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Volume 40 October 2005 Number 2 http://www.cahs.ca/torontochapter This Month’s Meeting: 1:00 pm Saturday October 15 Mission Aviation Fellowship TAM Daytime Meeting 65 Carl Hall Rd - See Back Page for Map After many requests, Toronto chapter meetings are being rescheduled to Saturday afternoons. We believe that this will allow more of our out of town members to attend meetings. Last Month’s Meeting Shorty: An Aviation Pioneer Speaker: James Glassco Henderson Reporter: Gord McNulty Mission Aviation Fellowship is a non-profit team of aviation and communication specialists overcoming barriers in support of more than 300 Christian and humanitarian organizations around the world. MAF was founded in 1945 by former World War II pilots who wanted to join their faith and love of flying. MAF's first field pilot, Betty Greene, flying a Waco biplane, was a true pioneer. Today, some 190 MAF families continue to overcome barriers along the isolated frontiers of our faith on five continents. With a fleet of 56 aircraft, MAF pilots can travel across rough, hostile terrain that could take days or even weeks to travel by boat, camel or on Toronto Chapter President Howard Malone foot. Taking off from 41 bases worldwide, our introduced guest speaker James Glassco (Jim) pilots transport missionaries, relief supplies and Henderson, author of the fascinating book much more. They have literally seen it all. These Shorty, An Aviation Pioneer: The Story of flights save thousands of man-hours and Victor John Hatton (148 pages, paperback, exponentially multiply the number of people who $20. Cdn, Trafford Publishing --- order by can be reached. phone toll-free 1-888-232-4444). Jim Henderson, who lives in Barrie, was born in 1929 in Burlington and spent his adolescence in 1 Flypast V. 40 No. 2 Brantford, where he joined the militia. He gained at the time. He went to India briefly, then a reserve army commission, then served in the returned to England where he rejoined the army military full time, joining the Royal Canadian in 1921. On Aug. 1, 1922, he went before a Horse Artillery bound for Korea in 1950. He Medical Board and the doctors found him “fit was granted a regular commission in Korea and for flying duties as a pilot.” Shorty was sent to enjoyed a long and illustrious military career. Jim the RAF’s #5 Training School at Sealand in the had various artillery, staff and United Nations Cheshire area of the west of England. He had appointments. On retiring from the Canadian been a student pilot only for about a week when Forces in 1978, he joined the news staff at the tail fell off his Avro 504K on Oct. 9. The CHAY FM radio in Barrie. He eventually instructor died in the crash, while Shorty was became the station’s News Director and seriously injured. He spent all of that next Operations Manager. He has contributed winter in the hospital and had to start training regularly to two military publications and all over in the spring of 1923. Shorty was produced a quarterly publication, Military granted his wings in February 1924 and sent to Digest, which was circulated by subscription. No. 7 (Bomber) Squadron at Bircham Newton His weblog, “The Crabby Canadian,” has been in Norfolk, equipped with Vickers Vimys. operational for the past year. He is a member of After qualifying on the Vimy, he was ironically the CAHS; the Canadian Institute of Strategic sent to a squadron equipped with single-engine Studies; and the Royal Canadian Artillery aircraft, No. 99 (Bomber) Sqdn. at Bircham Association. Shorty: An Aviation Pioneer, is his Newton, flying the Avro 549 Aldershot … a second book to be published by Trafford. His massive aircraft powered by a 650 HP Rolls first, The Nuking of Happy Valley, is a Royce Condor and designed for a crew of five. collection of amusing anecdotes from his military Most of Shorty’s time was spent on night career. flying. After a year, he was sent to 502 Sqdn. at ‘Shorty’ Hatton’s illustrious career epitomizes Aldergrove, near Belfast in Northern Ireland, the story of aviation in Canada. He was a First equipped with Vimys. Most of the pilots were World War veteran with the Royal Air Force, a reservists. Shorty was on the permanent staff bush pilot, mail pilot and test pilot. He started and served as the Adjutant. In 1927, his short his aviation career in a near fatal crash of an service commission ended. He took courses at Avro 504K and ended it with another Avro the RAF’s Central Flying School and was given aircraft, the CF-105 Arrow. Jim said he regarded a British Air Ministry Pilot’s Licence. On 1 his Uncle Shorty as a hero of his when he was a Apr., 1928 he resigned his commission in the kid. When Jim left broadcasting, he was inspired RAF and on the same day was granted to write the story by his aunt Gwen, Shorty’s admission to the RCAF. widow, the matriarch of the family. Shorty would spend only a year in the RCAF, Shorty was born in Plymouth, England, on April as an instructor stationed at Camp Borden. 