We have welcomed 48 new subscribers so far in 2023.

We wish to thank everyone for your support of our efforts.

Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.

We invite you to visit our website at www.thenetletter.net/netletters to view our archives.

Restoration and posting of archive issues is an ongoing project. We hope to post every issue back to the beginning in 1995.

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.

Please feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.

Thanks!

Aviation Football Cup.

• Date: May 25 - 28 , 2023
• Place: Torrevieja, Alicante (Spain).
• Registration Deadline: April 25, 2023.
• Payment Deadline: April 28, 2023.

Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.

More information at: edasports.wixsite.com

Posted by Geoff Nicholas January 16, 2023.

The ACRA Softball Tournament is back and will be held in Toronto June 13-15, 2023.

If you’re interested in playing check YYC ACRA Facebook page. 

• June 3 & 4 - Snowbirds Over Thunder Bay 2023 - Thunder Bay, Ontario
• June 7 -North Bay Armed Forces Day 2023 - North Bay, Ontario
• June 8 - RBC Canadian Open Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Toronto, Ontario
• June 17 & 18 - Soldier On Air Show 2023 - Moncton, New Brunswick
• June 21 - Gander - Snowbirds Air Show 2023 - Gander, Newfoundland
• June 24 - Snowbirds Over Conception Bay 2023 - Conception Bay, Newfoundland
• July 1 - Canada Day 2023 - Ottawa, Ontario
• July 3 - Peggy's Cove Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
• July 7 - Cavendish Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Cavendish, Prince Edward Island
• July 9 - Charlottetown Snowbirds Display 2023 - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• July 10 - Cavendish Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Cavendish, Prince Edward Island
• July 15 & 6 - Country Thunder Saskatchewan: Snowbirds display 2023 - Regina, Saskatchewan
• July 22 - Boundary Bay Airshow 2023 - Delta, British Columbia
• July 27 - Saskatoon Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• July 29 & 30 - Canadian International Air Race Red Deer Airshow 2023 - Red Deer, Alberta
• August  4 & 6 - Edmonton International Airshow 2023 - Edmonton, Alberta
• August 11 & 13 - Abbotsford International Airshow 2023 - Abbotsford, British Columbia
• August 19 - Winnipeg Snowbirds Flyover 2023 - Winnipeg, Manitoba
• August 26 & 27 - Air Show Atlantic 2023 - Debert, Nova Scotia
• August 26 & 27 - Wings Over Windsor 2023 - Leamington, Ontario

For the latest information check -

airshowcenter.com/airshows/canada/current

Submitted by Dave Baker -

Recently I was at our local knick-knack and antique shop and Jon (the proprietor) had just got a TCA Vickers Viscount tin toy into inventory.

I thought some of the goodly AC and TCA folk who might be interested - the lever for the landing gear works and the levers for the engine sounds work as well.

Condition is fair for its vintage, it was played with over time. He is asking a selling price of $225.00

If you know anyone, or just want to share the information about, his contact info is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

His establishment is ECLECTABLES located in St. Eugene, Ontario.

Submitted by Gael Sheridan -

I was so glad to have found your website as I worked at Air Canada in the 1960's in Place Ville Marie in Montreal and it was my very favourite place of work.

I had many jobs before and after AC but when I was there it was an exciting time for the company.  Aeroflot and Air Canada began flights to Moscow and also many new Caribbean destinations.

Also Expo ’67 was in Montreal and excitement was everywhere. I am enclosing a photo of the International Passenger Sales Department.

They are left to right: Gil Gilbert, Dave, Vern Van Iderstine, Ian Gardner, Mr. Callen (Manager), Gus Gauvreau, Leo Brammall and in the middle, myself, Gael Anthony.

Great memories!

In 2008, the East Canada Section of the 'Ninety-Nines' initiated a stamp project, each year through Canada Post's Picture Postage program, in order to celebrate Canadian women pilots representing various flying careers.

Teenager Anna Pangrazzi had not planned a career until her math teacher offered an unusual elective, the private pilot ground school.

When completed, he offered students the chance to write the government exam. Anna had enjoyed the course and aced the exam.

That summer she took flying lessons and within three months earned her private pilot licence.

She was enamoured with a young lad in Toronto and often flew for visits, taking friends to share expenses. Her piloting experiences grew, particularly with border crossings – because she lived in the USA. After a year at university, Anna completed a commercial licence and an instrument rating.

By then, she had a considerable investment in aviation. She was as smitten with flying as she was with the Toronto lad! She had found a career. But her glasses were a problem. At that time, airlines didn’t hire pilots who wore glasses. 

Anna married, moved to Toronto, and continued university studies, graduating in Economics in 1985. She became active in the First Canadian Chapter of Ninety-Nines, and later had a son, Jesse. When flying commercially seemed impossible, Anna sought new aviation challenges.

She met a woman who sold planes. They worked together until her friend moved on and she briefly joined two fellows selling airplanes. In 1988 Anna formed her own company, Apex Aircraft, selling new and used planes, along with Leggat Aviation, which focused on maintenance.

Read more at:
canadian99s.com/anna-pangrazzi

Editors' Note: Canada Post has cancelled the 'Self-Designed Stamp Program'. 

