C:\Myfiles\Flypast\Flypast 43-3.Wpd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Volume 43 November 2008 Number 3 http://www.cahs.ca/chapters/toronto. Canadian Aviation Historical Society This meeting is jointly sponsored by CAHS Toronto Chapter Meeting Toronto Chapter and the Toronto Aerospace November 15, 2008 Museum- All CAHS / TAM members, guests Meeting starts at 1 PM and the public (museum admission payable) are -Under the Glider- welcome to attend. Toronto Aerospace Museum, 65 Carl Hall Refreshments will be served Road, Toronto “Landing Fee” of $2.00 will be charged to cover meeting expenses Next Month’s Meeting December 20, 2008 Last Month’s Meeting . .....................3 Chapter News November 2008 . ...............7 Folded Wings . ...............7 Canadian Centennial of Flight Special Project . ............8 Chapter Executive Committee . ...............8 This Month: "Maintaining Helicopters in Northern Quebec" Speaker: Donald Lawrence 1 Flypast V. 43 No. 3 Last Month’s Meeting of Staff to the Minister of Science and October Meeting Technology and the Ministry of Fisheries and Speaker: Richard I. Bourgeois-Doyle, author of Oceans and was start-up manager of successful Her Daughter the Engineer technology and public relations firms. A former Reporter: Gord McNulty broadcaster and journalist, Richard has contributed to many books, articles, TV features CAHS Toronto Chapter President Howard and radio programs on science history. In fact, Malone introduced Richard I. Bourgeois-Doyle, he discussed his book on CBC Radio on the of Ottawa, author of the new book Her Daughter morning of our CAHS meeting. He also spoke the Engineer. The book chronicles the life of about the biography to the Ottawa Chapter of the Elsie Gregory MacGill, a Canadian who became CAHS on 24 April 2008 before the book launch the world’s first female aeronautical engineer by the NRC Research Press, which is trying to and professional aircraft designer. She designed start a biography series on engineers and the Canadian Car and Foundry’s Maple Leaf II scientists who aren’t as well-known as they trainer. Richard is Director of Corporate should be. Governance at the National Research Council Despite technical problems with the PowerPoint (NRC) of Canada. He has headed a number of projector, Richard presented slides to illustrate special projects since joining the NRC Executive his talk, along with a screening of the National Offices in 1987. He previously served as Chief Film Board documentary “Rosies of the North” Hawker Hurricane Mk. IV. Photo courtesy of Vintage Wings of Canada Flypast V. 43 No. 3 2 which deals with women who worked at the in 1923. She graduated from the University of Canadian Car and Foundry (Can-Car) plant in Toronto in 1927; the first Canadian woman to Fort William and features Elsie MacGill. earn a degree in electrical engineering. She Richard enjoyed researching and writing the enrolled at the University of Michigan and book, which has received good reviews. It took graduated with a Master’s degree in aeronautical 4½ years and presented a real challenge in that engineering in 1929. Elsie was an avid collector and accumulated a Elsie’s life was marked by setbacks as well as tremendous amount of paperwork and accomplishments. Of all the challenges, one correspondence. He noted Elsie’s story is front proved to be especially serious. She had a flu- and centre in exemplifying the contributions of like cold for about a week but went to Windsor women in aviation, in breaking down barriers in for a night out before she received her Master’s male-dominated fields such as engineering --- degree. When she woke up the next morning at where Canada is now ahead of other western her room in Ann Arbor, on graduation day, she countries in that area --- and in advancing in was paralyzed from the waist down with what society as a whole. As he said, role models such was diagnosed as muscle paralysis; likely polio. as Elsie should be remembered as Canada She spent the next 3½ years bedridden. She prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary of went to Vancouver to recuperate. Her legs were powered flight in 2009. It must have been a placed in casts that were supposed to prevent challenge to achieve the success that Elsie did in infection from spreading, but they worsened the a world largely dominated by men, but she never lack of mobility. Eventually she got back into a hinted at any problems in that regard. wheelchair, which was far more cumbersome The title of Richard’s book, Her Daughter the than today’s models. She started writing for Engineer , reflects the influence of Elsie’s aeronautical journals and clawed her way back mother, Helen Gregory MacGill, a judge in into the study of aeronautical engineering. She British Columbia, who was technically the first enrolled in graduate studies