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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0876.PDF
16 SEPTEMBER 20, 1928 of the company photographed 4,200 sq. miles. Flying instruc- tion is given, and exhibition flying is also part of the pro- gramme. (8) Canadian Air Services, Ltd., has a very popular and successful flying school at Peterborough in Ontario, and also does some air photography. (9) Western Canada Airways, Ltd., in addition to carrying the air mail between Rolling Portage and Red Lake, does extensive air transport in northern Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The Western Canada Airways, Ltd., was incorporated under Dominion charter, in December, 1926, for the purpose of engaging in an entirely, and at that time, little known, venture in Canada, namely, commercial aviation. One Fokker Universal four-passenger monoplane (Wright " Whirlwind ") was purchased and flown from New York to Hudson, Ontario, a northland outpost and arrived there on Christmas Day, 1926. There, at Hudson, a temporary base was established. Three men were in charge : Capt. H. A. Oaks, formerly R.A.F. and Canada's premier commercial pilot ; S. A. Cheesman, aero engineer, and J. A. MacDougall, secretary-treasurer of what is now the country's largest commercial air service. A service was immediately inaugurated between Hudson and the active gold-mining areas in the Red Lake district, and daily trips were made when weather was not too severe and visibility permitted flying. This winter flying was accomplished on skis, made of tempered wood which proved very effective. So successful were the Airways in the development of skis for winter flying that Bernt Balchen, Floyd Bennett and the crew of Commander Richard E. Byrd's tri-motored Ford plane flew to Winnipeg last April to secure a set of winter undergear and to test it in northern Canada winter con- ditions. The Byrd plane, at that time, was being tested for its projected flight to the South Pole regions this autumn. Instant success then greeted the first small efforts of the Airways at their one base, Hudson, Ontario. It soon became apparent that one machine could not cope with the rapidly increasing demand for the aeroplane, and in February, 1927, two additional Fokker Universals were purchased and flown from New York to Hudson. In March, 1927, at the urgent request of the Government's department of Railways and Canals, a contract was entered into for the transportation of eight tons of material and equipment and 14 men from Cache Lake on the Hudson's Bay railway, under construction, into Fort Churchill, which contract was to be completed before the spring break-up. The transportation of this material and these men was effected in record time and under unprecedented conditions, the severity of the winter weather leaving its mark on per- sonnel and machines. The country over which it was neces- sary to fly—about 1,000 miles from point to point—was uninhabited and landing places were few and hazardous. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, success accom- panied the fulfilment of the exacting contract, and the Western Canada Airways was established in official and public esteem as a reliable, swift, and sure means of communication with areas in Canada ordinarily reached from civilization only by the slow, painful progress of dog team and sled—a means of transportation which takes months to reach areas served in a few hours by the aeroplane. While the Churchill contract was being filled, a machine left at Hudson for zone work was keeping up regular service between civilization and the mines, taking in mining engineers, equipment and, in several cases, heavy machinery for emer- gency repairs Between the break-up period (when the ice leaves the open water) and the opening of navigation all machines were converted from ski landing gear to floats for summer work which is carried out on water. On June 1st, 1927, the Airways enlarged the scope of their operations by opening a base at Lac Du Bonnet, gateway to the mining belt of Central Manitoba, and not far from Winni- peg. The base was for the express service of prospectors, mining men and the companies operating in this territory. Machinery, supplies and mail were carried in on regular schedule, saving much time for the companies involved. A mining deal of great importance to the development of the Northern Manitoba properties was put through during the summer of 1927, affecting copper zinc and gold areas at Cold Lake, in the far north, and in this connection the com- pany was approached by the Sherritt-Gordon Mines Limited as to transportation of the necessary equipment and men to carry out the contract which consisted of transporting by air 35 tons, including petrol, diamond drills, supplies, and 40 men. This was completed in record time. In one case a large diamond drill defied, for a time, the efforts of one machine to take it in to the mines. It was taken apart, however, and the one machine, making three trips, finally completed the task of delivering it to its destination. ~ The company now has about 30 machines, including two Fairchild monoplanes, six Avro Avians, and a fleet of Fokkers. Two de Havilland " Moths " are used at the training school while the Fairchilds are kept for communication purposes and inspection trips by officers. Twelve Fokker super-Universal monoplanes (Pratt and Whitney " WTasp " 400 h.p.) twelve Universal Fokker's (Wright "Whirlwind" 200 h.p.) and one tri-motored Fokker monoplane (three " W7right Radials " Rocky Mountains, Canada. m m m 812
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