Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter
Since 1995 Saturday, June 13, 2026
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TCA Super Constellation YUL Hangar 5 - 1957
Photo by Clint Ward |
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Dear Welcome to The NetLetter, established in 1995 as a dedicated newsletter for Air Canada retirees.
We have evolved into the longest running aviation-based newsletter for Air Canada, TCA, CP Air, Canadian Airlines and all other Canadian-based airlines that once graced the skies. The NetLetter is self-funded and is always free to subscribers. It is operated by a group of volunteers and is not affiliated with any airline or associated organizations. The NetLetter is published on the second and fourth weekend of each month. If you are interested in Canadian aviation history, and vintage aviation photos, especially as it relates to Trans-Canada Air Lines, Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International and their constituent airlines, then we're sure you'll enjoy this newsletter. Please note: We do our best to identify and credit the original source of all content presented. However, should you recognize your material and are not credited; please advise us so that we can correct our oversight. Our website is located at www.thenetletter.net Please click the links below to visit our archives and for more info about The NetLetter. |
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 We have welcomed 64 new subscribers so far in 2026.
We currently have 4605 subscribers.
We wish to thank everyone for the continuing support of our efforts.
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 Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.
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We always welcome feedback about Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge) from our subscribers who wish to share current events, memories and photographs.
Particularly if you have stories to share from one of the legacy airlines: Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Airlines, CP Air, Pacific Western, Maritime Central Airways, Eastern Provincial, Wardair, Nordair, Transair, Air BC, Time Air, Quebecair, Calm Air, NWT Air, Air Alliance, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Georgian and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.
We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.
Thanks!
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 On Monday, August 31, we are holding our annual Ottawa Pionairs / ACRA golf tournament, which has been a huge success in the past. We will again extend an invitation to Pionairs members in the Quebec District and look forward to welcoming all participants, their spouses/partners and guests.
The event also includes a BBQ at the Meadows Golf & Country Club, Ottawa. The Social hour will start at 12:00 pm on the patio, followed by the BBQ at 1:00 pm.
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Aviation Football Cup - Rome, Italy
Rome is the capital city and most populated commune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome.
Rome (or Roma in Italian) has a population of 2.8 million, the Romans. According to legend, Rome city was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE. The city is located on the banks of the river Tiber (Tevere in Italian) and was founded on top of seven hills.
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Submitted by Nick Davy -
Regarding your article from NetLetter #1396 on Transair, I was able to find some information on Transair's YS-11 CF-TAM. I have been updating and tracking fleet lists for airlines in Canada, Transair being one of them.
CF-TAM was active in January 2000 in Mexico. I'm not sure when but it was stored in Mexico sometime after that and was parked at Aeropuerto Internacional de Saltillo wearing the registration XA-TND.
The website below has close-up pictures of it from early 2019.
Editors' Note:
The NAMC YS-11, 182 built 1962-74 (in service 1965) remains the only airliner designed and built in Japan since WWII. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops. Winnipeg-based Transair had two from 1968 to 1979/80. Pacific Western Airlines acquired Transair in 1979.
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Transair's YS-11 CF-TAM
Toronto (YYZ) - June 23, 1971
Photo by Gary Vincent
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The header photo for this issue was sent in to us by subscriber Clint Ward -
"I took this photo in 1957 when I was on course. Spent almost 2 years as a first officer before going to the Viscount for promotion to captain. Lots of great memories flying this iconic aircraft. The Super Constellation was the queen of the fleet back then.
I remember, one night on a flight to London, during our usual stop in Gander, I walked under it without bending over and said to myself, ”what a giant - they’ll never build anything bigger than this.” Little did we know!
I spent my last 12 years with Air Canada on the B-747 - the real 'Queen of the Skies'."
Continued below in 'Wayne's Wings'.
Terry Baker added this personal memory on the introduction of the fleet -
On May 11, 1954 the Connie was in Heathrow (LHR) for publicity, and local staff and media etc. were onboard, myself included, for a familiarization flight to Dusseldorf.
After deplaning, the locals boarded and the aircraft then proceeded to Vienna for a local familiarization flight, before returning to drop off the Dusseldorf staff and pick up the LHR staff and back to LHR.
