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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0096.PDF
FEBRUARY 19, 1925 AIRCRAFT MAKE GOOD IN CANADA WE have, from time to time, made brief reference in FLIGHT to the work done by aircraft in Canada, from which it will have been gathered that, thanks mainly to the energy of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canada has been determined to make aviation in that country—as far as financial resources will allow—a practical proposition. Although in comparison to the vast size of Canada, aerial activity is not of very extensive proportions, the work accomplished so far has been of considerable importance and undoubtedly of great service to the country. The Royal Canadian Air Force, as far as the civil side of aviation is concerned, appears to work hand in hand with the few civilian aviation concerns that exist in Canada —such as the Laurentide Air Service, Ltd., the Fairchild Aerial Survey Co. (Canada), Ltd.. etc., and on several occa- sions big schemes involving aerial transport or surveying have been carried out by such companies in co-operation with the R.C.A.F. Perhaps the two most important spheres of aerial activity in Canada may be said to consist of forest patrols and topo- graphical survey work. With regard to the first, much valuable work has been—and is being—done, many millions of acres of forest land having been patrolled and fires detected, and even suppressed. Aerial survey work—which is still in progress—has also been successful. In this connection, we think the following - report on the subject, which appears in Natural Resources of Canada, may be of interest. The report refers to a recent flight made by a member of the staff of the Topographical Survey of Canada, Department of the Interior, from Victoria Beach, Manitoba, through Northern Manitoba and Saskat- chewan. The operations were carried out in co-operation with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and during the flight, which covered approximately 2,810 miles, over 1,700 photo- graphs were taken. Ground traverse work was also con- ducted by the Topographical Survey, and upon the com- pletion of the latter it will be possible to plot an area of about 15,000 square miles. The flight occupied nearly four weeks, but owing to unfavourable weather conditions only 44 hours and 10 mins. of actual flying was done. The flight represents one of the most brilliant achieve- ments in the history of aviation, and reflects considerable credit upon the officers of the Air Force who were responsible for keeping the 'plane in good operating condition. The distance travelled and the area photographed demonstrates clearly that in no other way can the surveyor hope to cover unmapped and remote territory with such ease and rapidity. The visibility on a clear day is so good that well-defined points, such as prominent headlands, or fairly large bodies of open water, can be readily distinguished at a distance of 40 miles or more from an elevation of 5,000 ft. It is just here that the air traveller gets one of his greatest advantages over the man on the ground. The latter cannot jump from one easily identified point to the next, often many miles distant, but must follow the water course in all its intricate details. The difficulties confronting the Topographical Survey of Canada in mapping large areas in Northern Canada are well known. The demands for better maps for settlement, mining and forestry purposes are constantly growing The slow progress of surveys by ground methods, with what might be termed their incomplete results, made experiments in aerial photography advisable, and, in co-operation with the Royal Canadian Air Force, efforts were made to deter- AERIAL ACTIVITY IN CANADA : The top view shows the Vickers "Viking " amphibian operated by theLaurentide Air Service, Ltd., of Montreal, flying over the Rouyn Gold Field district. Below, on the left, is an aerial view of typical country (in Reindeer Lake district) recently surveyed for map production bythe Royal Canadian Air Force. On the right is another view of the Vickers " Viking," which was also used by the Fairchild Aerial Survey Co. (Canada) for aerial photographic operations. :• - 96
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