternally grateful.
No problem mentioning the family connection with Grant. Grant’s eldest son Bill (William) not to be confused with me, Billee, which is my Christian name, was a well known customer service agent with CPA/ CP air for many years. We lost Bill a couple of years back. He remains an icon with all his past CP colleagues.
Bill, like RW (mentioned in the story), had an amazing sense of humour. Bill and I would often run into each other in the YVR terminal and the greeting was always.... “How’s the other Bill”.
Fond memories for sure.
“Laughter is a wonderful antidote for all that is troublesome”
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Billee's 'Chewing Gum' flight adventure After 36+ years as an airline pilot (PWA, Canadian & AC) I, along with many of us, was witness to or part of a variety of events, some most entertaining and others not so much. We will leave the “others” for a future conversation. This event took place in the mid 80’s during my time with PWA, flying mostly domestic routes on the B-737. Our crew had assembled at the Ops Centre located on the south side of YVR and, with all being ready, we boarded the crew bus for a short ride to the main terminal. As we made our way through the terminal towards our departure gate our in-charge flight attendant noticed that I had something on the seat of my pants. After boarding the aircraft, on further examination, it was determined that I had sat in some chewing gum possibly on the crew bus, but the source was never actually established. Time was now of the essence as we all had our duties to perform in readying the aircraft for departure. This day’s trip was scheduled Vancouver – Calgary - Edmonton (YVR-YYC-YXD) and return. It was a beautiful morning on the West Coast with a favourable weather forecast for the entire route. What could be better than a scenic route over the Rocky Mountains on a beautiful day.
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Editor Terry Baker sends us this memory - During my early pre-teen years, a couple of my friends decided to collect car registration numbers and, armed with a notebook, pencil, sandwiches and a bottle of pop, we would cycle to the nearby main road, and start recording the numbers. Later, in my teens my family moved to the London area, I migrated to collecting London Transport bus serial numbers. As I had moved to near London Heathrow airport, I switched to collecting aircraft registration numbers at Heathrow (LHR) and, occasionally at Northolt airport. At my school, several of my friends and myself formed a club and, after school on several evenings, would cycle to Heathrow airport and start recording. My father was an official at that airport and could supply me with the registration of the aircraft due the next day. As a consequence, I become quite popular within our club. We would review these registrations and, if there was one we did not have recorded, we would cycle to the airport in the hopes of sighting the aircraft. I was fortunate in visiting Amsterdam International airport on a KLM promo visit with my father and spotted a gem of an aircraft with registration PH-OTO. This was an Auster aircraft used for inflight promotions for advertising and the media, and would never visit Heathrow (LHR). I wanted to take a photo, but my father said to wait until we returned from a visit to the commissary department with a KLM representative who had organized the trip. Sadly, for me, the plane was nowhere to be seen later, and my club friends would not believe that I had seen this aircraft. I think that was the end of my collection years. I have no idea what happened to the volumes of car, bus or aircraft registrations. Editors' Note: Photo from the Alfred Damien Collection No. 10454. Auster J/1 Autocrat (PH-OTO c/n 1957) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Lockheed 1049E Super Constellation (PH-LKR c/n 1049C-4502) named "Electron".
