Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

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T H E                    _| TCA |_
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N E T L E T T E R   >  CANADA   <
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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)


Number 783  Aug 18th., 2003. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2700+
Circulation: 2700+


Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson   -      Co-pilot  - Terry Baker


To get in touch with either editor/pilot our  email address is
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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. News from the districts.
. News from the Districts.
In the U.K. Pionairs recent monthly newsletter is an article which stated -
........10 years ago we announced the first North American trip which
was to Niagara Falls 'Festival of Lights' .......
This prompts the following comment from your co-pilot -
These North American trips are an annual affair arranged by a small team
led by Jack Morath and his wife Aureen. Many hours of research and on the
spot investigations take place before the final arrangements are made for a
busy and interesting two day visit.
Some of the cities which have endured their presence, have been Ottawa,
Quebec City, Niagara, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Boston, Pigeon Forge,
Halifax. The group is usually about 50, which includes several Canadian
based Pionairs who act as interpreters!. Travel to the various events is by
a rented school bus, which keeps everyone together, and provides an
atmosphere which far surpasses that of the school children normally
carried!  Although each trip is only planned for 2 days, many arrive early
and/or stay on to extend their visit.
This year the  North American trip is to Washington D.C. on Sept 24/25th -
I shall be there to renew old aquaintances.
Although these N. A. events have been during the last 10 years, their roots
go back to the early sixties when Jack and myself arranged for some sort of
diversion for us office workers at London Heathrow Airport. These were
arranged for an evening and some were pitch-n-putt, horseback riding, 10
pin bowling or BBQ. The highlight being an evening spent on a boat,
floating down the Thames, complete with a live band, dancing and gallons of
booze. - called the 'Riverboat shuffle'.
During the repair of the DC-8 fin 813 involved in the 'Cabbage Patch'
incident, a group of Boeing engineers were seconded to carry out the
repairs. We arranged for some diversionary events such as 10 pin bowling,
softball, cricket, darts pub nite and soccer games with them.
Jack and his team have regularly organised local trips during these past
years - theatre evenings, a factory tour, a coach to watch the London to
Brighton car rally, trips to the Continent to visit the supermarkets,
another  to the  WWII battle fields and, recently a visit to the London Eye.
The U.K. Pionairs has to be the most active district, and the Pionairs are
kept up to date by their monthly newsletter.

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. Comment from Ted Tierney.
Captain Norberg's "Hangar Queen" in Netletter 272 relating to the Vanguard
belly landing resulted in that particular aircraft to serve sometimes as a
convenient and immediate local source of replacement parts to service the
rest of the TCA Vanguard fleet.... However perhaps it could be mentioned...
that whoever it was that rightfully dubbed the plane as the Dorval "Hangar
Queen" was (and hopefully is) quite a wit. For how sad to think that
his/her thoughtful motives be lost on anyone.
For as maintenance procedure required that any aircraft part on removal be
pinpointed by a prominent tie-on yellow tag as highly noticeable. Needless
to say, with this longstay airplane although deep in the hangar eventually
became an idle mass of a motionless yet vibrating, fluttering and rustling
yellow. Like a Queen Bee, as it's so many active companions buzzily droned
around in a hive of buzzinesslike activity.

and a memory from Ted -
Howard Hughes would have held his head in his hands in despair if he were
to witness one of his beloved Connies reduced to the following task.
One day while assisting in the deicing, (more like light snow removal) from
a Viscount being urgently readied for dispatch to the Apron. A Connie
taxiing passing by, stops directly in front of this same Viscount. Turning
tail-on.
A touch on the throttles.........and hey presto......... all
gone......clean as a whistle......all snow blown immediately from all the
gulleys and seals saving 1/2 an hours work.......just like that.......as
Tommy Cooper used to say.

Anyway apart from that... was reading through the Netletter and came across
the entry about the Vickers Vanguard with the Skydrol hydraulic fluid
causing seal failures and leakages. Well while only a little snippet it
happened in those far off days that myself and another (English) crewmate
Reg Yates got a drip of Skydrol in our eyes.
Fairly irritant, so we just had to pay a visit across the road to the
medical centre. The nurse applying eyewash using an eye cup in the usual
manner with Reg receiving attention first. Then without warning the loudest
and most definitely English rendition of "drink to me only wi-ith thine
eye-eyes and I-I will pledge with mine" rang through the room. Despite the
pain in my eye couldn't help but burst out laughing hardly needing the
eyewash after that. Ted Tierney.

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. Found on the internet by Vesta -
FORGET SYNTHETIC VISION -- FLY BLIND BY FEEL
A system intended to enable pilots to fly accurately even when blindfolded
is being tested this month at Canada's Institute for Aerospace Research
(IAR) in Toronto. The system, developed by U.S. Navy Capt. Angus Rupert,
uses stimulators embedded in a pilot's vest to produce tiny vibrations that
move around the torso in the same direction that the aircraft is moving. The
inputs are said to be easy to interpret and help pilots sense their position
in the absence of visual cues. Initial tests suggest the tactile system
reduces both pilot workload and spatial disorientation when flying in
degraded visual conditions.

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. Not all bad news!.
Margaret Cantwell shares this information -
We are getting so much bad publicity right now from people ! Two friends
of mine arrived from England via Air Canada to Vancouver then on Victoria
flight on Aug. 16th/03 . I asked them how it was and they said everything
was excellent. !! Food, service and the flight. Absolutely no complaints.
They said even Vancouver airport was much better than last trip in 01 They
return to Brtian next week. They have been over numerous times as Mr.
Oakley's Mum and Dad live in Victoria. I was delighted to hear it was all
so good with our Company. Cheers, Margaret C.

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. Walter W. Jacyk took a trip to Kyoto, Japan, the trip, which started on
Sept. 30, 2001, ending on Oct. 9, 2001, was the most memorable we had ever
undertaken...
We thought, perhaps, it would guide anyone contemplating a trip to Kyoto.

To quote Frommer's Travel Guide: "If you go to only one place in all of
Japan, Kyoto should be it. Not only is it the most historically
significant town in the nation, this former capital was also the only major
city spared from the bombs of World War II." That was good enough for us.
So the adventure began.
We boarded Flight AC3035 out of Toronto to Osaka, with an 80 minute stop
in Vancouver.
The flight was very pleasant, and the service was excellent. Time went by
very quickly, and we soon touched down at Kansai Airport. Travelling light
has its advantages. In no time at all we were outside the terminal, purchasing
tickets from a dispensing machine for the Air Port Limousine bus to Kyoto.
As it turned out, our transportation was right there, as if waiting just
for us, ten paces away.
The trip took 1hour 40min., and the fare 2300 Yen per person (Can $31.50,
about $13.50 Can.\Y1000 ). We were dropped off at Hotel Keihan, and checked
in at the El Inn Kyoto Hotel, adjacent to our drop off location.

We were very pleased with this Western style Hotel, and stayed there for the
duration, nine days. The rate for a twin room was 12000 Yen (Can. $164),
Tax incl.. Visa cards were accepted. The room was spacious and air
conditioned. Two very comfortable beds and nicely folded white kimonos on
each bed,
which were replaced every day, along with the sheets. The room also
contained a Telephone, TV, hair dryer, tea making facilities, with Japanese
green tea bags supplied. Two sets of trouser presses were located near the
elevator, and could be brought into the room when required.
The bathroom was small but spotless, with a bathtub and shower. It was
comforting to see a sticker above the sink:"Water safe to drink." The water
was not only safe to drink, but it was very soft and tasty, with a lot of
flow behind it.
In fact, when filling the tub, one had to watch over it, as it would fill
very quickly. It was a treat to have a bath or a shower. The water was like
nothing we have ever experienced in the past. The Hotel Restaurant provided
a great breakfast buffet from 0700, for 780 Yen pp, Tax incl. There is a 5%
Tax on most
purchases.

Across the way from the Hotel stood the magnificent Kyoto Station, looking
deceptively unimpressive from the south side. Just short of 1/2Km long, 10
storeys high. It is strikingly modern and high tech. A beehive of activity,
with subways and trains coming and going. Countless little Restaurants,
Café's and
stores on the lower and ground levels. A Hotel on the second level, the huge
Isetan Department store, which goes all the way to the tenth floor. The
products sold there were expensive, but of the highest quality One could
spend more than a day exploring this uniquely designed structure, and get
lost more than once. The City Tourist Information Office, located on the
second floor of the Station, on the north
side, known as Karasuma exit, was very helpful. They provided us with all
the necessary maps and advice.

