May2011 Volume45 Flypast Number7 A Newsletter of CAHS Toronto Chapter Divisi Society on of The Canadian Aviation Historical http://www.cahs.ca/chapters/toronto CAHS TorontoChapter Meeting Businessand AnnualElections May14,2011–Saturday1:00 P.M. Canadian AirandSpaceMuseum 65CarlHallRoad DownsviewPark Toronto Transit:Bus101fromtheDownsview TTC SubwayStation(8-10mins.) MeetingInfo:Bob Winson(416)745–1462 AllmembersofCAHS,Museum MembersandGuestsarevery Welcome! A “LandingFee”of$2.00willbe chargedtocover meetingexpenses NextmeetingOctober2011–date TBA SeeChapter Newsfor MoreontheCAHF Inductionsfor 2011 Speaker:CharlesPetersen Topic:“Freedom’s WingsCanada” Providingpeoplewithdisabilitiesthe opportunitytofly FlypastV.45No.7 April Meeting: ThirdAnnual esprit de corps, Quill and Quireand Zoomer . He CAHS Toronto Dinner Meeting has also worked as host/contributor for CBC Radio network programs and on TV Ontario. The BCATP Story --- “The Aerodrome of Ted is a full-time professor of journalism at Democracy” Toronto’s Centennial College. Special Guest Speaker: Author & Historian Ted Ted’s books include a series on wartime Barris Canada: Juno: Canadians at D-Day, June 6, Reporter: Gord McNulty 1944; Days of Victory: Canadians Remember 1939-1945; Behind the Glory: Canada ’s Role in Forty-five Chapter members and guests the Allied Air War; Deadlock in Korea: enjoyed our third annual CAHS Toronto Dinner Canadians at War, 1950-1953; and Victory at Meeting, at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917. #527 Toronto. The event was most successful, All have received critical acclaim and bestseller with good conversation and fellowship, and the status. His 16th book, Breaking the Silence; Chapter executive was encouraged by the Veterans’Untold Stories from the Great War to turnout. Chapter President George Topple, Afghanistan, was published in 2009 and is also master of ceremonies, welcomed everyone. now a bestseller. Ted's non-fiction writing has Tom Nettleton said grace, followed by a toast to also been twice short-listed for the Canada the Queen. Everyone enjoyed an excellent roast History Prize, awarded in memory of Pierre beef or vegetarian lasagna meal, prepared by the Berton. One of his books, Making Music hard-working staff of the legion. Joined by the (Profiles from a Century of Canadian Music), audience, George extended wishes for a happy was co-authored with his father, Alex (1922- 90th birthday to longtime CAHS member Lou 2004), a television actor, broadcast journalist Wise, who is still flying. George thanked Bob and writer. Ted is an active member of the Winson, his wife Bernice and son Greg for their RCAFAssociation, the CAHS, and an honorary efforts in organizing the event and he recognized Ken Churm for suggesting the choice of the Legion as the venue. George also recognized Chapter member Bill Bartlett, a Second World War Halifax flight engineer and BCATPtrainee, and his family.Also recognized were immediate Past President Howard Malone and a former President, Tony Nelson. Special recognition was given to Bill Wheeler, named this year to Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. George reminded everyone of the much- anticipated Sixth Annual Wings and Wheels at Downsview Park, May 28 and May 29. The Toronto Chapter will have a display booth and volunteers are needed. George then introduced special guest speaker, Ted Barris, of Uxbridge. An accomplished journalist, author and broadcaster, Ted is the author of 16 non-fiction books. For nearly 40 years, his writing has regularly appeared in the national press --- The Globe and Mail, National Post, as well as magazines as diverse asLegion , Air Force , Speaker TedBarrisReadingFromHisBook Photo-NeilMcGavock 2 FlypastV.45No.7 member of the Korean War Veterans old boy. From then on Stirton dreamed of Association of Canada. He has received many becoming a pilot. He learned to fly, but getting awards for his writing, contributions to his pilot’s licence was a painful experience. Canadian military history and community Stirton gained his start when the Canadian service. government prepared for war by offering Ted began his dynamic presentation, private flying clubs a $100 grant for every illustrated with many scenes from the BCATP, student pilot who received a licence. He saw a by asking the audience to recognize all of the newspaper ad, placed by the Moose Jaw Flying veterans. Focusing on Behind the Glory, Ted Club, offering to split the grant with any asked pilots, former and current, in the audience aspiring pilots. He managed to find a required why they chose to fly. They gave various replies $150 cash to take a course and was soon --- born to fly, wanting to defy gravity, doing airborne in a ten-year-old Gipsy Moth with Dick something good for