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Submitted by Tim Johnston -
In the early 1980’s, a little firm known as G and M (Gerry & Mel) Aviation kept three B-25 Mitchell bombers at the now closed St. Albert Industrial Airport, near the city of St. Albert, Alberta that borders Edmonton to the northwest. These two fellows had the contract for water bombing out of Fort Smith, NWT for most of Wood Buffalo National Park.
The aircraft were wintered at St. Albert and in the spring, very senior fellows would arrive by way of half-ton trucks and camper trailers to tune up the planes and get them ready for fire season. Once all were ready to go, one of the aircraft was flown over to Namao for fuel, then returned to St. Albert where the gas was shared with the other two bombers. The planes were then flown to Fort Smith and the pilots returned by Cessna to pick up half-tons and trailers for the road trip to the northern post.
I would spend weekends at SAI “helping out” by passing up wrenches and watching the aviators at work; and sitting in the cockpit as the engines were run up. What a memory!
This wasn’t an airline operation of any sort but this spring ritual attracted an interesting collection of people, many of whom were airline pilots. The allure of six round engines was very hard to resist for folk with varying degrees of interest in aviation.
Editors' Note: Tim has been a frequent contributor to The NetLetter. These photos were sent to us in April 2025 but we missed publishing them until now. We wish to thank Tim for sending in the photos and apologize for the delay.
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Remember when we used carbon paper tickets? To keep them from being damaged, we kept them in 'ticket wallets'. Here are a few of the photos used for the wallet covers.
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Thanks to John Rodger for sending in these stories on two remarkable ladies -
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 TCA's second interior accommodation engineer was another young woman and, would you believe it, a University of Manitoba graduate with a degree in interior design dating from 1942.
Born in July 1918, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Janet Elizabeth Lowe grew up in & around Winnipeg. One of Janet’s first assignments was to design the interior of TCA’s brand-new airliner, the Canadair North Star, a derivative of the world famous Douglas DC-4 / DC-6 airliners.
Janet travelled to many locations in Canada and the United States to order the best fabrics and materials to give a Canadian look and feel to the North Star. And yes, the jaw droppingly amazing collection of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum includes a military transport version of the North Star.
Another project Janet worked on was a handbook used by TCA pilots. More specifically, she modified the maps in said handbook. Finding them rather bland and, well, boring, she drew small a small rabbit on all the maps. TCA's pilots were said to have applauded the idea.
Janet married Charles Alexander "Charlie" Proudfoot, another TCA staff member and former football player from Winnipeg in October 1947. The couple moved to Québec when TCA moved its headquarters from Winnipeg to Dorval, Québec, near Montréal. The couple lived in Saint-Laurent, Québec, for some time, then moved to Pointe-Claire, Québec.
She painted over a period of decades, using various mediums and painted many Old Pointe Claire scenes of the village from the 50’s & 60’s. Her son Tony Proudfoot played football for the Montreal Alouettes. Unfortunately, he passed away from ALS. Pointe Claire has named a park in his name on Gendron St. not far from where his mom lived in The Wellesley, on Hymas Boulevard.
Janet passed away in May 2020. She was 101 years old.
Note by John Rodger: Ben Besner & I were in YWG for the Pionairs AGM 2009 when we made a visit to the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada where they have a refurbished TCA Viscount. While standing in line to view the interior. A lady started taking to us and it turn out to be Janet Proudfoot. She told us the story of her career at TCA.
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At our Spring Luncheon May 28 we honoured Mae Wilson for her long service to the Quebec District Pionairs. Mae retired from Nordair before it was taken over by CP Air.
In 2001 we had a special luncheon to welcome C.A.I.R.E (Canadian Airlines International Retired Employees) to our Air Canada Pionairs family. Shortly after becoming Pionair Members, Mae & the late Robert Levasseur joined our committee. When I was asked to become the National President in 2003. Mae became the Treasurer and Robert the 1st VP.
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She was also the YUL District Director from 2005 -2007. She has served on our Pionair committee for 25 years. She also found time to volunteer with Dreams Take Flight for many years.