Local transportation was excellent, and for 220Yen one can travel the length
of the route. If more than two round trips per day are anticipated, it
would be advisable to obtain a day pass from the City Tourist Information
Office. The cost: 500 Yen, allowing one to hop on and off the bus at any
time. We found
this mode of transportation more than adequate. The day pass for the bus and
subway service costs Y1000. The main Bus Station is on the north side of
Kyoto Station. Prior to exiting the bus, the coins are dropped into the
slot machine, which displays the amount deposited. If you find yourself
with bills only, a change machine is provided at the front of the bus,
which should be accessed at the earliest convenience, so as not to impede
the flow. When choosing the subway, one has to take care not to end up on a
train heading out of town, since the ticket dispensing machines for the
subway and trains are located side by side, and the absence of English
information makes the task quite demanding.

Another Tourist Information Centre is located across from Kyoto Station's
Karasuma exit, in the Kyoto Tower Building. Detailed map of
the City and colourful sightseeing brochure listing Kyoto's most impressive
sites can be picked up there. Trip bookings can also be made at that location.

We found the people very polite and well dressed. Shabby attire was non
existent. There is a great deal of bowing going on, whether it's coming or
going, and it is done in a very dignified manner. One catches on rather
quickly to this rather nice custom. The school children were very well
behaved. On one occasion,
as we were passing a school, we observed numerous students with their
teacher, all wielding sweeping brushes, including the teacher, and doing a
superb job of cleaning the sidewalk outside the school perimeter. It
suggested to us that those children were learning a valuable lesson.

The city has a population of 1.5 million. It has many impressive Temples,
Shrines and Palaces. Some have an admission fee, others are free. Museums
and Art Centres were well worth the visit. It was educational to say the
least. From time to time we would see the ladies in their beautiful kimonos,
gracefully going about their business. We also visited the Geisha district
in the evening, with its narrow streets. Every step in that city was a
discovery. The longer we stayed, the more comfortable we felt. Personal
safety was not an issue.

Toward the end of our vacation, we took a day trip to Nara, since it's even
older than Kyoto, and was also the Capital of Japan at one time, for a
short while. We enjoyed it very much. However, we found Kyoto unbeatable.
For anyone considering a trip to Japan, which I highly recommend, it is
important that
they obtain a good travel booklet and develop a plan before setting off. It
is also wise to carry some cash on hand, as some establishments do not
accept credit cards.

On your return trip, at Kansai Airport, be sure to obtain the Departure
Tax ticket from the dispensing machine for Y2650, prior to entering the
Security Check area. After that relax and let the Airline be your Tour
Guide home.

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. Terry's travel tips.
Dargal Interline is offering two sailings at unbeatable, rock bottom rates
aboard the Carnival Glory, the newest and largest ship to sail from Port
Canaveral.
The Carnival Glory offers all kinds of new benefits: more deck space, more
clubs, lounges and shops, a new family entertainment area with a teen club
and video game room plus a reservations-only supper club for those
leisurely, romantic dinners.
Plus you can book up to 3 additional cabins for your Family and Friends at
an Interline Plus rate.....Share the Fun and Excitement with them!
August 23 ~ Carnival Glory ~ 7 nights ~ Eastern Caribbean
Port Canaveral, Bahamas Private Island, "Fun Day at Sea", St. Thomas/St.
John, St. Maarten, 2 "Fun Days at Sea", Port Canaveral
Inside $299, Oceanview $499, Balcony $549
and for your Family & Friends
Inside $339, Oceanview $539, Balcony $589
August 30 ~ Carnival Glory ~ 7 nights ~ Western Caribbean
Port Canaveral, Key West, "Fun Day at Sea", Belize City, Cozumel,
Progreso/Merida, "Fun Day at Sea", Port Canaveral
Inside $399, Oceanview $499, Balcony $599
and for your Family & Friends
Inside $439, Oceanview $539, Balcony $639
==================================================================
Cruise Rates are quoted in U.S. dollars per person (based on double
occupancy). PORT CHARGES ARE INCLUDED. Government taxes/fees are additional.
All rates are subject to change, availability and eligibility. All offers
apply to new bookings only, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn
without notice.

For more information on these and other Dargal Interline specials:
Call Toll Free: 1-800-690-3223
International Toll Free: (International Access Code)-800-2832-7425
Fax: (250) 861-3283

Check out Air Canada Vacations’ sunny deals every Wednesday and Friday. If
you feel the need to take a break and want to see what kind of specials Air
Canada Vacations® has to offer, check out its site on Wednesdays and
Fridays. Available for Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and Air Canada Vacations
employees and retirees. Call (514) 876-0760 or toll free at 1-877-752-5510
for details. Then, grab your towel and lotion and you’re done!



LABOUR DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL

$98.00 CAD PER UNIT!!

MONTREAL TO TORONTO
Available Anytime for FOUR nights,
between 28 August and 8 September
OR
28 August and 22 SEPTEMBER, 2003
Price Includes: 800 KMS Preparation Fee: Airport Transfer and vehicle
preparation (first supply of propane and toilet chemicals) Additional
Driver Convenience Kit: dishes, cookware, pillows, linen, towels, sleeping
bags, and cleaning equipment. Additional Driver V.I.P. Loss Damage Waiver
(Insurance) Extra nights $50.00 per night plus taxes. FULL PAYMENT DUE UPON
BOOKING - NON REFUNDABLE Not Included Fuel, Taxes, Camping Fees, and extra
kms. Please Note: All Bookings are based on Availability and All One Ways
are on a request basis.

LABOUR DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL

$198.00 CAD PER UNIT!!

CALGARY TO VANCOUVER ONE WAY
Available Anytime for FOUR nights,
between 28 August and 17 September
LIMITED UNITS AVAILABLE
Price Includes: 1200 KMS Preparation Fee: Airport Transfer and vehicle
preparation (first supply of propane and toilet chemicals) Additional
Driver Convenience Kit: dishes, cookware, pillows, linen, towels, sleeping
bags, and cleaning equipment. Additional Driver V.I.P. Loss Damage Waiver
(Insurance) Extra nights $50.00 per night plus taxes. FULL PAYMENT DUE UPON
BOOKING - NON REFUNDABLE Not Included Fuel, Taxes, Camping Fees, and extra
kms. Please Note: All Bookings are based on Availability and All One Ways
are on a request basis.

CANADREAM CAMPERS FALL SPECIAL!

$98.00 CAD PER UNIT!!

CALGARY TO TORONTO ONE WAY - 10 NIGHTS
27 September - 30 October, 2003
PACKAGE INCLUDES:
·    10 nights to leisurely discover our Canadian provinces from Alberta to
Ontario.
·    4000 KMS
·    Convenience Kit: dishes, cookware, pillows, linen, towels, sleeping bags,
and cleaning equipment.
·    Preparation Fee: Airport Transfer and vehicle preparation (first supply
of propane and toilet chemicals)
·    Additional Driver
·    V.I.P. Loss Damage Waiver (Insurance).
·    Extra nights $50.00 per night plus taxes.

FULL PAYMENT DUE UPON BOOKING - NON REFUNDABLE

Not Included Fuel, Taxes, Camping Fees, and extra kms. Please Note: All
Bookings are based on Availability and All One Ways are on a request basis.

Canadream Campers Fall Special
$98.00 CAD per unit
TORONTO OR MONTREAL TO CALGARY
16 October - 30 October, 2003
·    10 nights to leisurely discover our Canadian provinces from Alberta to
Ontario.
·    4000 KMS
·    Convenience Kit: dishes, cookware, pillows, linen, towels, sleeping bags,
and cleaning equipment.
·    Preparation Fee: Airport Transfer and vehicle preparation (first supply
of propane and toilet chemicals)
·    Additional Driver
·    V.I.P. Loss Damage Waiver (Insurance).
·    Extra nights $50.00 per night plus taxes.

FULL PAYMENT DUE UPON BOOKING - NON REFUNDABLE

Not Included Fuel, Taxes, Camping Fees, and extra kms. Please Note: All
Bookings are based on Availability and All One Ways are on a request basis.
http://www.startrips.tv
GO TO Hot Summer Motorhome Deals

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. Smilie.
Sent to us by B McCormack
A pilot is flying three people in a private plane - a Tibetan lama, and Bill
Gates (the smartest man in the world), and a hippie. Suddenly the pilot
announces to his three passengers: "I have bad news for you. The plane is
going to crash. We have to bail out now. Unfortunately, we have only three
parachutes. And since I am a terrific pilot, and I don't see any reason why
I should die, I am taking one of them. Good luck!" And with that, he jumped
out of the plane. Bill Gates said: "Since I am the smartest man in the
world, and very valuable to civilization, I am also going to take a
parachute and save myself." And with that, he leapt out of the plane. The
lama said to the hippie: "I have already lived a long and fruitful life and
have no need to live longer. Therefore, you may take the remaining
parachute." "Relax, mannnn," said the hippie, putting the parachute on to
the lama's back. "The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my
backpack."
Regards
Geoff
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Important reminder, for all new articles, submissions and or comments
for the "The Netletter" please send to:
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T H E                    _| TCA |_
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N E T L E T T E R   >  CANADA   <
>_./|\._<
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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)

Number 782   Aug 15th.,   2003. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2700+


Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson   -      Co-pilot  - Terry Baker


To get in touch with either editor/pilot our  email address is
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

================================================================
. Must know.
August 2003

Employee Travel Site and Speech Recognition  tools to use!