humanity, and claiming a Ryan, a First World War fighter pilot who piece of the sky. Ted noted that many aspiring managed the club. After seven and a half hours pilots thought about having the greatest of dual instruction, Stirton did his first solo freedom and about the romance of flying. flight. In November, 1938, he took his private The pre-World War II era was a time of pilot’s test from an examiner visiting Moose pioneer aviators such as Charles Lindbergh and Jaw from Edmonton. Amelia Earhart. The great airship, the R-100, In those days, Stirton remembered, no made a trans-Atlantic crossing in 1930, visiting examiner dared risk his life by riding in the places such as Toronto and Montreal. The first airplane with a student, but stayed on the ground rotary winged aircraft --- Pitcairn autogyros --- and ‘observed’the flight from the seat of his car. arrived in Canada in the early 1930s. Stirton was told to climb above the aerodrome, Barnstormers like Walt Leavens would take do a medium turn to the left, then one to the people for airplane rides, inviting passengers to right, followed by a steep turn each way; then “See Your Town From the Air” for the price of a put the aircraft into a spin and recover; then fly penny a pound. In 1933, the Italian aviator to a collegiate about one and a half miles distant General Italo Balbo brought a flotilla of Savoia and back; then circle a water tower in figure- Marchetti seaplanes from Italy to Chicago and eight turns; then do a spot landing back at the back to promote fascism. Hawker Furys of the aerodrome. RoyalAir Force toured Canada in 1934. At one point, Stirton noticed the instructor, Ted told the story of Al Stirton, a dear friend Bob Eddie, speeding towards the Gipsy Moth in who passed away last year, to show how young his car. Eddie leapt out of the driver’s seat and people caught the aviation bug. Stirton, in early tore a strip off the pilot trainee for turning too 1940, became a flying instructor, one of the first close to the ground. The instructor advised him in the BCATP, at the Elementary Flying to side-slip to gain some height. Unfortunately, Training School in St. Catharines. He probably Stirton had never been taught how to side-slip. trained 125 to 150 pilots.Among them was none On the second approach to the field, he throttled other than P/O John Gillespie Magee, who back, turned the Gipsy Moth to line up with the wroteHigh Flight before he died at age 19 when spot marked by the examiner, noticed he had a his Spitfire collided with an Oxford in England bit too much height and lowered his left wing to in December, 1941. slip sideways down closer to the ground. Quoting from Behind the Glory, Ted noted “Suddenly, the aircraft stalled and sank like a that Stirton, a Saskatchewan farm boy, was brick,” Stirton recalled. “I had forgotten to smitten by flying entirely by accident. One day lower the nose to maintain flying speed as I in the fall of 1930, he saw a small airplane land came out of the side-slip, and the poor Gipsy in a neighbour’s stubble field. Lo and behold, Moth hit the ground so hard that the the pilot offered him a ride, a thrill for a 12-year- undercarriage was punched up into the fuselage. FlypastV.45No.7 3 The wings drooped onto the grass. And I One of the first tasks of the recruits was to learn cracked three ribs.” The crash nearly ended how to march. Marching drill seemed a long Stirton’s flying ambitions but he went on to gain way from the air war over Europe, but the his pilot’s licence. By May, 1939, he had military brass insisted on it. The weather didn’t accumulated 70 hours on airplanes at the Moose matter --- recruits marched in chilling cold and Jaw Flying Club. He earned his commercial blazing sun. They were also assigned to guard licence before starting his distinguished BCATP the stations before moving to the next level at career. Initial Training School (ITS). Recruits were Established in December, 1939, the BCATP moved into streams as pilots, observers, would become Canada’s largest expenditure in gunners, and so on. the Second World War. Canada spent $1.75 They learned how to master a stiff challenge billion on the plan between 1939 and 1944. --- the Link trainer. Although it made one of the Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand greatest contributions to the BCATP, the Link were the four major countries. Prime Minister trainer has tended to be overlooked. Edwin Mackenzie King was shown symbolically Link, its inventor, was the son of an organ pinning wings on the first graduate out of a manufacturer in upstate New York. The course in Ottawa in honour of the creation of the bellows, which force the air into the pipes, are plan on Dec. 17, 1939. Why Dec. 17? Lo and the most important component in a pipe organ.