Volume 37 * Number 5 January 2003 www.cahs.com/torontochapter Canada Post Agreement No. 40599010 This Month: Thursday, January 9th, 2003 7:45 p.m. Bombardier “Q” 400 series Dash 8 Bombardier Photo. • Barry MacKinnon, Bombardier Downsview, will be telling us about the “Q” series Dash 8 Turbo Prop A/C and the CRJ series of Regional Jets. Don’t miss this meeting! Secretary’s Remarks Robert Winson At our Christmas meeting of December 19th Chapter Member John at the time of writing stand at approximately 175. At the end of our Brookfield told of his personal experiences flying the stalwart cargo December meeting, the audience was invited to comment on the recent hauler, the CC-130 “Hercules”. The Hercules is probably one of the best chapter executive decision to reduce the number of yearly meetings to examples of a design that was “right” from the beginning, considering that eight from the present ten during the 2003-2004 time periods. the first model flew in the early fifties and that it is still going strong in the Canadian Forces and other air forces around the world. The meeting of chapter directors in early 2003 will review the views expressed at the December meeting. Once again, please advise Don As regular readers have noticed in this space for the past four Flypasts’ Evans or myself of any delays in receiving your copy of Flypast. On the we have been appealing for volunteers to assist in the running of the plus side Canada Post improved the delivery of the December Flypast Toronto Chapter. In response to our requests, Don and I have both after we formally complained about the late and non-delivery situation that received a number of emails and telephone calls of encouragement. happened in November. However, volunteers are still needed for the chapter’s successful operation during the 2003 season. Please consider volunteering as a part Our February 13th. meeting is the second Thursday of the month with of your New Year’s resolutions! Toronto Chapter Member Andy Carswell (5249) and Transport Canada Inspector Will Boles speaking to us. Their topic for the evening will be A positive note has been the steady flow of chapter and national renewals “Canada’s Aviation System Safety- Past, Present and Future”. Looking that Canada Post has been delivering to our mail box. A goodly number of forward to see you all at the meeting. our members have also included generous donations and for that additional thought the Chapter Directors thank you. Membership renewals Dec. 19, 2002 Chapter Meeting Winnipeg. They went on to the U.S., visiting places such as Speaker: John Brookfield Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Detroit, Buffalo and then back to Trenton. Then it was on to overnight stays at Thule, Subject: 436 Sqdn.'s Lockheed CC-130 Hercules Greenland for Arctic training, followed by Alaska, and on to Reporter: Gord McNulty Midway Island in the Pacific. Next, they went to Wake It was "Hercules Night" as Chapter Secretary Bob Winson Island, followed by two nights at Honolulu. Not bad! introduced John Brookfield, a CAHS Toronto Chapter However, a sombre incident occurred at Honolulu when the member who enjoyed a long, diversified and far-flung flying Hercules departure was delayed for some time. As John career in the air force. John attended secondary school in recalled, a flight was coming in from the Pacific. It was a Simcoe, Ontario, graduating in 1946. His aviation 707 refrigerated mortuary aircraft, returning from Vietnam, experience began as an air cadet. He won a flying fully loaded with bodies stacked on stretchers right close scholarship with the air cadet squadron at the Brant- together. John noted that the Americans had quite a Norfolk Aero Club in 1946. John had already enlisted with protocol for such an event. Flying was not allowed near the the RCAF in 1944 and was released about six months airport, 15 minutes before and after the mortuary flight. later. He re-enlisted in 1947 and retired from the air force in The bodies would either be taken to Honolulu and buried in 1972. His air force career included postings to the a beautiful cemetery at Diamond Head, or flown to the Transport School in Rivers, the Joint Experimental Station mainland United States, depending on the family's wishes. at Fort Churchill, and Tactical Air Command Headquarters From there, John and his crew went to the Lockheed in Edmonton. John has also been through the Flying facilities at Palmdale, California, before returning to Instructor's School at Trenton, the No. 2 Flying School at Trenton. Moose Jaw, and was on the C-119 Flying Boxcar Soon they were off on North Atlantic training, including conversion