Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |\^/| _| TCA |_ _|\| AIR |/|_ N E T L E T T E R > CANADA < B E T W E E N O U R S E L V E S >_./|\._< for P I O N A I R S | Your crew is: Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson Chief Navigator - Terry Baker tm number 119 date January 24th 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . Welcome to Bob Brown, retired B747 captain now on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and living near VanKleek Hill, Ontario. Helene Seiz can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Air Canada's second A319 Airbus fin # 253 arrived in Winnpeg on January 14th after a record block time of 9 hours and 28 minutes, a flying time of 9 hours and 5 minutes. Piloted by Captain Harrison and Lambert. The flight carried 3 passengers. . Radar failure at Toronto International caused up to 30 minutes flight disruptions on the 20th. . Found on the Internet Canadian charter carrier Air Club International has scrapped its UK flying programme citing fierce competition. This leaves, Canada 3000, Air Transat and Royal Air as the main charter carriers between Canada and the UK. A number of tour operators is now faced with the problem of having to get seats on replacement carriers. VIASA on the verge on bankruptcy suspends all flights. Royal Aviation of Montreal has agreed to lease (2) Airbus A310-300's from GE Capital Aviation Services. These planes will be configured to 256 seats, beginning service in May, on flights between Toronto and 9 European destinations, and will replace two Lockheed L1011's. Royal Aviation fleet is, presently, 9 aircraft and specializes in charter work. AMERICAN AIRLINES, PILOTS ENTER "COOLING OFF" PERIOD The Allied Pilots Association and American Airlines entered a 30-day "cooling off" period. APA spokesman Capt. Rich Rubin said that the union "is committed to strike the airline" if an agreement on pay is not reached. UAL PILOTS, MECHANICS REJECT RAISES Meanwhile, the ALPA unit at United Airlines overwhelmingly rejected a tentative pay increase in a vote announced Thursday afternoon. Pilots are unhappy that UAL, which is earning record profits, did not offer more than a 10% raise over four years. Air France plan to privatize during 1998. Adhesive tape mistakenly left covering the altitude and air speed sensors caused crash of B757 last October off the coast of Peru. Gulf Air plan to sell (6) B767 and stop flying to New York, Geneva and South Africa in a bid to save the carrier from bankrupcy. B-24 CREW'S FINAL FLIGHT HOME On August 31, 1944, a B-24J Liberator bomber failed to return to a Chinese base from its night mission against Japanese shipping. Last October, two Chinese farmers searching for medicinal herbs came across the wreckage of an airplane at the bottom of a cliff. Last week, the crew's remains were back on U.S. soil for the first time in more than 50 years, landing in Hawaii aboard a USAF C-141. Welcome home, gentlemen. ANOTHER AIRBUS AFIRE: A Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 caught fire on the ground at Singapore's Changi Airport shortly after arriving on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur. If recent rumors of an Airbus 340 catching fire and being destroyed on the ground in Paris are true, this month's incident is the third of its type to befall Airbus products. JUST SAY THE MAGIC B-WORD: An irate standby passenger bumped from a Continental Airlines' flight at Fort Lauderdale wound up arrested Monday after allegedly telling an employee there might be a bomb in his loaded luggage. His bag had not been placed on the jet after all. ~-=o0o=-~ Alan Rust sends us this gem! Pittsburgh, PA. An employee for USAir, who happened to have the last name "Gay", got on a plane recently using one of his company's Free Flight programs. However, when Mr. Gay tried to take his seat, he found it occupied by a paying passenger. So, not to make a fuss, he simply chose another seat. Unknown to Mr. Gay, another USAir flight experienced mechanical problems at the airport. The passengers of this other flight were being rerouted to various airplanes. A few were put on Mr. Gay's flight, and anyone holding a "free" ticket was bumped. Airline officials, armed with a list of these freebee ticket holders, boarded the plane to remove the free ticket holders. Of course, our Mr. Gay was not sitting in his assigned seat, as you may remember. When the ticket agent approached the seat where Mr. Gay was supposed to be sitting, she asked a startled customer,"Are you Gay?" The man shyly nodded that he was, at which point she demanded, "Then you have to get off the plane." Our Mr. Gay, overhearing what the ticket agent had said, tried to clear up the situation. "You've got the wrong man," he said. "I'm Gay!" This