In the fall of 2000, the Employee Travel Site (ETS) at
www.travel.aircanada.ca and Speech Recognition (SR) at 1-888-834-6660 were
introduced to help active and retired employees become more self-sufficient
with making travel arrangements. Then, on Dec. 16, 2002 changes were made
to make it even easier to book personal and business travel.

After almost three years in operation, there are still a few people who
attempt to make travel arrangements through the Call Centre or with an
agent at the Airport. This is not an acceptable practice. These tools were
designed to provide you with greater control over your travel profile and
travel arrangements, while, at the same time, allowing colleagues at the
Call Centre or Airport to provide customers with more efficient service.
Therefore, as Call Centre Agents and Customer Service agents will no longer
be able to assist you, you’re required to make your travel arrangements
through ETS or SR.

Note: The SR tool has limited functionality; therefore if the system
doesn’t accept your registration, you must use ETS.

If you do not have access to a computer, we suggest accessing the Internet
through your family and friends, the local library or an Internet café.

Travel listings that must be made using ETS or SR:
·    Personal standby travel for active or retired employees, their spouse,
their dependents, widow/widowers, former employees with travel privileges,
retirees without pension or retirees with factor 60/70
·    Personal standby travel for partners travelling with the active or
retired employees, their spouse or widow/widower
·    Standby travel for nominated partners or non-dependent children
·    Service award or incentive award travel
·    Personal travel employees with any special requirements, such as relocation
·    Flight bookings on other airlines with which Air Canada has ZED agreements.

**New** Travel listings that must be made through the General Reservations:
Family Affair. Starting Sept. 2, to make access to the Family Affair
program easier, all Family Affair bookings are to be made through General
Reservations at 1-888-247-2262. These bookings must be made by the employee
not the family member. However, subsequent changes can be made by the
family member.

Note:  Employees must provide the payer’s credit card information for
payment of E-ticket.

Having technical difficulties? When and who to call:
Employees whose credit cards were not accepted by ETS (credit
denied or error in data entry) or who were unable to pay through the
payroll process, will automatically have their travel profile deactivated.
You will have to contact Employee Travel and Recognition at 1-866-473-4732
to provide a valid credit card for all outstanding charges. Once payment is
received, travel will be re-activated  this is a 48-business hour process.
If you need to re-set your PIN (Personal Identification Number), call the
Call Centre at 1-800-413-1113.
Before you travel, ensure that you’ve enough time to list yourself and
take into consideration that ETS or SR tools could be busy or that
technical issues may occur, as the Call Centre will not be able to assist you.

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. Need to know.
John V. Cavill sends this gentle reminder -

Don't forget to regularly review TRAVEL PROFILE, and ensure ANY change -
certainly including credit card payment format - promptly updated! (ie:
failure to change Expiry Date of renewed credit card issue causes oh so
much grief!). Happy - and prompt - travels! Regards, jc

Don’t forget ZED bookings must be made on Employee Travel Site (ETS), but
not at the last minute! It would appear that there are some travel
privilege holders that aren’t aware they can book ZED fares on other
airlines using ETS. This capability has been available for employee
convenience for several months. Log on to the ETS at
www.travel.aircanada.ca, click on Flight Shopping, then Other Airlines
Ticketing and follow the prompts, it’s that easy. Unfortunately, if you’re
planning a spontaneous trip you may run into trouble. Either the ticket
will not be ready when you are, or ETS will not be able to accept your
booking. Call Centre Agents may try to help their colleagues in case of
system glitches only, however, these types of bookings can only be
accommodated with a minimum of four-day processing requirement. Therefore,
give yourself more time to book your trip on an OAL carrier, to ensure that
you can have your tickets when you need them.

Change of Hours of Operations at Winnipeg Call Centre
Effective Sept 02, 2003, the Hours of Operation will be Monday to Friday
09:00 to 21:00 hrs. and on Weekends and Statuary Holidays, 09:00 to 17:00
hrs.. All times are E.S.T.
Family Affair Ticketing
All are reminded that the Retiree MUST make the initial phone call to the
Call Centre when reserving Family Affair. Once a Reservation has been made
you MUST within 24 hrs, make your Ticketing arrangements or your
Reservation is Cancelled.
Starting Sept. 2, to make access to the Family Affair program easier, all
Family Affair bookings are to be made through General Reservations at
1-888-247-2262. These bookings must be made by the employee not the family
member. However, subsequent changes can be made by the family member.

Note:  Employees must provide the payer’s credit card information for
payment of E-ticket.


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. Air Canada news -
On August 1, customers in Hospitality Service on medium-haul flights (1
hour, 45 minutes to
3 hours, 30 minutes) in Canada will select their meal from a menu that
features well-balanced breakfasts, tasty dinners or hearty snacks. The
quality of these meals rivals anything they could find in a quality restaurant.
Price range: $7-8 for hearty, hot snacks,
$7-12 for meals (tax included)
Menu rotation: The menu will change monthly
Initial routes: Toronto to: Charlottetown,
Halifax, Moncton,Thunder Bay,
Winnipeg, Saskatoon, St. John’s,
Deer Lake, Gander, Fredericton,
Saint John. Montreal to: St. John’s


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Concorde makes a farewell visit to Toronto with once in a lifetime fare
offer. According to Canada NewsWire, British Airways chose Toronto as one
of only three North American cities to receive a special farewell visit
from the Concorde. The two other remaining cities have still not been
chosen. Shortly before it retires, the aircraft will make a scheduled
supersonic flight from London to Toronto, on Oct. 1. British Airways is
offering transatlantic round-trip fares on a first come - first service
basis for flights to London on one of the airline’s two daily flights from
Toronto with the supersonic return on the Concorde Oct. 1. While the
special Concorde flights and fares will be available for sale world-wide,
only bookings in North American will be taken in the first five days of the
sale. For more information, contact 1-800-224-0500 or a local travel agent.

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. Found on the internet.
South African Airways will celebrate Women's Day with an all-female crew
flight to Durban. There will be 20 of the airline's top women Voyager
Platinum Card holders on this flight. We will pamper them at the luxurious
Zimbali Lodge on the North Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal to show them how special
women are.

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From Monika and Gav : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: Return of Security Tax

For those who might care about things like this....
Last Dec 02 Monika and I went to Mexico for a wedding... YYJ/YVR on Reginal
(or what ever it is called this week ) and YVR /Mexico City on Mexicana so
we got nailed the "Security Tax' twice ...Well after coming back and
submitting the copies of all paper work concerned ie. boarding passes etc
and after making inumerous phone calls (all 1-800/888) and six months later
we got a return of our $24 x 2 .. So the moral is better late than never...
After thought.. To anybody traveling to Mexico.. DONT EVER MISPLACE YOUR
GREEN ENTRY/EXIT PERMIT...this is the only damn country in the world that I
have ever been that we couldnt get out of without all the paper work , and
believe me after 25 years in the military and 21 years with the airlines I
have been to some funny places and seen some funny?? things but this bunch
took the cake ....Good travels people..... Gav (Bo) / Monika

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. Fergus Kyle sends this information regarding the 'rotating tyres' -
Pre-landing tire rotation -
I delayed answering because I though for certain that someone
would get an answer out before me. I read all the mail and don't see my
point so here goes...........
I went to McGill engineering and one year my lab partner was a
fellow called Jeans - a Brit and a jovial type, so we clicked. In the course
of our year we discovered each was keen on aviation - that's piloting.
He remarked that his Dad, I think a professor in UK, had several
patents to his credit - some to do with the Dambuster bomb. One of these was
a parallel-ribbed 'tyre' which specialised in good sideload acceptance and
low wear. I remembered him when several years later, I encountered it in the
nosewheel of the trusty Vampire fighter - never seen since. Another patent
concerned specially installed tires with 'flaps' arranged so that when
extended, the airflow spun them to reduce landing wear. If I remember
correctly, they worked well up to the speeds of currentday aircraft -
Vickers Varsity/Dakota/Hermes etc - but were difficult to operate at higher
speeds so weren't installed permanently on the early Comets. The main
impediment was production cost and so was not popular.
Ferg Kyle

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A few thoughts on the note from Ellie Park and Porkie Junction: I flew with
this genleman YYZ to YKAP thru Porkie a number of times in1952 My first few
months as a new F/O. Ellie --I still remember you looking for moose in some
lakes up north. Low passes - manditory! Great days, great airplane, and a
great Captain. Thanks for the memories. The Viscount was not nearly as good
for this for this type of work. Jack Wigle (Capt. Ret)

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. Remember when!
August 16th 1927, 'Punch' Dickins in a Fokker Super Universal G-CASK won
the McKee trophy.