at Massachusetts female judge and a strong advocate for Institute of Technology in 1932, then left in feminism. Helen was a friend of Nellie McClung 1934 to begin work at Fairchild in Longueil, and other personalities in the women’s suffrage where her aviation career took off. The fact that movement. Elsie was born in Vancouver in she had a significant disability for her adult life 1905. She showed a technical inclination as a makes her achievements all the more inspiring. girl, and was considered the ‘Miss Fix-It’ at the In fact, Elsie seldom mentioned she had a family cottage along the coast at Buccaneer Bay. disability even though her colleagues regarded It was a place that her father, James --- a her situation as devastating. Her philosophy of prominent Vancouver lawyer --- never visited as life was to embrace all of the challenges that one he stayed in the city. Elsie’s interest in electrical encounters. engineering was influenced by the fact she had a At Fairchild, Elsie was an assistant engineer boyfriend who had a ham radio set. She started involved with aircraft such as the Super 71, the in engineering at the University of British Super 71P, the 82, and unsuccessful 45-80 Columbia, but half-way through the year the Sekani. Fairchild was an innovative company, administration decided they had made a mistake with a high esprit de corps. It provided a great in admitting a woman and asked her to leave. training ground for a young engineer of her She thought her career would end prematurely, ability. In May 1938, Elsie was hired at Can- but she pulled up her socks and left for Toronto Car, which had had resurrected its 3 Flypast V. 43 No. 3 manufacturing plant in Fort William with the noted. In reality, as head of the engineering intent of getting into the aircraft business in shop, Elsie was in charge of about 30 people. anticipation of the Second World War. Michael This is not to trivialize her responsibilities --- in Gregor had been hired in 1937 as the initial fact, her duties were magnified in 1942 when Chief Aeronautical Engineer but he decided to Can-Car received what proved to be a difficult return to the United States. Elsie, only 33 when contract to build Curtiss Helldivers for the U.S. she joined Can-Car, took over as Chief Navy to follow its Hurricane production. She Aeronautical Engineer, just in time for Can-Car contributed a number of ideas to facilitate the to receive contracts to build the Hawker challenge of mass production and designed the Hurricane in November 1938. Mass production winterized version of the Hurricane, which had of the Hurricane, and delivery overseas, required de-icing equipment, a cold-weather starter, and an impressive organizational effort in hiring and skis. While only two of these were built, the training thousands of workers. In all, 1451 knowledge was transferred to the Russians, who Hurricanes were built at Fort William. received a number of Hurricanes. It helped to In 1939, Elsie earned the title as the first woman solidify her stature as “Queen of the to design a complete aircraft when her product, Hurricanes,” as the comic books described her. the Can-Car Maple Leaf II, flew for the first However, Elsie’s time at Can-Car exemplified time. Can-Car had earlier secured the design and the challenges she endured throughout life. In manufacturing rights for the Wallace Trainer, fact, she was fired from Can-Car in 1943 for which it dubbed the Maple Leaf, but abandoned carrying on a love affair with the company the design because of its unsatisfactory works manager, Bill Soulsby. A week later, they performance. Elsie took up work on the trainer got married. again in 1938, now dubbed the Maple Leaf II, Elsie went to Toronto to start a consulting firm, and registered CF-BPU. Except for the use of and became what is believed to be the first the fin and rudder from the Maple Leaf, the woman aeronautical engineer to own and operate Maple Leaf II was a new design. It was powered a consulting business in North America, perhaps by a 145 hp Warner Super Scarab radial engine in the world. Her important contribution to civil and was intended to be fully aerobatic. Sadly, it aviation around the world was underlined in was never ordered by the RCAF or used 1946 when she participated in preliminary operationally in Canada. The RCAF, already meetings of the organizations that later came committed to the Tiger Moth and the Fleet together to form the International Civil Aviation Finch, regarded the Maple Leaf II as too docile. Organization. In 1947, she was named chair of Some observers felt the Maple Leaf II would not the ICAO Stress Analysis Committee. In the have made a good trainer because it was too easy mid-1950s, she wrote a biography of her mother to fly and pilots would need a more challenging entitled, My Mother the Judge: A Biography of aircraft.