caused an angry third passenger to yell, "Hell, I'm gay too! They can kick us all off!" Confusion reigned as more and more passengers began yelling that USAir had no right to remove gays from their flights. As far as we know, they are still on the tarmac fighting it out. Alan Rust is the Sysop, ACRA Airline BBS BBS (604) 541-1878 WWW - http://www.mortimer.com/acra ~-=o0o=-~ Air Shows during 1997 Toronto Aviation & Aircraft Show May 02-04. European Business Air Show, Stanstead, UK May 13-15. London Ontario International Air Show Jun 7-8. Paris Air Show, Paris, France Jun 15-22. Oshkosh EAA Air show Jun 30-Jul 06. Airshow Canada, Abbotsford, BC Aug 6-10. ~-=o0o=-~ . Interline stuff Deep Caribbean Cruise from San Juan - 7 days on new Celebrity cruise line 'Cybership Galaxy'. visits Catalina, Barbados, Martinque, Antigua, St. Thomas and San Juan. Departs Oct 18 & 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Dec 6 & 13th. Cost US$1199 pp dbl INCLUDES air from Montreal, Toronto or Seattle, all transfers, accommodations and meals. Holland America 10 day Caribbean Cruises Statendam departs Feb 26, Mar 8 & 18 from Ft. Lauderdale calling at Curacau, Venezuela, Grenada, Dominica, St. John, St. Thomas, Nassau back to Ft. Lauderdale. Cost pp dbl from US$599 inside and from US$699 outside. Call Bonita at 1-800-690-3223 for these cruises. ~-=o0o=-~ . Smiles - Vesta tells us that - Pilots are just plane people~ To which Alan Rust replies - Mechanics are just plane nuts! SHORT FINAL... More 'squawks' for you - Problem: "Something loose in cockpit." Solution: "Something tightened in cockpit." Problem: "Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear." Solution: "Evidence removed." Problem: "Number three engine missing." Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search." Problem: "DME volume unbelievably loud." Solution: "Volume set to more believable level." ~-=o0o=-~ . That's it for this time, please we need your input, send comments and email addresses of any others who may be interested to Vesta with a copy to Terry. -!- Landing on an Island in the Pacific. _____(~)_____ ! ! ! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. <<<>>> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ................................................... . GREETINGS FROM . . Vancouver Island . . BEAUTIFUL B.C. CANADA . ...................................................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |\^/| _| TCA |_ _|\| AIR |/|_ N E T L E T T E R > CANADA < B E T W E E N O U R S E L V E S >_./|\._< for P I O N A I R S | Your crew is: Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson Chief Navigator - Terry Baker tm number 118 date January 22nd 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . Welcome to Bob Dechaux from Vancouver at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Jim Billwiller also Vancouver at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Sam Weir, if creditors are looking for Sam, he moved from Calgary to North Vancouver, try This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ~-=o0o=-~ . On a recent Air Canada flight 798 from Los Angeles, Vanessa, a 14 year old unaccompanied realized, just as she was boarding, that she had left her wallet and CD player in the lounge, and went back to retrieve them and became somewhat distraught at not finding them. The purser, Jean Bissette, on hearing of her plight, made an announcement over the pa system, as, sometime, passengers do find left articles and bring them on board. However, nothing came of that request. At the end of the flight, young Vanessa was surprised to be handed an envelope containing 160 dollars the result of a collection from amongst the crew and passengers. . Murray Phipps, co-ordinator of the Comox Valley group on Vancouver Island reminds us that their monthly lunch meeting held on the last Thursday of each month is at the Kingfisher, Courtenay on January 30th. Call (250)334-0807 for details. . Found on the Internet. Alitalia flight attendants plan to strike Friday Jan 24th. Tyrolean Airways of Innsbruck, Austria ordered (4) Dash8-400. Continetal Airlines will operate Newark to Moscow effective Aug 30. Is selling off cheap tickets on the Internet unfair to flyers without a computer? A Florida lawyer is asking the Department of Transport to act. Air Canada sold its remaining Class B shares in Continental Airlines for US$5.6 million for a 550% return of the 1993 investment. Lufthansa will be completely privatized by years end. Canadi>n will be using its own aircraft Toronto (YYZ) to Buenos Aires, Argentina via Sao Paulo, Brazil effective Apr 5. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its scheduled flights over the North Atlantic, this spring Swissair will offer aviation buffs a rare experiemce, a trans-Atlantic journey between Switzerland and New York on a vintage 40 seater DC4. The aircraft will trace the exact route taken by Swissair in 1947. 9 day Westbound from Zurich & Geneva on May 2 & Jun 5, the Eastbound May 10 and Jun 12 all via Shannon and Gander for sightseeing. Return will be via either B747 or MB11 following additional sightseeing in the Alps or new York. All inclusive cost range from US$7540 - US$9958 pp. 1-800-688-7947 for more details. ~-=o0o=-~ . Interline stuff. The employee ticket office at Dorval Airport is now relocated to room 387 on the 3rd floor of the passenger terminal. Hours of operation remain at 1100 - 1300 and 1900-2100. Cruise the Antilles or Grenadines on the Star Clipper - 7 nights from Barbados at US$695 pp dbl outside accommodations. Special interline rate on Carnival cruise Fascination - 7 days from San Juan. Itinerary St. Thomas, Guadeloupe, Grenada, La Guaira/Caracas & Aruba. or the Inspiration itinerary St.Thomas, St.Maarten, Dominica, Barbados and Martinique. Inside at US$399 pp dble or outside US$449 pp dbl. 3rd & 4th guests at US$49 pp. Europe on the Holland America's Rotterdam a brand new vessel. Mediterranean cruise. Itinerary: Venice, Italy . Katakolon, Greece . Athens/Piraeus, Greece . Kusadasi, Turkey . Naples, Italy . Rome, Italy . Monte Carlo, Monaco . Barcelona, Spain. Includes scenic cruise in the Strait of Messina, evening passing of the Aeulian Islands and Stromboli Volcano. 12 days from October 18th. Cost pp dbl from US$1827.50 inside, US$2277.50 outside. Call Bonita at 1-800-690-3223 for more details of these cruises. ~-=o0o=-~ . Smilies from Terry You know you have had a bad day when - Your flight to Vancouver takes off and the cabin crew starts the life jacket demonstration in German. and Vesta with her notices for travellers - In a Soviet weekly: There will be a Moscow exhibition by 15,000 Soviet Republic painters and sculptors. These were executed over the past two years. A sign in Germany's Black Forest: It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose. In a Zurich hotel: Because of the impropriety of entertaining guests of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it is suggested that the lobby be used for that purpose. A Hong Kong dentist's ad: Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists. ~-=o0o=-~ . That's it for this time, please we need your input, send comments and email addresses of any others who may be interested to Vesta with a copy to Terry. -!- Landing on an Island in the Pacific. _____(~)_____ ! ! ! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. <<<>>> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ................................................... . GREETINGS FROM . . Vancouver Island . . BEAUTIFUL B.C. CANADA . ...................................................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |\^/| _| TCA |_ _|\| AIR |/|_ N E T L E T T E R > CANADA < B E T W E E N O U R S E L V E S >_./|\._< for P I O N A I R S | Your crew is: Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson Chief Navigator - Terry Baker tm number 117 date January 19th 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . Welcome to Al Foster in Dartmouth NS who retired Jun 91 after 34 years in Customer Sales & Service, now at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Bernice Horsman - Director Okanagan District sends the following - The second Annual Pionairs Golf Tournament will be held on June 17/18th at the Penticton Golf & Country Club. There will be a Male & Female low gross & nett trophy. Cost is CA$60 incl's North Star box lunch social on 17th, prizes, golf and banquet on the 18th. CA$22 for box lunch and banquet for non golfers. Limited carts available at CA$26 per cart. Cost of practice round on the 17th at CA$25. A block of accommodations reserved at the Sanman Inn until Apr30 at CA$51 per room per night + tax. The Inn is 300 metres from the golf course. Contact Inn direct at 1-800-726-3626. Cheques made out to Canada Pionairs in trust mail to Don Graham, #109 - 801 Comox Street, Penticton, B.C. V2A 8G8. ~-=o0o=-~ . After reading the item about he AC Ham net in Netletter nr 114, Bob Robbins sends this - Thanks for another great issue. I enjoyed your message passed on from Norm Stoddard about the Tuesday morning ham radio group. This reminded me of a message from a very dear friend, George Heron that was on my answering machine a few days ago, and reminded me to call him back this evening. George, Charlie Mackie and Ralph Thomas were long-service employees who joined the company in its early-TCA days (George in 1938 and Ralph in 1940). Before that, in the early thirties they got their ham licenses and became very active on the air. In 1977 