Photograph from KLM, taken 1954
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It certainly does not take long for YouTubers to create videos after a news release. Click the image below to view the latest posts. |
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From Don McMartin - In NetLetter # 1454 you had another story on a TCA Viscount. Thought you may be interested in this toy I found made in Japan in the 50's. It is a replica of TCA's first Viscount and is correct in all its decals and numbering. Japan ended its tin toy production in the 50's but the industry was picked up in countries like Taiwan making Japanese toys very collectable today. Some toys go for thousands of dollars. Don McMartin |
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On February 23, 2021, a United Airlines Boeing 777 had an engine fire. After reading about that episode, Allan Gray sent us this information - Around 1993 before the B777 was assembled a group of Air Canada pilots from YVR went to Boeing and I was able to join them. We went to the 777 simulator and took off. Just after rotation we had an engine fire. The AC pilot in the simulator wanted to do as he usually does, but he had to follow the instructions on the new flight management control unit and could only go to the next command after the first was completed. We landed safely. The General Electric GE90 engines used on later B777 models were to be the first with over 100,000 pounds of thrust. Those on Air Canada's B777's have up to 115,000 pounds of thrust. Allan Gray, CSSA YVR |
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Subscriber Donna Price sent in the photos below: They are pictures of folks from Air Canada's Finance Branch in Winnipeg in what I would say was the 1960's. One photo appears to be of the management team at the time, and their wives. One of the photos (top left) has the names printed on it. The names, in case you can't quite make them out, are Fred Barratt, Les Shackell (who was the Treasurer), Wayne Morrison, Wilf Jestadt, Neil Cameron, Gord Reid, one unknown, Stan Sawchuk, Wilf Agar and the last two I am not sure. There is also a photo (top right) of Les Shackell and Gord Reid making a presentation to perhaps a member of the staff. And one of Gord Reid with two others. I wish I could help with more names. These photos were given to me by B.J. Reid, the daughter of Gord Reid who had since passed away, as has Les Shackell. Editors' Note: Ms. Price advises: "I worked at AC, Winnipeg Finance throughout the 70's and 80's. I then moved to AC's Airports as GM of the Prairie Airports (Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay), then GM of Toronto Airport and then Vice President, Airports for Air Canada. I very much enjoyed my career at Air Canada. I am presently on the Board of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, as is B.J. Reid, which is how I received these photos." Do these photo's tweak anyone's memory? |
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International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8 is a time to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women from all walks of life. We invite you to remember the stories of strong women, be inspired by them and the places where they lived and worked. Imagine England, where Ada Lovelace - who was way ahead of her time - wrote the basics for modern day computer programming as early as 1843. Source: Lufthansa newsletter, March 08, 2021 |
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Winifred Joyce "Winnie" Drinkwater (April 11, 1913 – October 6, 1996) was a pioneering Scottish aviator and aeroplane engineer. She was the first woman in the world to hold a commercial pilot's license. Drinkwater was born on April 11, 1913 at Waterfoot, Scotland, the youngest of the three children of Emma Banner and Albert Drinkwater, an engineer. Drinkwater joined the Scottish Flying Club near Renfrew on June 2, 1930. She trained under Captain John Houston, an instructor at the club. When she qualified for her private pilot's licence later that year she became Scotland's youngest pilot. 0n May 8, 1932, aged 19, she gained her "B" (Commercial) license at Cinque Ports Flying Club at Lympne in Kent, making her the youngest professional pilot in the United Kingdom and the world's first female commercial pilot. Source: |
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On February 24, 2021, a routine 90-minute flight in Afghanistan made history. The country's only private airline, Kam Air, is celebrating its first flight with an all-female crew, which it says is the first in the South Asian country's history. Kam Air's first female Afghan pilot, 22-year-old Mohadese Mirzaee, joined Captain Veronica Borysova in piloting the Boeing 737 from the capital city of Kabul to Herat in western Afghanistan on Wednesday. And while they were at work in the cockpit, four female cabin crew serviced passengers for the routine 350-nautical mile flight while it journeyed across the country. Source: |
 Name this airline - answer in 'Terry's Trivia' below. |
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Westjet's 'Magic Plane' getting de-iced before heading back to Calgary International Airport. Photographed by Garret Rodgers. Source: issues.skiesmag.com |
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Budget fare customers flying JetBlue won’t have to worry about finding overhead bin space because they won’t be allowed to use it. Starting February 25, 2021, on flights booked from July 20 onward, passengers with 'Basic Blue' tickets will be barred from using the overheads and anything they carry on will have to fit under the seat in front of them. There’s also no guarantee those bags will get in the cabin, either. “Mosaic members, travelers combining a 'Blue Basic' fare with an 'Even More Space' seat, active military and unaccompanied minors may still bring a carry-on bag, but only 'Even More Space' customers are guaranteed to get their bag onboard.” The restrictions on low-fare customers do pay dividends for those who buy Jet Blue’s more expensive seats. There will be enough room in the bins to guarantee those in the top three fare classes a spot for their bag. If the calculation is off, those who have to check their bags will get a $25 voucher for a future flight. Source: www.avweb.com/aviation-news |
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