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Air Canada's first female pilot recalls sector's sexist hurdles on route to success Judy Cameron still remembers getting the telegram that marked her first offer to fly planes for a major commercial carrier. Pacific Western Airlines had come calling, writing her a "congratulations" and inviting her to sit down with the interview board. "When I walked into the room, everyone's face was very distraught," Cameron recalled. "It turned out that they had wanted to hire me, but it had been vetoed by someone higher up when they realized I was female." Forty-five years later, Cameron — who was Air Canada's first female pilot — has 23,000 hours of flying, a scholarship and an Order of Canada membership to her name. Source: www.cbc.ca/news |
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Freezing of Brand New Planes: Extreme tests of new aircraft before they are delivered. Posted by the 'North' YouTube channel, our video explains the rigorous test procedures required before the delivery of a new aircraft. |
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Ken found an interesting YouTube channel called 'Stig Aviation' hosted by an Aircraft Maintenance Technician working for American Airlines at Los Angeles. Click the image below to view the list of posted videos. |
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Note: 'The Super Orange 747 Souvenir' mentioned was not included. |
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CP Air Operations Centre Maintenance Base circa 1974 |
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Our request from Frank Healy in NetLetter #1526 brought back this amusing memory for Julie Gillate Spencer, retired flight attendant. As a flight attendant in the late fifties/early sixties with Canadian Pacific (CPA) I'm enjoying reading the memories of your readers. One that caught my eye was the request for info on 'Sgt. Norman Welles'. Could this be another fun initiation trick of having new 'ticket agents' paging fictitious passengers in the airport? In 1959/60 CPA had regular 'milk run' flights from Edmonton, Alberta to various small northern locations, one of which was Norman Wells Airport, Northwest Territories. Another such trick was to have the newbie agent at YVR paging Herman Nelson, which played on the name of the plug-in heater used by CPA to heat the aircraft while on the ground at northern airports. Keep up the great work of bringing us back in time! Editors' Note: We are quite certain that Mr. Healy's request is genuine. However, an airport with the same name is quite a coincidence. Also, practical jokes on 'newbies' using public address systems have been a long standing tradition! |
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Gail Bennet shares the following regarding the Georgetown Girls' Pipe Band - (NetLetter #1526 - Remember When) For a second time, I saw a photo of my former band participating in an inaugural flight, this time Toronto to Vancouver. This was new band history for me. I knew about the first overseas flight but not this story. Thanks for sharing. P.S. My husband was an AC cargo agent at YYZ for 30+ years. |
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Submitted by Ron Rhodes - Waterloo, Ontario - It’s been a long time since I was in touch with you guys. I enjoy every issue of The NetLetter…..especially part of today’s! (NetLetter #1526 - Remember When) Thanks so much for the Clint Ward story and first Connie non-stop YYZ-YVR! In 1960 (or was it 61?), I flew with my grandmother from Prestwick to Montreal via Halifax on a Super Connie of TCA. I was only 11, but still remember the long, loud, not vibration free flight! We changed aircraft in Montreal and was lucky enough to fly to YYZ via a North Star!! As a commercial aviation enthusiast since I was very young, those memories, no matter how vague they are now, still make me so happy. Does anyone know when TCA started non-stop from Prestwick to Halifax?? (As far as I can see, it was non-stop. I don’t recall any stop over the Atlantic) I still have my original flight ticket (scan below). When the Connie was moved to YYZ many years ago, I volunteered on several weekends in the hangar to help clean up inside: I took the inside window panes out and cleaned the windows. Such fun. When that aircraft was sold to the aviation museum in Seattle, Bob Bogash (who organized the purchase,) somehow found out about me. One day I got a phone call from him saying the plane was being shipped to Rome, New York for a TCA paint job. He invited me to be there upon completion before shipping out to Seattle. What a fun weekend my wife and I had! We met with several former crew members who flew it for Nordair and TCA. Former flight attendants were there too. I know, that aircraft should be in Canada and not USA. But at least it is preserved! Thanks again to you all for your great, interesting work. |
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Submitted by Kim Sharpe - Qualicum Beach, British Columbia Was very pleased to see you publish an older photo of Al Bingham, taken in a group photo including President of CP Air, Don Carty. (NetLetter #1526 - CP Air, Canadi>n People Gallery) A group of us, who regularly golfed with Al, at Eaglecrest Golf Club in Qualicum Beach, joined Al to celebrate his 99th birthday. Many memories were shared including Al’s first hole in one, at age 91 in 2016. Al is seated on the right. Thank you, for keeping us in touch with our past careers with all the airlines we worked for. |
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Unveiling the vital role seaplanes had in connecting the coast A Look Back into the History of the Campbell River Area |
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Allan Gray, AC CSSA YVR, sent in this photo that appeared in the Campbell River Mirror Have you had the opportunity to visit the Spit and watch the seaplanes land and take-off? It may interest you to know that during the 1960's it was once regarded as the busiest seaplane base in Canada, and some would even say the world. The first seaplane to visit Campbell River was in 1920, bringing tourists to the Willows Hotel. The demand steadily grew and soon BC Airlines was established to service this need. The SeaBee, an amphibious plane, made up most of BC Airlines fleet. The planes were stored in a field near the Willows Hotel and when needed, would be taxied across the street to the water for takeoff. See www.campbellrivermirror to read the full article |
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On right is pilot Bob Langdon, standing in front of his BC Airlines SeaBee in 1949. At this time BC Airlines picked up passengers on the beach in front of the Willows Hotel. |
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Submitted by Garth Caron - Can anyone confirm which aircraft this Stainless Steel Thermos by Stanley was used on? I have Air Canada 'Wings Across Time' book, with a similar photo. I'm thinking it may have been used on the DC-3. Logo is stamped on it. Unfortunately there is a dent in the logo area, probably from a drop. Any suggestions? Click the image for a larger view. |