George and Charlie were living in Sidney BC, and Ralph Thomas had recently moved to Ottawa. They decided to keep in regular touch with each other and started to schedule a once-weekly get-together on an agreed-on frequency. This group rapidly expanded as other Air Canada employees and retirees joined in the fun. (George tells me there are now 300 members of the Air Canada Ham Net.) Early in the game it became necessary to have someone act as traffic coordinator. Individuals wanting to participate in a day's session first checked in; then the coordinator would call on individuals in turn to transmit while the others listened. Of course often two or more individuals would want to interact more than would be appropriate in the large-group "gathering", so would quickly arrange to meet on another frequency after the weekly session ended. I gave up my ham radio activities after joining TCA in '40, but often was at Ralph Thomas' "radio shack" on the Tuesdays. Ralph continued to be the eastern coordinator until his death in '92. George Heron, now 86 lives in a senior's residence in Abbotsford, and is unable to operate a powerful ham station in the building (--TV interference). Despite living in a wheel chair he's gradually building a leading-edge HF ham station in his (Air Canada Captain) son's home seven miles away. He'll be able to operate it from the seniors' residence, and soon will be able to rejoin the Air Canada net's scheduled contacts. In the meantime I'm sure that he'd enjoy hearing from his friends via Ma Bell's system - 604-859-1909. Cheers! Bob Robbins, Nepean, Ont. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The above reminds Vesta of her early days and send this - When I started in Telecomms at Transat Dorval, George Brinks was in charge of the TransAt teletype (ULX) and I believe Ralph Thomas was in charge of the Radio Operators, that was in 1953. Then later Domestic and Transat moved over to the Intl terminal. Bob Robbins responds to Vesta - I was the International Terminal Station Operations Manager at Dorval from 1948 to 1952 or 53. George Briggs was my Operator-in-charge of the radio and teletype operations on the Station. Ralph Thomas was I think responsible on a Systemwide basis in Telecommunications Headquarters. I didn't get to know our teletype and radio folks at the Station as (in retrospect) I think I should have. We had lots of problems on the ramp and in air freight, and I became often too immersed in them. I'm trying to remember the names of those communications people - can you (anyone) help me out? Bob ~-=o0o=-~ . Found on the Internet COMAIR CRASH PROBE FOCUSES ON UNEXPLAINED "EVENT" NTSB investigators looking into Thursday's crash of Comair Flight 3272 say the CVR revealed "an event" about a minute after the Embraer EMB-120 "Brasilia" leveled off at 4,000 feet while on approach to Detroit's Metro Airport (DTW). But they won't yet say what the event was. Whatever it was, the 30-seat turboprop departed controlled flight shortly thereafter, plunging near-vertically into a field in Raisinville Township, MI, some 20 miles southwest of DTW. BRANSON'S BALLOON BREAKS, CO-PILOT SAVES DAY Flamboyant British businessman Richard Branson's bid to circle the globe in a balloon went bust January 8th when the craft crashed near Bechar, Algeria. The uncontrolled descent was slowed at the last possible moment when co-pilot Alex Ritchie climbed out on to the roof of the balloon's capsule in pitch darkness and managed to release two ballast tanks to lighten the balloon's load. Whew! NEXT TIME, CHECK HIS TICKET! A Northwest Airlines flight was delayed nearly two hours after a man became angry with a pilot for not checking his ticket and landed a punch before even taking off. The pilot suffered a black eye during the confrontation while the punchy passenger was arrested by airport police. PAX PROTEST POTTY PARITY: As if airlines didn't have enough to worry about, a survey by Consumer Reports Travel Letter found that the number of toilets per passenger can vary wildly from carrier to carrier. In economy class, some planes allocate one for each 19 seats (JAL B-747) while others have only one per 100 (USAir and UAL B-737s). With carriers flying about 70 percent full on average, this can mean a mightly long line for the loo. American Airlines may be hit by a pilots strike mid February. SHORT FINAL... From the "squawk sheets": (Maintenance problems!) Problem: "Left inside main tire almost needs replacement." Solution: "Almost replaced left inside main tire." Problem: "Test flight OK, except autoland very rough." Solution: "Autoland not installed on this aircraft." Problem #1: "#2 Propeller seeping prop fluid." Solution #1: "#2 Propeller seepage normal." Problem #2: "#1,#3, and #4 propellers lack normal seepage." Problem: "The autopilot doesn't." Signed off: "IT DOES NOW." ~-=o0o=-~ . Interline stuff. The latest version of the Air Canada timetable is available at http://www.aircanada.ca effective from Jan 13th to Oct 26th. ~-=o0o=-~ . Smilies found by Vesta On a Polish hotel menu: Salad a firms own making; limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country's own fashion. Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs. In a Bangkok cleaners: Drop your trousers here for best results. In a Rhodes tailor shop: Order your summers suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation. ~-=o0o=-~ . That's it for this time, please we need your input, send comments and email addresses of any others who may be interested to Vesta with a copy to Terry. -!- Landing on an Island in the Pacific. _____(~)_____ ! ! ! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. <<<>>> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ................................................... . GREETINGS FROM . . Vancouver Island . . BEAUTIFUL B.C. CANADA . ...................................................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |\^/| _| TCA |_ _|\| AIR |/|_ N E T L E T T E R > CANADA < B E T W E E N O U R S E L V E S >_./|\._< for P I O N A I R S | Your crew is: Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson Chief Navigator - Terry Baker tm number 116 date January 16th 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . Welcome to Jack Thomas, who retired in 1990 and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Barry Phillips joins our mailing list and is on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . In Netletter nr 114 we welcomed Don Dowie, who responds - Thanks for the welcome Terry and including me on the list. Just one little clarification. I left Montreal in 1980 - moved to Toronto for ten years. Then moved from Toronto in 1990 to Sunny California. We (Barb and I) are living in Los Altos, near Palo Alto - just south of San Framcisco. We decided to move here after we won the "Green Card" in 1989. Any Pionairs that come to this area - please give us a call. (415) 949-4009). ~-=o0o=-~ . Dates to remember - Friday January 17, 1997 YOW KoffeeKlatsches Family Carlingwood Monday January 20, 1997 LON UK Theatre Trip "SCROOGE" Wednesday January 22, 1997 YHZ lunch Armdale Yacht Club Thursday January 23, 1997 SAINT JOHN Lunch TBA Friday January 24, 1997 YOW KoffeeKlatsches Family Carlingwood Wednesday January 29, 1997 YHZ lunch Armdale Yacht Club Friday January 31, 1997 YOW KoffeeKlatsches Family Carlingwood Saturday February 1, 1997 MTL lunch date? where? TBA Wednesday February 5, 1997 YHZ lunch Armdale Yacht Club Thursday February 6, 1997 DOR CSS LUNCH Chenoy's Pte Claire Friday February 7, 1997 YOW KoffeeKlatsches Family Carlingwood ~-=o0o=-~ . As reported in Skyport, Heathrow's local newspaper: Bold new plans for a second airport rail link have signalled Heathrow's status as a major transport hub for the next millenium. Alongside being the world's busiest international airport, Heathrow is developing rail links to speed passengers to major stations in London. At Christmas, BAA Heathrow took the wraps off its latest project - a 35 minute link between St Pancras and Heathrow. It will own and operate the UKP30 million service, expected to be up and running in 1999. The link will operate in tandem with the UKP400 million high-speed non-stop Heathrow Express, which is due to be opened in June next year. Future plans extend beyond Britain. The service is in line to become London's link with the Channel Tunnel. From 2003, it will connect with Eurostar services from St Pancras. ~-=o0o=-~ . For those interested in the new Toronto Aerospace Museum, plans are for the museum to be housed in building C-1, the ex-de Havilland aircraft manufacturing facility at Downsview. The building previously known as Building 2 thru 9 was the original de Havilland building built in 1929 to 1940. The RCAF/CAF description was the base Administration building. The building is noted for the manufacture of the Tiger Moth and the Mosquito. The museum will take up all of the 100,000 square feet of space and is tentatively scheduled to open in May of 1998. The museum will be designed around the de Havilland Canada aircraft, the Avro/Victory aircraft and those military aircraft which served on the base. Also included will be the Curtiss aircraft and other related aircraft and memoraibilia of the greater Toronto area. It is expected that the Lancaster FM104 originally built at Victory Aircraft and presently decaying at Ontario Place will be moved into the new museum eventually. ~-=o0o=-~ . Still looking for ex work mates? Phil Helms This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mitch