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. May day!
From "Richard Simons" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Subject: Upcoming trip to Cornwall England
I'm planning a trip to Cornwall England in mid September.
Could you put an allert in your NetLetter and ask if anyone has recently
been there and if so could they contact me about reasonably priced hotels
and eating places.
Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Many thanks
Dick Simons

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. Terry's travel tips.

Sheraton offers special summer rates. From June 1 to Oct. 1, the Sheraton
Hotels of Fort Lauderdale Beach are offering all active and retired Air
Canada employees a special rate to stay at their hotels. The discounted
rate is $69 US a night for either business or pleasure related stays and is
not subject to blackout dates. You will be required to show your airline
identification card at check-in. To make a reservation, call 1-800-958-5551
or 1-954-467-1111. For more information, you can also visit their websites
at www.sheratonclipper.com and www.sheratontrader.com.


Book with: James F. C. Rose - Your Interline Cruise Expert
we are in the top 1/10 of 1% of Carnival agencies in the world.
Carnival Cruise dates - almost all dates are for September & October
-Ecstasy for 3 nights from LA from: from $80/$110
-Ecstasy for 4 nights from LA from: from $80/$130
-Fantasy for 3 nights from Pt.Canaveral from: $110
-Ecstasy for 4 nights from Pt.Canaveral from: $130
-Fascination for 3 nights from Miami from: $90/$110
-Fascination for 4 nights from Miami from: $100
-Imagination for 4 nights from Miami from: $100
-Imagination for 5 nights from Miami from: $110/$180
-Sensation for 4 nights from Tampa from: $100/$150
-Sensation for 5 nights from Tampa from: $80/$130
-Jubilee for 7 nights from San Juan from $160
-Holiday for 4 nights from New Orleans from: $130/$150
-Holiday for 5 nights from New Orleans from: $160/$180
-Celebration for 4 nights from Galveston from: $130/$150
-Celebration for 5 nights from Galveston from: call
-Conquest for 7 nights from New Orleans from: $290
-Destiny for 7 nights from San Juan from: $160
-Elation for 7 nights from Galveston from: $260
-Elation for 7 nights from L.A from: call
-Glory for 7 nights from Pt.Canaver from: $310
-Inspiration for 7 nights from Tampa from: $160/$260
-Paradise (no smoking) for 7 nights from Miami from: $160
-Pride for 7 nights from Pt.Canaveral from: call
-Triumph for 7 nights from Miami from: $160
-Legend for 8 nights NY - Caribbean from: $460
-Victory for 7 nights from Miami from: $210
-Spirit for 7 nights - Alaska - from: call
(remember 'from' means not all dates (mainly Sept. & Oct.) listed have
these rates) - August is mainly sold out & if not, are higher priced.
Usual terms & conditions apply,
including these are all per person - based upon at least two in a cabin,
USA funds, port charges & taxes extra.
Prices & availability are NOT guaranteed to last, and can
and do change fast and without notice.
However, your price is guaranteed once you book & pay.

JAMES F. C. ROSE - YOUR Cruise Expert
information: (204) 889-3885
fax: (204) 889-3885
reservations: (204) 88 -3885 & (800) 414-8091

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. DID YOU KNOW?
ARCHIVES for NetLetters.
NetLetters are now located in ACFamily.net/forums area
Just go to: http://www.acfamily.net/forums
- Log in (if you aren't already)
- scroll down to Member Services
- Click on NetLetter
You will be able to find ALL netletters.
And there is a research engine to help you.
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Your attached message has been delivered to the 2236 members and
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From: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Reply-To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: [The NetLetter] NetLetter nr 781 Aug 9/03 - The NetLetter
Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2003 18:15:55 -0700
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==================================================================
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T H E                    _| TCA |_
_|\| AIR |/|_
N E T L E T T E R   >  CANADA   <
>_./|\._<
|
( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)


Number 781  Aug 9th., 2003. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2700+
Circulation: 2700+


Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson   -      Co-pilot  - Terry Baker


To get in touch with either editor/pilot our  email address is
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


=================================================================

. Found on the internet.
New Visa Waiver Program Has Tighter Requirements

FORT WORTH -- American Airlines is advising passengers
traveling to the
United States that the U.S. State Department will require
tighter
passport controls that have been designed to increase
security. Effective
Oct. 1, all citizens from 27 countries participating in a
new visa waiver
program must present a machine-readable passport upon
arrival at their
port of entry into the United States. The machine-readable
passports
have coded data on the photo page, and all participating
countries now
are issuing the new type of passport. Airline agents will
ensure that
passengers have the correct documentation before they can
be checked
in for a flight.

Also effective with the new policy, passengers without
machine-readable
passports no longer will be able to take advantage of the
visa waiver
program. Nationals of a visa waiver-eligible country who do
not yet have
a machine-readable passport should either obtain one or
apply for a visa
from the U.S. Consulate in their country of residence or
country of
nationality prior to travel. In addition, all children,
including babies, must
have their own machine-readable passport and can no longer be
included on one of their parents' passports for entry into
the United
States under the visa waiver program.

Countries participating in the visa waiver program include:
Andorra France Luxembourg Singapore Australia Germany Monaco
Slovenia Austria Iceland Netherlands Spain Belgium Ireland
New Zealand
Sweden Brunei Italy Norway Switzerland Denmark Japan
Portugal United
Kingdom Finland Liechtenstein San Marino

Information regarding the new visa policy and procedures
can be found
at the Department of State’s Visa Services Web site,
www.unitedstatesvisas.gov or on the State Department’s Web
site for
travelers at: http://travel.state.gov/vwp.


Now that we are in the busy summer period, make sure you allow plenty of
time to check in for your flight. As heightened security measures are in
place at airports across Europe, easyJet check-in desks close 40 minutes
before the scheduled departure time of all flights.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has revolutionized its Upper Class seat and cabin
in a 50m ($80 million) overhaul which has been in development for over two
years. It will be introduced on all of Virgin's Boeing 747-400 and Airbus
A340-600 aircraft starting from this summer, and will be on all those
aircraft based at Heathrow by spring 2004 and all those at Gatwick by
autumn 2004

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. Another story about Porquis Junction!
I was regional spare radio operator for the "Central Region" in the late
'40s and provided vacation relief at North Bay, Porquis and Kapuskasing .
When a vacancy occurred at Porquis in 1948/49 I bid on it successfully and
worked there until June of 1952 when I transferred to North Bay. In June of
1953 I transferred to Dorval Telecoms Lab as a Technician.
I enjoyed my time at YQJ.. You basically did everything and were by
yourself about half the time since the Station Manager had to make the
rounds of the travel agents (Cochrane/Timmins area) so you made
reservations, sold tickets, billed cargo, check passengers in, went
"remote" and did the control tower thing when the flight came in range,
guided the aircraft to park, did the weight and balance, loaded the
aircraft, fueled the aircraft(not often), did the start up, went "remote"
to get the flight out, sent all the dispatches, ran the mail down to the
Porquis Junction Post Office (it went by train to Timmins) cleaned the
place up and went home. Home was Timmins, 40 miles away. TCA supplied a war
surplus rag-top jeep to get us to and fro and carry the mail.. This was a
tad cool in the winter. Communication was by HF radio to North Bay. They
put it on teletype.
I think the YYZ/YYB/YQJ/YYU route was probably the last one served by
Loadstars. While I was there they were succeeded by DC3s. The Loadstar's
weight and balance was actually done on a computer called a Librascope so
from that point of view the DC3 was a step backward!! I've got some snaps
somewhere of Loadstars at Porky and the jeep.
The airport is one of the really great blueberry patches.. The locals used
to pick them and sell them to the passing aircrew, but the local black
bears really like blueberrys and a couple of them were shot in a sort of
turf war with the human pickers.
I have fond memories if the place
Wilson Quigley

Andy Mercer sends his memories -
just read your article in NetLetter. I remember Porquis quite well, in
fact I, along with my wife Julie and our daughter Elaine, then a baby in
arms, were the first (and only) passengers to board the inaugural flight
southbound ex Porquis for Toronto. I can't remember the date but the a/c
was a Lockheed 14 or 1808. The service began after the transcontinental
flights stopped flying the route through northern Ontario. Before that time
Porquis was not a regular stop for TCA but was used as an alternate. The
Lockheed operated Toronto-North Bay-Porquis-Kapuskasing and return. It was
eventually operated with DC-3 equipment until Timmins opened. It was a
grass strip and usually was closed for a couple of weeks each spring due to
ground conditions. Best regards, Andy Mercer.

