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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0203.PDF
'FLIGHT, 26 January 1950 r ;': 137 •"•'••, x /'•ACROSS CANADA . Seating is comfortable, and there is some- thing refreshing about the clean white anti- macassars pn the seat headrests. An amid- ships galley and coat locker divide the accommodation into two cabins. That at the rear is the smaller, bat quieter. Toilet compartments are placed forward and in the tail. Refreshments were served on this first leg of the flight and, in minutes it seemed, we stepped out at the smart modern airport of Malton, home of the Avro Canada Com- pany. . -I Later sections of the flight west took a; now-full Canadair on to Winnipeg, Saska- j toon, Edmonton, Calgary and finally Van- couver. In many places the wartime con- j trol buildings have been converted for civil use, and bright and comfortable for the brief calls they proved to be. No sooner had the four Merlins stopped turning than vehicles converged on the aircraft in an orderly, pre-deter- miued manner., and commenced to refuel, remove luggage and mail, and load more meals for the passengers. As a I result, the aircraft was ready to take off again in the1 shortest possible time. The first hundreds of miles from Toronto take one over some barren, rocky country with stunted evergreens and innumerable lakes, large and small.- By the time Winnipeg is reached the vast plain stretches in every direction as far as the eye can see in the clear atmosphere. Saskatoon is prairie country, flat also except for small ravines, mostly dry, cut by snow water in the springT Trees are very few, and the continuity of the winding single railway lines is broken only by the grain elevators which are always a fea- ture of the prairies. So much country, part cultivated, but divided everywhere into equal sections, and with mile upon mile of straight mud road, intersecting always at right- angles, engenders mixed feelings of wonder and monotony. Frequent meals or light refreshment and a selection of magazines keep boredom away, and during this particular ride I amused myself (until capacity put a stop to it) by trying to get a glass of milk from the stewardess without the inevitable two biscuits. Apparently they follow each other as the night the day. When dusk was near we approached Edmonton over low, unbroken stratus, and to my great regret the mighty ranges of the Rocky Mountains farther west were obscured by cloud. TMe pilot, using a procedure let-down, made a pass at the airfield but was compelled at about one hun- dred feet to pull up again and proceed to Calgary, his alternative. Passengers bound for Edmonton appeared to contemplate their long night-train journey back with com- plete resignation. As we flew south there were occasional views of towns, lakes and airfields, the evocative names of which will bring back divers memories to hundreds of aircrew trained under the Commonwealth plan—Wetaskiwin, Ponoka, Sylvan Lake, Red Deer, Penhold, Innisfail, Bowden and Olds. At Calgary I stepped out into a cool, wet evening at the one-time R.A.F. airfield of No. 37 S.F.T.S. A sen- sible traveller would have broken his journey here to spend an evening in one of the comfortable hotels in this fine little city and to make sure of a flight in daylight over the Rockies. Unfortunately, this could not be considered on a. business trip, and on and up into the night sky we flew, completing the 400 or so miles to Vancouver in cloud or between layers. There was some reward at the end of the night journey, for despite cloud and rain the bright multi- coloured lights of the city and shipping, visible as we circled the airport, made an entrancing spectacle. . In conclusion, a reminder of Canadair data will be of interest: Span, 117ft 6in; leng-th, 93ft sin; height, 27ft 7in; weight empty, 48,000 lb; all-up weight, 80,200 1b; cargo capacity, 7,500 lb; fuel capacity, 3,200 gall; range, 3,800 nines; max. cruising speed, 306 m.p-h. 1^. A. S. Interior layout of the 40-seat tyrth Star. Between cabins are the main entry,galley, wardrobe and crew seat for two, whilst forward (men) and rear, are spacious toilet compartments, A starboard door opens into the cockpit. Servicing vehicles, duties completed, make way for passengers.
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