Mae has decided to give up chair of the social committee but will serve on the committee as a consultant. Mae it is my pleasure to present this award to you on behalf of the QC District
Thanks so much for your many years of service.
John Rodger
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John Rodger, Mae Wilson & Ben Besner
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Found in 'Horizons' magazine
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Issue dated June 1998
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Vancouver - the following employees from Aircraft Services celebrated 25 years of service during 1998.
Left to right: Fred Hyatt, Gerry Dagenais, Ken Iverson, Tony Coleman, G.M., Customer Service. B.C. & Pacific Rim; Laurie Boytzun, Don Holt, Ken Shrubsole, Manager, Customer Service, Aircraft Services.
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Members of the Central Baggage Office Project Team were all smites at the official opening on April 20, 1998.
They are left to right: Gabriel de Puyjalon, Denis Chalifoux, France Demers, Bryan Doyle (hidden behind France); Normand Morin, François Trempe (behind Normand); Glenn Sellors, Marion Mellor, Raymond Lavoie (hidden behind Marion); Francine Mai, Cynthia Bélanger, Dave Dickie and Bob Blake.
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Issue dated August 1998
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Ice storm plaque presentation.
Employees at the Dorval base main cafeteria were presented with a plaque in recognition of their dedication in extending cafeteria hours during last January's 1998 ice storm. A warm thanks goes out to all employees who devoted their time and energy to help others.
Pictured here, left to right, are, back row: Tont Tibiriu, Cook; John Agudelo, Senior Kitchen Helper; Marc Lefebvre, Station Attendant; Patrick Swann, Kitchen Helper; Guillo Vecere, Kitchen Helper and Réjean Fortin, Manager, Food Services.
Front row: Lyne St-Marie, Boutique Attendant; Julie Blais, Apprentice Cook; Linda Lemieux, Cafeteria Attendant; Isabelle Brousseau, Cafeteria Attendant; Alex Gal, Pastry Chef; Joyce Hylton, Cashier; Jean-Jacques Bourgeault, Senior Executive Vice President; Guy Parent, Chef and Brigitte Beaudry, Cafeteria Attendant.
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Issue dated September 1988
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Employees from Ottawa who celebrated 25, 30 or 35 years of service.
Left to right, front row: Jancy Howell, Marthe Dallaire, Vera Mahoney, Linda Ganly, Michael Legault, Steve Ferguson, Ron Stockwood, Lucy-Ann Greenway and Jean Martel.
Back row: Jean-Marc Trottier, Larry McMahon, Michel Perron, Jim Seath-Smith, Don Demaine, Les Scoales, Wayne Wilson, Bob Robillard, Ed Ste. Marie, Pierre Dupont and René Gauthier.
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CP Air / Canadi>n People Gallery |
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April 7, 1999 - Canadian Airlines inaugural B-737 service between Edmonton and Chicago.
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Found in "Canadi>n Flyer" magazine.
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Issue dated January 1998
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Canadian Airlines B-767, shown in Auckland, New Zealand on October 31, 1997, marked the company's first flight to that city since April 1991.
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Issue dated February 1998
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Employees brave crisis together
The ice storm that slammed into southern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes in January 1998 had a devastating impact on the lives of millions of people. Many residents were without heat or electricity for days and even weeks, forcing them to huddle under blankets in their homes or travel to shelters to escape the cold.
Canadian Airlines played a key role in bringing relief to millions of people stricken by the January storm in Montreal. The soldiers removed fallen trees, clearing the way for power to be restored to the Montreal area.
The military chartered our aircraft, including this DC-10, to ferry troops from Edmonton Int'l Airport to Mirabel Airport.
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Our winning team in Buenos Aires.
Left to right: Alex Obaditch, Matias Mauro, Luciana Chiesa and Edward McLaren.
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The last international arrival into Mirabel Airport on September 14, 1997, was CP45.
Working the flight were Captain M. Weismuller, First Officer S. Graham, Cabin Service Director M. Lachapelle, Flight Attendants E. Martens, M. Spence, M. Desaulniers, K. Trainos, M. Chindamo and R. Del Gaudio.