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. Having read the trip report from your co-pilot, Arlene Frolick thought
you may like to read about an alternative routing through the Baltic -
I am Art Frolick's traveling wife. He showed me your latest trip to
Scandinavia and since I just returned from there, here is my journal. It's
very long, and you may not want to read it all.
BTW, on five legs of my flights, Air Canada and Lufthansa upgraded me to
Business Class three times. What a wonderful company.
Arlene
==================
June 3 and 4 - Copenhagen, Denmark - I left Regina on June 3, via Toronto,
and arrived in Copenhagen early the next morning where I was to meet up
with my tour group the next day.
The hotel was two train stops from the airport. I found my way down town
and hung out for 4 hours ‘people-watching’. The blond blue-eyed Danes are
very tanned, which surprised me for so early in the season. They all ride
bicycles, and I learned they are able to bike almost all year long, even in
the mild winters. Bicycle stands and parking lots are everywhere. As in the
Netherlands, there is a bicycle path between the pedestrian sidewalk and
the street.
June 5 - The tour group arrived.. Nick Copcutt from London, England, is our
tour director.
Our first walking tour in Copenhagen (population 1.7 million) included a
stroll along Strøget, a pedestrian-only street. Today is Constitution Day
and people are out celebrating. Denmark and Norway have an important soccer
match on Saturday, June 7. The streets are crowded with very friendly
party-goers dressed in their colors, and drinking lots of beer! We climbed
the 685 foot staircase of the Round Tower, opened in 1642 by King Christian
IV, to see a beautiful view of the city. Dinner was Mediterranean
vegetarian and very spicy.
June 6 - Bus tour included a stop at the Amalienborg Palace, the residence
of the Danish Royal Family. Amalienborg is made up of four almost identical
separate palaces which border onto an octagonal open square and built by
four noblemen in the years 1750-54, on land granted them by King Frederik
V. One of the palaces is home to Queen Margrethe, who celebrated her 25th
anniversary as Monarch, and her husband Prince Henrik. The second palace is
the home of Queen Ingrid (the Queen Mother), who was married to Denmark's
previous king, King Frederik IX, who died in 1972. The third is the home of
the second son of the royal family, and the fourth palace is a museum. We
witnessed the changing of the guard, saw the royal horses being exercised
and visited the royal stables of marble floors and stalls.
Our next stop is to see The Little Mermaid, a statute that sits close to
the shore in the Copenhagen harbour. Although many think the statue is a
symbol of the old seaport, the inspiration was Hans Christian Andersen's
fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid.".
Nyhavn ( New Harbour), a picturesque canal filled with moored sailing
boats, runs down to the main harbour. The canal is lined with colorful
buildings including the home of Hans Christian Anderson. This is part of
the original Copenhagen Harbor dating back to the 12th century.
We took an hour long canal cruise out of the canal to the main harbour. The
Royal Yacht is docked in the harbour. We pass the Museum of Sculpture and
see Michaelangelo’s David, in copper, on the harbour front. After a fondue
dinner, we spend an hour at Tivoli, an amusement park that has been
entertaining Danes since 1843. The trees are lined with lanterns and
lights; there are 38 restaurants in the park; many outdoor theater areas,
and the amusement rides are very busy.
June 7 - Before leaving Copenhagen, we spend our free time in a nearby park
and touring the Carlsberg Brewery. I.C.Jacobsen (1811-87) revolutionized
the art of beer brewing, not only in Denmark, but also in the rest of
Europe. We see a variety of exhibitions displaying brewery making
techniques in the brewery built in 1847 -- from the grain storing area to
the processing area to the stables. We are treated to two glasses of beer
at the end of the tour. The name ‘Carlsberg’ was inspired by Jacobsen's
5-year old son, Carl.
By 3:00 p.m., we leave for the Port of Copenhagen in order to board the
DFGS Seaways ‘Crown of Scandinavia’ for our overnight cruise to Oslo,
Norway. We had a wonderful buffet, walked the decks and played cards till late.
June 8 - Oslo, Norway - We get up early and go on deck to view the fjords
of Norway. There are 150,000 islands around Norway, but we see only a few
dozen. There are many different styles of lighthouses, many boats and other
vessels on the waterways. The islands have quaint villages and even the
very smallest island has a house or building on it. After our huge buffet
breakfast on board, we dock in Oslo at 9 a.m. in brilliant sunshine and
board our bus for our tour. Population of Oslo is 500,000.
The Viking era lasted for 250 years from A.D.800 to A.D.1050. A Viking was
a member of the Scandinavian bands of sea rovers who pillaged and raided
their way through northern Europe. Vikings were also called Norsemen, and
were the ancestors of the Norwegians, Swedes and Danes of today. Eric the
Red settled Greenland in A.D.985, and around A.D.1000, his son, Leif
Ericson sailed west to what is now Newfoundland.
We make our way to the Bygdøy Peninsula where we view preserved authentic
Viking ships retrieved from ritual burial mounds along the fjords near
Oslo. ‘Valhalla’ was the great hall of dead heroes in Norse mythology.
Viking elites wanted to ensure that their dead were well-equipped in the
afterlife, so they carefully buried them in their ships with all the
necessities. A Viking ship built between A.D.810-820 used to carry goods
between islands is the oldest unearthed vessel in the museum. It is huge.
Displays included burial items found on these ships. The polar-ship, Fram,
built in 1892 is claimed to be the strongest vessel in the world and was
used for 3 arctic expeditions: 2 to the North Pole and Amundsen to the
South Pole. The Fram sits in the harbour.
Our next stop was ‘The Kon-Tiki Museum’. Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) was a
world famous adventurer who won fame in 1947 when he crossed approx. 4,500
miles of the Pacific Ocean in the Kon-Tiki, a balsa raft constructed of 9
logs from Equador and built as a copy of a prehistoric South American
vessel. The successful voyage of 101 days proved that the islands in
Polynesia were within the range of this type of ancient vessel. The Oscar
received in 1951 for the documentary "Kon-Tiki", which traces Heyerdahls’
raft trip, is on display in the museum.
Heyerdahl built Ra I at the foot of the Egyptian Pyramids in 1969 of
papyrus reeds. He set sail for Barbados, but there were problems with the
construction and the boat was abandoned. Ra II was built in 1970,
transported to Morocco from where it set sail for Barbados. This boat
completed a successful transatlantic crossing, covering the 4000 miles to
Barbados in just 57 days. The voyages with Ra I and Ra II proved that it
had been possible to have transatlantic contacts between the old
civilizations and the Americas.
To prove that there could have been contact and influences between the
great cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus valley across the sea,
the Tigris was built. This was Heyerdahl´s largest reed craft. In 1978, he
set out to recreate the voyage that would have taken place over 1,000 years
ago. Due to wars ranging all around the area at the time, Heyerdahl banded
the voyage and eventually set fire to Tigris.
The actual Kon-Tiki and Ra II vessels are on display in the museum, plus
models of Ra I and Tigris. Many artifacts from the voyages, including a
collection of archaeological finds from Easter Island, East Polynesia,
Galapagos, are displayed in the museum.
"Vigeland Sculpture Park" is our next stop. The park contains 212
sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought-iron with more than 600 figures,
all modeled in full size by Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). The stone
sculptures of unclothed family members depict all the various stages in the
life of man, from birth to death, one generation to the next, the circle of
life. One hour was not long enough to fully appreciate the reason Vigeland
designed and built this park. In short, he spent so much time sculpting
that he felt he had abandoned his wife and infant son, and this was a way
of making up it to them. The statues are unclothed so that no one can
ascribe a race or religion to them. For more on this interesting subject,
go to <http://members.cox.net/c.kau/Vigeland>
The 1952 Winter Olympics were held in Oslo. We went to the Holmenkollen ski
jump area when we had a fantastic view of Oslo. At the bottom of the ski
jump is an amphitheater. In the summer, it is filled with water for
swimming, but drained in the winter. On the winding road to the top of the
area, we passed the summer and winter residences of Norway’s Royal Family.
Our walking tour included a stroll alongside Oslo’s charming harbour. That
night, we dine on lamb at a quaint harbour restaurant.
June 9 - Oslo, Norway to Stockholm, Sweden - we leave Oslo and motored to
Stockholm on the eastern side of Sweden. Our motorcoach ride is about 550
km. long in pouring rain. The countryside is much like B.C. in some areas -
rugged rocks, lush pine, spruce and deciduous trees The roadsides are in
bloom with wild lupine and Queen Anne’s Lace. There aren’t as many grazing
cattle and sheep as we’ve seen in Great Britain and Europe. That’s because
the animals are mostly kept in large barns and the grasses are put into silage.
June 10 - Stockholm, Sweden - Stockholm (population 1.2 million) is built
on 14 islands. There are no less than 57 bridges connecting the islands.
The city is 1/3 water, 1/3 buildings and 1/3 green parks.