Mitchell This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Jack Morgan This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sheldon Doskie This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Bob Coneen This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Bob Lennox This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Andrew Mercer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Graham Williams This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Don Dowie This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Keith Hadfield This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ~-=o0o=-~ . More Trans-Canada Air Lines history - 1997 marks Air Canada nee Trans Canada Air Lines 60th year, anyone any past memories they wish to share? When the Lockheeds were sold off, having been replaced with DC3, some went to Associated Airways, Southern Provincial Airlines, corporate operators and as aero-survey aircraft. Lockheed 18 CF-TDG, was aquired by Massey-Harrison in 1947 and converted to a 9 seater executive aircraft. The first DC3, in 1945 was CF-TDJ, eventually sold to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co in 1947. CF-TDU, originally N4991E s/n 12106 was sold to Frontier Airlines in 1956, and CF-TEG, originally C-FGXW, and ex-RCAF was sold to D.O.T. in 1957. On April 15th 1947, TCA inaugurated North Star service between Prestwick and Montreal using early unpressurized aircraft. The North Star was a DC4/C54 re-engined by Canadair with Merlin engines. The first eastbound trip took 12 hours 8 minutes and another 1 hour 38 minutes on to London. Due to the shattering roar caused by the raw exhaust on the inboard 24 cylinders, an ingenious modification was carried out which carried the exhaust across to the outboard side of the engine. TCA had 6 unpressurized and 23 pressurized aircraft flying on most routes. Following the failure of the Avro Tudor, B.O.A.C. purchased the North Star and renamed them Argonauts. After disposal by TCA, some North Stars continued to fly. Some remained in Canada in a short lived scheme by International Air Freighters from Toronto to Cuba. One, CF-TFM, was sold to the King of Burundi in April 1966. Later it was taking a cargo of machine guns from Rotterdam under a company named Silver Lane, having been re-registered under an Italian registration. On Oct 1966, ex CF-TFM crashed in the Cameroons and was the last ex-TCA North Star known to have operated anywhere. The last ex-RCAF North Star was in 1979 when a North Star was operating as a drug-runner and was impounded on Greater Inagua Island in the Caribbean. Altogether, 71 North Stars were built, but the location of only two are known, one in the museum at Ottawa, and an ex-TCA serves as a cafe in Mexico City airport. ~-=o0o=-~ . Interline stuff. Ten passengers on an American Airlines flight were injured due to turbulence. ( Moral - Keep that seatbelt fastened! - eds) Historic India & Singapore 13 day escorted full package - visiting - Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Singapore. Tour cost includes - RT airfare Singapore Airlines ex YVR, accommodations, ground transportation, daily meals, admissions, shows and baggage handling. Extra is Canadian tax and visa, taxes and insurance. Cost CA$2999 pp dbl, land only CA$1799 pp dbl. Departure Jan 27th or March 17th. Valentine Days Special 4 day cruise, departs Los Angeles on each Monday in February at 17.30 return Fridays 0800. Cost US$199 pp dbl. Last minute special cruise 'Galaxy' 7 nights Western Caribbean Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, return to Ft. Lauderdale. Departs January 19th from just US$599 pp dbl. Call Bonita at 1-800-690-3223 for more details. ~-=o0o=-~ . Smiles found by Vesta - In an Athens hotel: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. daily. In a Yugoslav hotel: The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid. In a Japanese hotel: You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid. In a Moscow hotel: (across from a Russian Orthodox Monastery) You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday. In an Austrian ski lodge: Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension. On a Swiss restaurant menu: Our wines leave you nothing to hope for. ~-=o0o=-~ . That's it for this time, please we need your input, send comments and email addresses of any others who may be interested to Vesta with a copy to Terry. -!- Landing on an Island in the Pacific. _____(~)_____ ! ! ! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. <<<>>> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ................................................... . GREETINGS FROM . . Vancouver Island . . BEAUTIFUL B.C. CANADA . ...................................................