course. He spent a fair amount of time with 436 resupply of the NATO Air Division in Europe. They flew to Sqdn. in Downsview, and also with 436 when it was at Marville in France, one of the bases used before France Trenton. He's flown a variety of single-engined aircraft, turfed out all of the NATO squadrons, and then on to Lahr starting with the likes of the Tiger Moth, the Champ, and in Germany which John described as "a much better Auster, and then the Harvard, Norseman, Otter, through to place." By the time they returned, John was qualified as a the T-33 Silver Star. He's also flown gliders. His experience first officer, with 123 hours and 40 minutes on the Herc. On on multi-engined aircraft included the C-119 Flying Boxcar the return trip out of Prestwick, John's aircraft lost an as well as the Hercules. He has a total of approximately engine. The centre bearing on the compressor section had 9,000 flying hours. failed from what's known as coking. The trouble originated John began by outlining how he loved to fly "the Herc." with the tremendous heat that builds up in a turbine engine as he said, "It was one of those types of machines that as during high-altitude flying. Coking is the hardening or big as it was, it was a beautiful aircraft to fly." While the burning of the oil. Later on, engineers decided to replace Herc was a very sophisticated aircraft, it handled well and petroleum oils entirely with synthetic oils and they have was very forgiving. Unfortunately, it's not quite large seldom encountered engine failures since. Back with the enough to accommodate the long-distance air transport squadron, John did a multiplicity of flying assignments, requirements of the Canadian Forces for assignments in practice with instruments, emergency procedures, route far-off places like Afghanistan. On several occasions, the checks, aircraft handling and instrument rating tests, prop Canadian military has had to rely on larger American or and engine failures, decompressions, undercarriage tests Russian cargo aircraft. The Herc has a wing span of 132 and so on. feet, seven inches; a length of 97 feet, nine inches; and a Some of the more interesting flying involved tests with height of 38 feet, three inches. Power is supplied by four Jet-assisted takeoff (JATO). Four rocket units were Allison turboprops of 4,040 horsepower each. The normal mounted on each side of the fuselage, aft of the wheel payload is 44,000 pounds, with all-up weight of 155,000. well. It was quite a jump-start. The Herc would climb at The Hercules was big and powerful when it first about a 60-degree angle with the boost from the JATO appeared, but John noted it's since been overtaken in bottles. John described "a very funny feeling" of those categories by today’s massive cargo jets. A Herc weightlessness when the JATO bottles were firing. As he can be loaded and unloaded very quickly. The cargo recalled, "You would float over the top." Just as the bottles compartment is 41.5 feet long, extending to a hinge on the were about to die, the pilot would get the nose down, the ramp, which is another 10 feet in length. It stands three speed would pick up quickly, the thrust from the JATO feet, five inches above the tarmac --- truck-loading height. bottles would suddenly end, and normal flight resumed. The ramp can be lowered to ground level quickly, to Training also involved re-qualifying for paratrooping provide immediate access from the tarmac to the and heavy drops, involving operations where a pilot chute compartment. Special metal pallets were used to manage was dropped away from the aircraft. It would deploy the cargo. It wasn't necessary to tie down any of the load, as main chutes, and they would gently lower the load to the the cargo was already lashed on to the pallet. Initially, in ground in theory at least. On several occasions, John saw the early 1960s, .the RCAF flew the C-130B Hercules. loads that would get hung up on the parachutes and impact They were followed by the upgraded C-130E model, flown heavily on the ground. He recalled one case where a very by 435 and 436 Sqdn.’s., in 1965. John started intensive expensive radio system being developed by the army pilot training in May of 1965. By June, John and fellow landed in a mess. Some of the flights were "sked flights," members of the training crew were heading off for short involving pre-set flights such to Ottawa, or maybe to stops at such places as Wiarton, Sault Ste. Marie and Downsview, then on to Moncton, followed by places such as Greenwood and Shearwater. Other skeds were to ground. Several of the lashings broke and released some Goose Bay, for instance, and some up to Thule.