We tour the "Vasa Museum", a ship museum on one of the islands, Djurgarden
(Deer Garden). The Vasa was built ca1628 as a Royal flagship, and sank on
her maiden voyage before ever making it out of Stockholm harbour. In 1956,
the Vasa was located 30 m. beneath the surface. Divers managed to flush 6
tunnels in the mud underneath the ship, and steel cables were drawn through
the tunnels. Brackish water was pumped out and a treasure trove was
discovered, plus a few bodies. All the iron bolts that held it together had
rusted away, and wooden plugs had to be inserted in their place so that it
would not flood again as it was being raised. In 1961, the time came for
the first lift, 333 years after sinking. Two lifting pontoons on the
surface lifted the ship using the cables. It was a great occasion, with the
King of Sweden in attendance. After years of restoration, including the
boat being entirely covered with a resin so that the wood wouldn't rot
further, the Vasa was finally moved to the museum in 1988. Many articles
such as bits of clothing, shoes, pottery, cannons, were recovered and are
displayed..
We walk across a bridge to the Old Town (dating to 1255) of Stockholm that
was once a fortified island. The Old Town has very narrow streets and tall
colorful buildings dating to 1300's (restored) on basements from the
1200's. A cornerstone on one building has Viking script on it which has
been dated to A.D.1000. We saw the changing of the guard at the Royal
Palace. The Royal Military has stood guard at the palace since 1563. The
Royal Navy performed during the ceremony.
Old Town Stortorget (Square) was the site of the ‘Stockholm Blood Bath’ of
1520 when Christian II of Denmark beheaded 82 Swedish noblemen and
displayed a pyramid of their heads in the square. Sweden revolted, and
eventually separated from its union with Denmark and Norway in 1521.
We walk to another island and tour the Stockholm Town Hall where the Nobel
prizes are awarded. The 200 guests and the recipients first dine in the
Blue Hall, the main lobby, and then go upstairs to the Golden Hall. This is
an absolutely gorgeous room with a very high ceiling and glittering walls
covered in 90 million mosaic-mirror pieces about 1 inch square and pasted
with gold leaf. It only took 80 pounds of gold to cover the 90 million
tiles. Ceramic mosaic is used for wall murals within the gold walls. The
Golden Hall was decorated in 1921-23.
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), born into a wealthy family, made his fortune with
his invention of dynamite in 1866 and was the holder of more than 350
patents. He set up a fund of $9 million with the interest from the fund to
be used to award annual prizes in at least 6 categories. We drove by his
family home and one of his laboratories.
June 11 - On a warm drizzly morning, we take a train and ferry to an island
to see the world’s oldest open-air museum, Skansen. It was founded in 1891
and consists of 150 historic buildings mostly depicting the 18th and 19th
centuries that have been moved from various parts of Sweden to this island.
People in period costume depict the actual customs of the time. Stockholm’s
only zoo is in Skansen.
At 5 p.m., we board the Viking Line ‘Mariella’ cruise ship for our
overnight cruise to Helsinki, Finland. Our tour director, Nick, talked
about the Danes, Norwegians, Swedes as compared to the Finns. The Danes are
nice friendly people, relaxed, outgoing, smile a lot; the Norwegians are
more so; and the Swedes are even nicer, more friendly and will offer their
assistance readily. The Finns are altogether different. They are more
standoffish, hardly smile, and are generally very dour. We were told ‘don't
be nice Canadians and let people push through the queues in front of you’
for elevators or meals or lineups at duty free. It's okay for Nick to be so
blunt because his mother is Finnish. He told stories of how his English
father has often had to leave the Finnish family gatherings because they
were so brash and inconsiderate.
As soon as we boarded the cruise ship, we got a feeling for what Nick was
saying. Many of the passengers are on their way to Finland just to buy
their limit of alcohol at the Duty Free and a day away. It’s like Canadians
going ‘across the line’ to US. Wine and beer is free with meals onboard,
and many people took full advantage of that. Several Finnish Romani
(Gypsies) are on board dressed in layers and layers of black velvet skirts
and white blouses. Nick was right - no smiles and very little conversation
amongst the Finns.
June 12 - Helsinki, Finland - we arrive at Helsinki, and board our bus at
10 a.m. Helsinki (population ½ million) is built around a harbour. Today is
‘Helsinki Day’ and the city is celebrating its 453rd birthday. Many shops
are closed.
All four cities that we have toured on this trip has been the capital city
of their country, and therefore parliament buildings and royal palaces are
always on our bus tour. Most have had the Olympics at one time or another,
or at least an Olympic event. Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki are near the
60th degrees latitude, the same as Canada’s northern border, but the
climates of all three cities are much milder than ours. One-quarter of
Finland is above the Arctic Circle. Lutheranism predominates in Scandinavia.
Bicycles are everywhere, and when we are walking in the cities, we must
always be careful to stay off the bike paths. We yell out ‘mind the bikes’
when one of the group is on the wrong path. In each city, there are bike
rental stations. For the currency of the county or a Euro or two, you can
rent a bicycle and drop it off at any station along the way, and get your
money back. There is very little theft in the Scandinavian countries. And
their social systems protects them from cradle to grave.
Each country has their own flag, of different colors of course, with a
horizontal stripe across the middle and a vertical stripe about one third
from the flagstaff. Each country also has a flag for government, military
or royalty identical to their national flag, except for the swallowtail fly
end.
Our tour includes the red granite Parliament , the green-domed cathedral,
and the 1952 Olympic Stadium and the ski jump area.
Our first stop is the ‘Sibelius Monument’. After much debating and public
fund raising to decide on a monument to honour national composer Jean
Sibelius (1865-1957), a women, Eila Hiltunen, won the competition. Her
monument consists of approx. 600 acid-proof stainless steel tubes of
various diameters, welded together individually and hand-textured by
herself. It's a must-see for tourists to visit the monument dedicated to
the composer of Finland's national anthem , plus many other arrangements.
It took her 2 years to complete the structure, and because of the fumes
from welding, she suffers from a lung disease and now lives in the Italian
Tuscany Hills.
Next we visited 'Temppeliaukio Church' an International Evangelical Church
carved into a small hill of solid granite bedrock in 1968-9. There is no
dome, which is unusual for a church, on the copper roof. Huge organ pipes
line one wall. It is one of the more successful results of Finnish
architecture and each year, some half a million people go there to admire
‘the Church in the Rock’. On Saturdays, there is a wedding performed every
45 minutes here.
The roots of Nokia, the mobile phone company, is in Finland. Shipbuilding
is a major industry. The Carnival Cruise Line employs 2,000 workers to
build their ships, and 60% of the world’s icebreakers are built in Finland.
We stroll around the harbor, and spend our free time on the Esplanade full
of market stalls, venders, musicians. Yes, the Finns are a dour lot. Even
when celebrating, they aren't 'celebrating'.
June 13 - Tallinn, Estonia - early in the morning, we catch the ferry for a
trip over the Gulf of Finland to Estonia on the continent. We dock at the
port city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The population of Estonia is
1.5 million of which 400,000 live in Tallinn.
Estonia has been under the rule of Denmark, Germany, Sweden and other
countries, and most recently Russia, for centuries. Our bus tour took us
past the Olympic site where some events were held here during Moscow's 1980
Olympics. It was strange to see a Canadian flag on the Olympic Museum. It
likely meant that a Canadian diplomat or some other government official was
visiting.
We were taken to a borough where many working people live. It was row upon
row of apartment blocks badly in need of repair and painting. They cost the
equiv. of $23,000 US dollars to buy; the new ones down town are 5 times
more. With the average working wage at $360 per month, people can't afford
to live in the new apartments.
The beautiful Old Town with its fascinating 14th and 15th centuries
medieval architecture and slender church spires is included in the UNESCO
World Heritage list. We went inside the Russian Orthodox Church, where a
wedding was taking place. The only people there were the bride and groom
and one young girl, plus several chanting priests. The bride and groom must
stand for an hour with heavy crowns on their head, as part of the ceremony.
The girl was there to hold the crowns after this part of the ceremony was
over. Very strange procedure.
The Danes came to Estonia in 1219 to spread Christianity. Our next stop was
the very ancient, very large Lutheran church dating back to the
Reformation. The high walls were lined with family crests of Germany,
Russians, and others who had occupied the country for centuries.
We spent 3 hours shopping in the Old Town. Again, I saw a Canadian flag on
one of the older buildings. Perhaps the gov't. official was staying there?
Back onto the ferry by 5 p.m. and back to the hotel in Helsinki for an
early morning ride to the Airport on Saturday morning.
June 14 - Helsinki, Finland to Frankfurt, Germany to Calgary and Regina,
Canada.