Once the stamps are sold out, there will be no more available. They have First Day Covers for most of the past stamp honourees, but are sold out for Vi Milstead, Eileen Vollick and  Felicity McKendry.

1966 - November 6 -

Inaugural service Montreal - Moscow commenced with DC-8 equipment, Air Canada becoming the first North American carrier to operate a regular service to Moscow.

Issue dated May 1943

The speed bird has been dropped from our emblem due to similarity to the BOAC insignia.

A revision in design is under way and, until a final decision is reached, we shall treat the simple encircled maple leaf with a superimposed TCA as our official insignia - indeed this may remain our permanent design if nothing superior is evolved. 

Found in 'Horizons' magazine 

Issue dated April 1973

Effective Speech Workshop members in Montreal gather for their closing activities.

In the front row (seated) are: René Grether, VP of this year's course; banquet guest speaker Maurice d'Amours, Regional VP; Sam Gatelaro, course president; instructor Gilles Perron; Barbara Thompson, who will be president of next year's course.

Graduates in the back row are, from the left: Kelvin Brown, Jean-Claude Desfossés, Ross Watson, Peter Arstad, Jeff Martin, Russ Davis, Pierrette Williams, Odette Laliberté, Charles Cadot, Fred Romanauskas, Francoise Allard, Stan Dear and Bob Lawrie.

Missing from the photo are Bernard Keller, André Richard and Ron Muncey.

Issue dated September 2016

(by permission)

Celebrating the twenties.

On July 15, 1996, the Saint John Call Centre opened its doors in New Brunswick.

Twenty years later we celebrate those Customer Sales and Service Agents (mostly CSSA's except as noted) who started working at Air Canada on that day. Happy 20th anniversary!

Back row from left to right: Stanley Best, Rod Ritchie, Dwight Hilchie, Amy Washburn. CSA; Nathalie Noel, Nadine Noel, Jodi Meinert, France Goguen, CSA; Nicole Furlotte,
Kelly Corscadden, Customer Service Manager; Michael Tremblay, Director, Call Centres and Customer Relations and Sylvie Noel.

Front row left to right: Kathleen Robinson, Monique Daigle, Lead Rates and Ticketing; Erika Levesque, Jolene Ouellet, Resource Development Manager; Marco Ouellet, Nicole Richard, Christa McMaster, Karla Martin, Brenda Ross, Lead OPS; Josee Gautreau and Renee Thibodeau.

Missing in this picture but part of the group are: Nathalie LeClair, Michelle Graham, Trisha Comeau, Carl Ellemberg and Denis Cormier, Manager, Saint John Call Centre. 

Found on Facebook CP Air Employees page

Posted by Marlie Kelsey

CP Air BC District Reunion 

Every five years since 2003 I have been involved in organizing originally what was a CP Air Whitehorse reunion which then changed to a BC district reunion.

It has been five years since the last reunion. Please check CP Air Employees if you are interested in attending in September 2023 at Parksville, British Columbia.

From the Wilf White Propliner collection courtesy of Larry Milberry @ canavbooks.wordpress.com.

There usually was a Fairchild 71 or an 82 any day around Edmonton from the late 1920's into the early 1960's.This lovely period view by Leslie Corness features CPA’s famous '82' CF-AXQ getting some daily servicing.

Built in 1939 for Mackenzie Air Services of Edmonton, it migrated to CPA with that company’s takeover in the early 1940s of a host of smaller northern operators. In 1946 “AXQ” was acquired by Waite Fisheries of Ile-a-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan.

Noorduyn Norseman CF-BHV fin #62 c/n N-29-10 at Edmonton Municipal Airport.

Delivered to Canadian Pacific Airlines from Canadian Car Company December 13, 1945. Sold to Territories Air Service, Edmonton on November 8, 1949. 

Below are a few advertisements for Canadian Pacific Airlines.

From the 'CP Air News' magazine. 

Fleet of four Boeing 727-100 jets will be phased out ot CP Air service by end of April.

Short-body version of the B-727, like this aircraft framed by DC-8 Pratt & Whitney engines, has been operated by the airline since March 1970.

Editors' Note: The four Boeing 727-100's (as per rzjets.net) were:

• CF-CPN - Delivered February 1970 - left fleet November 1977.
• CF-CPK - Delivered April 1970 - left fleet May 1977 - stored at Latacunga, Ecuador.
• CF-CUR - Delivered February 1971 - left fleet March 1977.
  • Still active (photo below) under registration N311AG as private jet to Gordon and Ann Getty.
  • See www.planelogger.com for the full aircraft lifecycle.
• CF-CUS - Delivered April 1971-  left fleet June 1977- broken up July 1998.

Photo by Paul Nelhams at Shannon, Ireland March 2014

From YouTube videographer, Ruairidh MacVeigh, the first of a two part series chronicling the development and history of the Douglas DC-9.

Atlanta firm acquires ex-WestJet B-737-600's for teardown

Seven WestJet Boeing 737-600's have been divested to a US-based firm which will tear down the aircraft for parts.