13, 1899, and educated in area schools. He Serving on a short service commission, he was wasn’t all that short, but was nicknamed Shorty released from service at age 30. While at Camp as a kid and it stuck. He joined the British Army Borden, he kept running into people who were at 18, spent the winter of 1917-18 in the Ypres starting aviation businesses in the late 1920s. salient, was gassed, and was eventually One of the men he met was R.O. “Bob” promoted. He stayed in Germany after the war, Denman of Hamilton, who ran a small airline but left in 1919 as there was no work for anyone called International Airways of Canada Ltd. Flypast V. 40 No. 2 2 Shorty joined the staff, where he went on to fly He managed to locate the airport by flying up the mail in aircraft such as the Fairchild FC-2, Yonge Street and spotting a big Nielsen the larger FC-2W-2 and the Fairchild 71. Before Chocolate sign that was only a couple of miles long, International was amalgamated with other from the airport. He tried to land about three small companies to became part of Canadian times to find the runway before catching a ditch Airways, established on 25 Nov., 1930. and coming to a stop. A member of the airport Shorty’s logbook showed that on 2 November, crew who lived close by came out to help. It 1929, he flew a DH 60 Cirrus Moth, G-CAUA, took them 20 minutes to find the aircraft in the from Toronto to Hamilton for a date with Gwen dark and fog. The undercarriage was damaged Glassco, an attractive switchboard operator in and the night mail between Toronto and Detroit Denman’s office. They were married in June, was then carried on AMC. Shortly thereafter, 1930 at Winona, Ont., a marriage that lasted Hamilton airport opened in the east end of the until Shorty died 61 years later. C-GAUA now city. Shorty was greeted by a crowd when he sits proudly in the Canada Aviation Museum. arrived at Hamilton in AMC with the first night Shorty was busy flying the mail from the air mail on 12 December, 1931. On 20 Maritimes on a route in which pilots navigated December, AMC, flown by Ed Burton, was lost by following the Canadian Pacific Railway line in a crash near Dunnville after Burton became through the bush of northern Maine. At check lost in fog and successfully bailed out --- the points along the route, pilots would receive first pilot in regular commercial service to do advice about the weather and take advice as to so. The company immediately ordered two new whether proceed, turn back, or continue at their Stearmans to maintain the schedule. CF-ASE own discretion. In July, 1930, Shorty had and CF-ASF arrived on 25 January, 1932. On become ill on a trip to the Maritimes and Gwen 1 March, the pilots were hit with a 10 per cent flew to Moncton to be with him. On 28 July, pay reduction. It got worse at the end of April they flew back in an FC-2W-2, CF-AKT. when the government cancelled the Toronto- However, they ran into bad weather and made a Detroit contract. Shorty had the dubious forced landing at a farmer’s field in Maine. The distinction of flying the last run. hospitable farmer fed them some rich food which It was a long summer. There was no work. made Gwen feel sick. Subsequently she However, in late 1932 Canadian Airways discovered she was pregnant, which may have received the contract to fly the winter mail contributed to her discomfort. In any case they along the North Shore of the St. Lawrence. The flew back safely to St. Hubert, flying at only 500 pilots couldn’t land at most of the places along feet. CF-AKT is now on display at the Western the route. So the mechanic would toss the mail Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg. sacks out the side window of the aircraft as the Canadian Airways purchased two high- pilot made a low, slow approach over the small performance Stearman 4EM2s in the summer of communities. Jim’s illustrations included a slide 1930, CF-AMB and CF-AMC. They were of an original black and white wash painting by designated for the Toronto-Detroit night mail R.W.