Posing with a few members of the crew are airport agents (far right) Uli Opalka and (seated in front) Danny Riggo.
Thanks to Uli for the photo and to Carey Thiessen from YYC Crew Sked for coming to the rescue and providing the names of the crew.
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Pierre Gillard has shared this information -
Demolition of three Airbus aircraft.
Three aircraft arrived at Saint-Hubert (YHU) between January 8 and 22 to be later scrapped.
These are the following aircraft: C-GBHO (fin #276) Airbus A319-114 MSN 779 and C-GARJ (fin #272) Airbus A319-114 MSN 752 of Air Canada Rouge and C-GPWG (fin #401) Airbus A320-211 MSN 174 of Air Canada (originally Canadian Airlines).
The arrival dates at Saint-Hubert (YHU) were C-GBHO on January 8, C-GPWG on January 11 and C-GARJ on January 22, 2026.
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Prior to their arrival in Saint-Hubert, they had been stripped of their interior at Trois-Rivières, leaving only the bare essentials in order to carry out their final ferry flight.
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My friend Édouard Painchaud and I followed the dismantling of these three planes and we offer you the sequence of photos which follows:
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By April the demolition was well advanced.
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By May, the three aircraft were scattered about.
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Note that, even if aviation is a very polluting sector, the recycling of most of the components and materials constituting the aircraft has always been implemented. And this still applies here.
For the the full story (text in French) in photographs story refer to:
Editors' Note: The ex-Canadian Airlines Airbus A320 C-GPWG, Fin #401, was AC's oldest passenger aircraft at almost age 35, delivered to Canadian April 12, 1991.
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TCA - Super Constellation Photo
Continued from 'Readers' Feedback', Clint Ward sent us this photo of a Trans-Canada Air Lines Super Constellation taken in Dorval Hangar 5 in 1957. I was immediately impressed that it was such a good quality colour photo taken with a Kodak camera almost 70 years ago. We have access to many vintage photos but very few of this quality.
However, the original was somewhat faded so I asked Bob Lynch, who has been generously offering us his skills at photo restoration, to see what he could do; the result is below.
We tried to look into identifying the aircraft but we can only speculate.
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From Ken Pickford:
It could have been one of about 10 aircraft. The 14 TCA Super Connies were delivered between 1954 and 1958 but the first 8 all arrived in 1954, plus 2 each in 56/57/58. The 1957 deliveries were late in the year (Nov/Dec).
The white-top livery started appearing in 1957 and a couple of sources say weather radar was added to the early ones in 1958/59 which extended the aircraft's nose by a foot or more (not on aircraft in photo). A few of the later deliveries were built with it.
One problem with the TCA Super Connies is a shortage of photos. There aren't very many, and none at all for a few of the aircraft.
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| Terry's Trivia
& Travel Tips |
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Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.
While perusing the September 1998 Horizons, I noticed the photo of Valerie Walker celebrating her 45 years’ of service. I recognized Valerie, who started her career in 1953 as a typist in the station manager Jack Ross' office at LHR.
I started my career as an office clerk in 1954 at in the same office. Valerie transferred to YUL during the mid 1950's to train as a flight attendant. I transferred to YUL in 1965.
The only other occasion I met Valerie was while travelling, as a con, to LHR from YUL, Valerie was working the first class cabin, and we spent some time reminiscing.
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An extraordinary milestone was reached during 1998 when Dorval In-Charge Valerie Walker (second from the left) celebrated 45 years of service.
Left to right: N. Garceau-Pelletier, Valerie Walker, E.J. D'Arcy, Vice President. In-Flight Service; Flight Attendants L. Ratelle, L Marcil (seated) and C. Grenon. |
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From 'Canadian Flyer' magazine
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Issue dated November 1997
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Wayne, Ken & Terry Richmond, British Columbia - December 2019
(Bob Sheppard was not available for the photograph) |
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Wayne, Bob & Ken Richmond, British Columbia - December 2023
(Terry Baker was not available for the photograph) |
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We wish to honour the memories of
Vesta Stevenson and Alan Rust. They remain a part of every edition published. |
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E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted):
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