Aventure Aviation is picking up the twinjets which are in storage at a facility located in Marana, Arizona.

The aircraft were all manufactured in 2005 and 2006.

Source: www.FlightGlobal.com

A VIP Boeing 747 Jumbo jet that spent just 42 hours in the air is being scrapped, report says.

A Boeing Jumbo jet that spent just 42 hours in the air is being scrapped after the Saudi prince it was bought for died unexpectedly, a report said.

Germany's aero TELEGRAPH reported that the Boeing 747-8 was being dismantled at Pinal Airpark in Arizona after no buyer was found for the plane despite the asking price being slashed to just $95 million.

The aircraft was ordered for Saudi crown prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at a cost of about $280 million, but he died unexpectedly in October 2011, a year before it was delivered.

Data from planespotters.net showed the plane was flown in 2012 from San Antonio to Basel, Switzerland, where Mail Online reported it was due to be fitted out with a luxury interior.

Source: www.BusinessInsider.com

See also: www.PlaneSpotters.net for the aircraft's history

Photo by dreamcatcher-68 @ flickr.com

McDonnell Douglas VC-9C

In this issue's 'Featured Video' (at the 19:45 mark)  there is a brief view of a specially built DC-9 that had been designated 'VC-9C' and flew American dignitaries (primarily the Vice President under the call sign 'Air Force Two') or the First Lady . 

I am always looking for stories on unique aircraft and this clip quickly arouse my curiosity. I immediately went digging around the internet for more history of this aircraft. 

I was able to find three aircraft that had been painted in the familiar white and blue livery that identifies American Forces VIP aircraft.

Click the registration for details from PlaneSpotters.com

• Registration 73- 1681 (N681AL) - delivered February 1975 - preserved at the Castle Air Museum in Merced, California since October 2013.
• Registration 73-1682 - delivered March 1975 - preserved at the Air Mobility Command Museum at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware since August 2011.
  • Pictured in this issue's header and featured in the video linked below.
  • This aircraft does not seem to have ever carried a civilian registration.
• Registration 73-1683 (N683AL) - delivered May 1975 - preserved at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon since September 2013. 

Excerpt from the storyboard text at left (click the image for the YouTube Video).

This VC-9C, serial number 73-1682, transported America's top leadership from 1975 until 2011. Much of that time it served as 'Air Force Two' for Vice Presidents Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, Al Gore and Dick Cheney. 

It served several American First Ladies: Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hilary R. Clinton and Laura Bush. 

When this aircraft was needed to carry Presidents into smaller airports, it served as 'Air Force One'.

Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.

Gerald White of the EC/UK Pionairs in LHR has passed us this information -

Recently he was talking with friends in Calgary via ZOOM who are all AC retirees. Some of them have travelled on AC using passes over the last few months.

All of them mentioned the current process for allocating boarding cards for staff. It is assumed you have the ACLife app or the Air Canada app installed on your mobile phone.

When the system allocates you a seat it sends your boarding card electronically to your device.

They no longer announce your name. However if you don’t have a smart phone you will be unable to download either of the apps. Thus you need to let the gate agent know so they can call you over to give you a boarding card.

The ACLife app is for AC employees (active or retired) and has other functions on it, and it has recently been relaunched. 

Regards,

Gerald White

Editors' Note: The ACLife app is not available on either the Apple or Google app stores.

If you already have the ACLife app installed, it will offer you the update when opened.

If you do not have the app installed, go to:

appstore.aircanada.com, on your mobile device (phones and tablets only, not computers), to download.

Gulf Air is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline operates scheduled flights to 55 destinations in 28 countries. The main hub is Bahrain International Airport.

See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Air

Here we have a Gulf Air B-787 departing London Heathrow January 30, 2018.  

Photo  by Steve Lynes @ commons.wikimedia.org

Here is a Gulf Air A320 in the former livery.

Photo by TJDarmstadt @ commons.wikimedia.org

Mitsubishi formally cancels airliner program.

After a 15-year development program with setbacks, Mitsubishi has finally thrown in the towel on its 'SpaceJet' airliner project.

The aircraft was aimed at the small single-aisle market now dominated by Embraer and Airbus and the Japanese mega-company determined it was never going to make the kind of inroads it would need to make a go of it.

Found in the July 1943 issue of the 'Between Ourselves' magazine.

The Co-Pilot by Ken Murray.

I am the co-pilot; I sit on the right,
It's up to me to be quick and bright.
I never talk back, for I have regrets,
But I have to remember what the Captain forgets.
I make out the flight plan and study the weather,
Pull up the gear and stand by to feather;
Check the tanks and do the reporting,
And fly the old crate while the captain is a courting.
I take the readings, adjust the power,
Put on the heaters when in a shower;
Tell him where we are on the darkest night,
And do all the bookwork without any light.
I call for my Captain and buy him cokes,
I always laugh at his corny jokes;
And once in a while when his landings are rusty,
I always come through with: "By gosh, it's gusty”.
All in all, I'm a general stooge
As I sit on the right of the man I call "Scrooge”.
I guess you think that is past understanding,
But maybe someday he will give me a landing.

Editors' note: This was in the days of the propeller driven aircraft.