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. Terry's travel tips.
More from  Trish and Chris Arbique
re camper trips -

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OR

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Must be in Destination by September 10, 2003

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All details available on HOT SUMMER MOTORHOME DEALS
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Dargal has the following offers -
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California Classics - 9 day tour - from San Francisco to Los Angeles
Trip highlights include: Cruise San Francisco Bay, visits to a California
Vineyard, Hearst castle, Santa Barbara Mission, Old Sacramento, Solvang,
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Trip highlights include: Tour of Salt Lake City, Little Bighorn
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. Smilie.
From: Geoff Brewster
A pilot is flying three people in a private plane - a Tibetan lama, and Bill
Gates (the smartest man in the world), and a hippie. Suddenly the pilot
announces to his three passengers: "I have bad news for you. The plane is
going to crash. We have to bail out now. Unfortunately, we have only three
parachutes. And since I am a terrific pilot, and I don't see any reason why
I should die, I am taking one of them. Good luck!" And with that, he jumped
out of the plane. Bill Gates said: "Since I am the smartest man in the
world, and very valuable to civilization, I am also going to take a
parachute and save myself." And with that, he leapt out of the plane. The
lama said to the hippie: "I have already lived a long and fruitful life and
have no need to live longer. Therefore, you may take the remaining
parachute." "Relax, mannnn," said the hippie, putting the parachute on to
the lama's back. "The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my
backpack."
Regards
Geoff

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Important reminder, for all new articles, submissions and or comments
for the "The Netletter" please send to:
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Your attached message has been delivered to the 2246 members and
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at 16:22:54 on 24 Jul 2003.

The text of the message follows:

From: Terry Baker <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Reply-To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: [The NetLetter] NetLetter nr 780 Jul 24/03  The NetLetter 
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 16:17:17 -0700
MIME-Version: 1.0
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|\^/|
T H E                    _| TCA |_
_|\| AIR |/|_
N E T L E T T E R   >  CANADA   <
>_./|\._<
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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)

Number 780 July 24th,  2003. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2700+


Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson   -      Co-pilot  - Terry Baker


To get in touch with either editor/pilot our  email address is
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


================================================================

. Nice to know.
Air Canada improves Hong Kong schedule to twice daily flights, introduces daily
non-stop service from Hong Kong to Toronto. Air Canada announced significant
improvements for air travellers between Canada and Hong Kong. Effective Dec.1
we will introduce daily non-stop flights from Hong Kong eastbound to Toronto
and a convenient, same plane westbound flight via Vancouver. With the new daily
non-stop flights to Toronto complementing our daily Vancouver flights, we will
offer customers the choice and flexibility of two daily flights linking both
western and eastern Canada with one of Asia’s most important business centres.

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. Star Alliance news -
From 18 November to 3 December 2003, fans of the science of astronomy will
have an exclusive opportunity to take part in a special flight around the
world. The luxury flight has been organised by tour operator Astronomy Travel
and will be made on an Austrian Airlines Airbus A340.

Air New Zealand's first Airbus A320 aircraft entered its natural habitat on a
sunny morning in Toulouse last Friday when it left the factory and took to the
skies with an Airbus crew of two pilots and one flight test engineer who took
the aircraft ZK-OJA on a three hour test flight.

bmi, the UK's second largest full service scheduled airline, is launching the
only direct daily services from London Heathrow to Tenerife for the winter.

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. Air Canada news.
Great food takes flight – Air Canada introduces onboard restaurant service
offering choice, value and flexibility. On Aug. 1, we will enhance the food
service offered on select domestic flights with the introduction of
reasonably-priced, restaurant-quality meals in Hospitality Service. The onboard
restaurant service program, like aircanada.com’s new low domestic fares, has
the potential to expand throughout our North American network and furthers our
business strategy of providing customers with maximum value, simplicity and
choice. The initiative is consistent with similar programs recently introduced
by most U.S. full service carriers. Teaming up with Cara Operations Ltd.’s well
known Canadian restaurants (Swiss Chalet, Montana’s Cookhouse, Milestones and
Kelsey’s), we will offer fresh, tasty, value-priced hot and cold meals and
hearty snacks to replace current complimentary meal and snack service, where it
is offered.

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. Remember when!
July 22nd marks the 60th anniversary of our first Trans-Atlantic flight. On
July 22, 1943 Trans-Canada Air Lines, precursor to Air Canada, launched its
very first trans-atlantic flight, from Montreal to Prestwick, Scotland. The
trans-atlantic service was introduced to assist in the war effort to carry mail
to and from the Canadian armed forces in the British Isles, and Canadian
government officials and members of the Canadian armed forces. The first flight
on a Lancaster aircraft, set a record of 12 hours and 26 minutes, and carried
2,600 pounds of mail and three passengers on government business. In 1946,
after the war, the Company recognized the potential of continuing the service,
and began offering passenger service from Montreal to London through Prestwick.
For information and a heart-warming story about two of our employees and their
special connection to our long-standing service to Scotland, stay tuned to
www.achorizons.ca and the next edition of New Horizons.
(CF-CMS with captain  R.F.George - eds)

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. More stories about Porquis Junction -
This one from Murray Wallace -
Reading today's NetLetter reminded me of the summer of 1947. TCA started
flying the Great Lakes Route
to Winnipeg, leaving North Bay and Kapuskasing without air service. They then
started a Flight from Toronto, North Bay, Porquis Junction to Kapuskasing,
using our last operating Lockheed Lodestar. Kenny Forsythe and myself
"volunteered" to operate this flight that summer and it turned into a very
enjoyable experience. Once we left Toronto we had our own little airline. The
flight operated northbound on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and returned the
following day, so we had from Saturday noon until Monday afternoon off.
We used the first two male flight attendants to operate domestically (Harry
Lane and Harold Latrimoule) and they and the F/O (me)
had to load and unload the baggage.
At that time Porky was a grass field with no runways. The Indians used to pick
blueberries on the field and we frequently had to do a low pass to chase them
off. We would phone North Bay to find out the boarding load southbound and then
fill the empty seats with baskets of berries with the seat belt to hold them
in!
We laid over each night at the Kapuskasing Inn, which at that time was owned
and operated by the Spruce Falls Paper Company, who pretty well owned the town.

Ken left late in the summer to move to YWG and was succeeded by Bill Peters. At
about that same time we lost our beloved Lodestar and used a DC-3 for the rest
of the season. I left in September to move to Montreal and fly the new North
Star on the Trans-Atlantic service, thus ending a really enjoyable part of my
career.
I'm a little hazy on names, but George Fox was the Manager in North Bay, Ken
Esselmont in Porky and Doug Calder in KAP.
Leo Clermont was the mechanic in KAP.
Murray Wallace

and another one this time from E. R. T. \(Ellie\) Park

I came to TCA in July 1946 right after 5 years RCAF, and retired 4 years
early in 1976. My ID shows 29 years, 11 months and 30 days. If that isn't
thirty years I don't know what is; but the computer says otherwise. It was
a happier airline before computers took over in place of brains. TCA was on
it's way up and so were those who worked for the airline. I'm in my 27th
year of retirement and Maisie (who says she never retired) and I are well
settled in Westbank, B.C. with our side-by-each computers, a few fruit trees
and many friends.
I remember Porquis Junction very well with its sand landing area and
blueberries. Loads of manure (not from Ottawa) were sent there each year to
promote grass growth on said landing area. I don't remember much about the
grass growth on the field but the blueberries thrived on the manure and
there was always fresh cream in board the DC3. It was a while before we got
a Stewardess on board, via Toronto, Porkie to Kap. but large, blonde,
hairy-armed Dirk Banes (Baines) could handle any emergency in the passenger
cabin and sling baggage with the best. His hands were large enough to
conceal two cups of coffee when he brought them forward. We missed the
scent of perfume; but Dirk was a happy, smiling individual and welcome in
the north country where we got to know many of the passengers by name,
especially the regulars into and out of Kap. I still have a friend in this
area who hails from Kap. and knew those who I knew. I was flying the DC3
(C47) when we started flying into Timmins in 1955. To those of us who flew
the aircraft during part of the war years, it was known as the Dakota (Dak.)
on Transport Command and other places. It towed gliders, dropped Paratroops
and other essentials when and where needed. There never will be an aircraft
like it. The Dak. and the north country suited me just fine. If TCA hadn't
gone upitty to become Air Canada and modernized to Jets, I could have gladly
stayed where I was until retiring, but they sold the DC3 and I had to move.

and yet another one -
Well, nothing special about that. I used to fly that route regularely on DC3
from Toronto and Montreal in 1954. We would then go on to Kap. ...flat out at
2000 ft and 120 MPH..bouncing all over the sky in thermal turbulence.....Great
old days......Give them back to me anytime. I knew Capt Jean Gilbert well.
Greetings from Val Morin, QC Capt. Pierre Guy Charbonneau,(Ret) TCA, AC
1953-1986

(Good job the stories are about a small airport like Porquis Junction - what
would happen if the stories had been about YYZ or YUL? - eds)

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. Brian Dunn who authors the 'YYZNEWS' sent us this story -
Here's an interesting story.  It deals with the retirment of one of our
airline's (First Air) 727-100s, which happened today, 14Jul.  Until it's
withdrawl, it was the oldest flying passenger aircraft still flying in Canada,
and possibly, North America.

Here's a recount of the day's event:

Today marked the official retirement of our eldest 727 in the fleet, C-GFRB.
It's final resting place in the Carp airport, YRP.  I was fortunate enough to
be at work today to watch it land.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera
along (the only sad note for me, besides the retirement itself).  

FRB was built in 1967.  It was scheduled to land this morning at YRP at 0830,
but due to a hydraulic problem with the nose landing gear, it was forced to
return to YOW for repairs.  Nevertheless it made 2 spectacular low fly-bys and
2 near touch-and-gos before heading back to YOW.  At 1200 a second attempt was
made, this time successfully.  The aircraft touched down at YRP at around 1210
on its final flight (1 more than originally planned due to the problem earlier
in the day).  

What made the landing so spectacular is that YRP's runway is a little under
4000ft.  To everyones knowledge, no aircraft the size of a 721 has ever landed
at the airfield before.  All the 7F employees took a time-out to watch the
event and since YRP is a non-secure airport, we were all watching from the
airside.  I personally stood about 35m from the edge of the runway.  A few
brave souls, including one of the company's VPs stood within metres of the
runway as the aircraft was touching down.

The crew made a near-perfect landing, touching just past the numbers, bounced
for a few feet, then used full thrust reverse and and braking.  The landing had
to be flawless as there were no emergency crews standing by.  The old bird came
to a stop in only approximately 2500 feet. As FRB taxied for the last time on
the ramp, we all applauded the capatain, F/O and F/E as well as the fine piece
of machinery as she came to a rest in front of our hangar.

By the time I left work this afternoon at 1630, the number 1 engined had been
removed and the #2 was in the process of being taken off.  This had to be done
rather hastily as the engines are being borrowed off of our sole remaining 721,
C-GVFA.  They need to be re-installed onto VFA before Wednesday morning for our
flight 872/873, YOW-YFB-YRB-YSR-YFB-YOW.

I will always fondly remember FRB as it was the first 7F aircraft I ever flew
on.  The fuselage will eventually be used by the RCMP to help officers train in
anti-terrorism exercises.
Hopefully someone remembered to bring a camera and will post some pics onto
a.net or j.net.
Thanks,

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" ' "

.  Re: Enquiry, landing gear.
Recently Lucien Guillaume requested information regarding landing gear in
NetLetter nr 775.
His responses are here should you be interested -

I thank you for your assistance in helping me find out information about the
research surrounding the topic of the rotation of tyres prior to landing.
The replies I have received to date follow.
Best regards, Lucien Guillaume

1. Hello Lucien,
From my memory - waaaay baaaack. British European Airways were having problems
with the de Havilland Comet jetliner in that the aircraft was always blowing
tyres upon landing. The thought of rotating wheels prior to landing was
abandoned as loss of control would result. The answer was the maxerate(?)
unitdeveloped by Dunlop Rubber Co. which, when the brakes were applied, did not
lock up the wheels and cause blow-outs. This is as I recall from
conversationswith BEA types during one of the Farnborough air shows. BUT,
having said all that, I will ask the 'troops' your question. We would, of
course, be interested in any information that gets relayed to you.
Terry

2. In NetLetter nr 775, Lucien Guillaume made an enquiry about landing gears -
This research was developed a long time ago. You make a very gentle touchdown .
This uses the "ground cushion effect" to spin the wheels up before there is
actual surface contact.
Gloud Blaikie Retired Pilot  #095033

3. I don't know if this is of any help but I recall that many years ago there
were trials done of tires with fins mounted on the sidewalls. I don't know what
the drawbacks were but the method never went into commercial use.
J.R.Haran

4. Salut Lucien,
I always thought that the idea of getting the tires rotating before landing
was a scrapped idea for the simple reason that when the tires touch the runway
the spooling up of the tire makes a good breaking device and therefore the wear
and tear is considered to be a worthwhile cause.  In the meantime I pass along
my best regards from YUY and if you find out otherwise about the subject, it
would be nice to know.
Len Gauthier   

5. Landing gear tire rotation,
This is an interesting query. I do not think they do- even though I flew as a
navigator/ flight engineer for 30 years.I did think about it of and on but
always figured that the important thing was that the "dunlops should be
dangling" on landing. To have the radial velocity of the tires equal to the
landing speed- say 180 km/hr seems like a good idea for a seamless transition.
However upon landing the main force vector is down and the tires would come to
a screeching halt and then start up again-thus twice the wear. In spite of the
common perception- the firm landings are generally auto pilot controlled. The
ones you experience that seem to be tickled on to the runway are the manual
landings and many pilots develop a real skill in this area.
John Scheffer

6. Spin up devices
I have heard pilots explain a bounce after a bad landing as their method of
reducing tire wear. On the second touchdown when all the weight is on the
wheels the tires  are already up to speed.
I never bought that line.
GWPE Captain retired. Bill Elliott


7. After 35 years of airline flying, the answer I got some years ago was
that to keep the wheels perfectly balanced to prevent high vibration
while the gear was extended, would be much more expensive than the cost
of the wear and tear on the tires. Apparently the tires are good for
more than 20 landings and then are recapped 10 to 20 times. Cheers
Wayne Sands

8. Greetings,
In response to your query about "Driven" landing gear, I would like to point
out the following. Having rotating wheels prior to touch down would not be
practical for the following reasons; The additional weight added to achieve
this would be a liability through all phases of flight, adding to the overall
cost. Furthermore, upon touchdown, the aircraft will possess greater kinetic
energy, and therefore require additional breaking. This of course will be
reflected in increased tire wear (what you gain on the swings you lose on the
roundabout). A crucial aspect of it is that the landing roll will increase,
requiring a longer runway.  
Regards,  Walter J. (Jacyk)

9. Hi Lucien,
Saw you request for information on wheel spin solutions. I remember many years
ago seeing an article where aircraft tires had fins moulded into the sidewall
that allegedly would cause the wheel to spin before touching down. I believe it
was a British idea.
There is a problem with having wheels spin in the air. Out of balance
conditions can sometimes cause  serious vibrations. This is often the case with
nosewheels and there is a friction block to cause the wheel to stop rotating
once it is retracted.
Hope life is treating you fairly.Take care and be well..
Best personal regards     Bill Norberg

10. Hello  Re your thoughts regarding landing gear.  
Many years ago I had a neighbour who was an engineer and Vice President of the
DOWTY Co. in Ajax which was originally an English company.  They are now called
Messier-Dowty and are owned by SNECMA. They manufacture landing gear for
aircraft. I asked him why they didn't spin the wheels before touchdown to save
rubber. He said they didn't do it because they wanted the action of the tires
scrubbing the runway to absorb energy thus slowing the aircraft. I asked
different people thru the years the same question and got the same answer. I've
wondered how much that action slows a 747 weighing several hundred thousand
pounds.
Nice to know you're still alive and kicking, Lucien,
Yours truly,
Dave Bush

11. Hi, As an airline pilot I brought up this subject many years ago early in
my
career. The reply was that as all the tires wear at varying rates depending
on where they are located and the amount of wear the previous landing did to
them, if they could be rotated at landing speed prior to touchdown they
could set up such a vibration that it would be felt thruout the whole
aircraft. One other factor is that if during the previous takeoff the tires
were wet, ice could form on them during the climb and cruise causing even
more imbalance and vibration. Hope you can find more info.
Capt.(Ret) Tony Merry

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Subject: Pioneers in Aviation
Art Kupchanko sends this injformation -
For Western Canada viewers.......
KCTS the PBS station in SEA is rebroadcasting
biographies of aviation leaders William Boeing
and Donald Douglas Monday August fourth at nine PM

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" ' "
. Terry's travel tips.
ACRA holds its 2003 System Badminton Tournament in Barbados. With birdies and
raquets in hand, all levels of players are welcome to participate in the ACRA
System Tournament in Barbados from Oct. 26 – Oct. 31. The tournament entry fee
for ACRA members is $65 US and $75 US for guest players. For more information
on the designated hotel, prices for non-playing members or guests, or how to
apply, contact Michelle Johnston at (514) 422-2631 or at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Rosemary Farrell in London, England at 0 20
87 50 83 22 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Deadline to participate and
book your hotel is Sept. 6.

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. DID YOU KNOW?
ARCHIVES for NetLetters.
NetLetters are now located in ACFamily.net/forums area
Just go to: http://www.acfamily.net/forums
- Log in (if you aren't already)
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You will be able to find ALL netletters.
And there is a research engine to help you.


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