Volume 35, No. 2 THE Spring Issue April 2017 Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame Celebrating Canada Excitement in 50-Year Old Aircraft Pages 7-9 “Golden Hawks” for Canada’s 50th Page 10 Snowbirds’ Dan Dempsey and Golden Hawks’ Fern Villeneuve Page 2 Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame BOARD OF DIRECTORS: (Volunteers) Rod Sheridan, ON Chairman Chris Cooper-Slipper, ON Vice Chairman Panthéon de l’Aviation du Canada Miriam Kavanagh, ON Secretary Anna Pangrazzi, ON Treasurer CONTACT INFORMATION: Bruce Aubin, ON Gordon Berturelli, AB Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame Rosella Bjornson, AB P.O. Box 6090 Denis Chagnon, QC Wetaskiwin, AB T9A 2E8 Canada Lynn Hamilton, AB Phone: 780.312.2073 / Fax: 780.361.1239 James Morrison, ON Website: www.cahf.ca Craig Richmond, BC Email: see listings below: David Wright, AB STAFF: Bill Elliot, Mayor of Wetaskiwin, AB (ex-officio) Executive Director: Robert Porter 780.312.2073 ([email protected]) Collections Manager: Aja Cooper 780.312.2084 OPERATIONS COMMITTEE: (Wetaskiwin) ([email protected]) (Volunteers) David Wright, Chairman OFFICE HOURS: Blain Fowler, Past Chairman Tuesday - Friday: 9 am - 4:30 pm John Chalmers Closed Mondays Denny May Margaret May CAHF DISPLAYS (HANGAR) HOURS: Mary Oswald Tuesday to Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm Robert Porter Closed Mondays Noel Ratch (non-voting, Winter Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm representing Reynolds-Alberta Museum) (Please call to confirm opening times.) THE FLYER COMMITTEE: To change your address, Mary Oswald, Editor ([email protected]) contact The Hall at 780.312.2073 780.469.3547 John Chalmers, CAHF Historian Janice Oppen, Design and Layout PORTRAITS: Robert Bailey 2 Information about The Hall 3 Chairman’s Message PATRON: 3 Introducing Aja Cooper His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, 4-6 Celebrating Canada 1967 C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General of Canada 7-9 Flying a 50 Year Old Plane 50 Years Ago 10 Celebrating New Members 11 History in Aviation Les Kerr July 12 Celebrating Wilfrid “Wop” May Dave Williams Fern Villeneuve 12 Remembering...Seth Walter Grossmith to these Members: Walter Chmela John Sanford Clive Beddoe Rosella Bjornson April Fred Carmichael Rex Terpening Credit for photo on cover “Leaders of Aerobatic Teams”: Pierre Jeanniot June August Vintage Wings, ‘Pay it Forward’, April 2017. May James ‘Stocky’ Edwards Nils Christensen Photo shows Lt/Col (Ret’d) Dan Dempsey, past leader of The Snowbirds, and W/C Laurent Beaudoin Barry Marsden Chris Hadfield (Ret’d) J.A.G. Fern Villeneuve, originator and leader of The Golden Hawks. Chairman’s Message Rod Sheridan In my opinion, Mary Oswald has one the direction of its CEO, Craig Richmond, of the most frustrating jobs in CAHF a fellow CAHF board member, was named operations. Not only does she have the task “International Airport of the Year”? of contributing, compiling and editing The Flyer, she manages the other contributors and As someone who spends an inordinate amount terminal that will be in full operation while the most difficult one .... me! Once again, of time in airports, I can tell you that this is we are there! here I am finishing my Chairman’s Message a well-deserved honour and against some at the deadline after promising to be better impressive competition. Most of us tend to So while you celebrate the induction of our behaved! focus on the closer US airports when thinking newest CAHF members and Belt of Orion of what the competition would look like. For recipient, please take the time to look around This will be my last Chairman’s Message those of us who travel internationally, I can and see what YVR has done to deserve this before our Gala Induction dinner on June tell you that the real competition is places honour. When you see Craig and members of 15th, so I thought the Gala would be a great like Heathrow in London, UK, the Gulf his team, please congratulate them on their topic. As the Friends of The Hall know, airports of Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, award and thank them for the support they our Gala event is a celebration of the new and of course, Singapore. These are the real have given Mike and the dinner committee. Members as well as an opportunity to raise competitors that YVR has surpassed! funds in support of CAHF. This year’s Please remember, CAHF is here because dinner committee has done an amazing job In early February I spent some time with our of the hard work and planning by the organizing the Gala dinner, with the support Dinner Committee Chair, Mike Matthews Operations team in Wetaskiwin led by Dave of Craig Richmond and the YVR team. I’m and Tess Messmer from the YVR team. No Wright and Blain Fowler, and the Board of told the Fairmont Hotel is filling up quickly question that the Dinner Committee and Directors who volunteer their time. We rely and our ticket sales are on track to hitting our Craig’s team are preparing an extraordinary on the Friends of The Hall and the generosity target. If you are planning to attend, I suggest evening. Every CAHF dinner I have attended of many organizations across the country you make your plans sooner than later. has been a memorable occasion, each with who contribute in many ways to make a its own unique element. I believe this is the place come together and celebrate Canada’s Speaking of this year’s location, did you know first time the event will be held in an active Aviation Hall of Fame. that Vancouver International Airport, under Rod Sheridan Introducing Aja Cooper, Collections Manager for The Hall has simply just been the passenger. (And she digs in Belize, Central America. Both work is more than fine with this!) places introduced her to the concept of collections care/management, and object Aja spent her childhood helping her conservation. family farm the river banks of the North Saskatchewan River at Edam, Saskatchewan. In 2014, Aja took another long flight, this She not only watched the cultivation of crops, time to Northeastern England when she was but cultivated a passion for local history and accepted into Durham University’s Masters wanting to preserve it. Program. She registered in the study of Conservation of Archaeological and Museum After eighteen years, Aja jumped on Objects. She studied at the University’s an airplane and headed for Sackville, Archaeological Services Conservation New Brunswick to attend Mount Allison Laboratory and at the university-affiliated University. She pursued a Bachelor of Oriental Museum. A family friend once commented on the Arts Degree with a Major in Art History Cooper siblings: “Look, the flyer, and the and a Double Minor in Anthropology Having spent nearly a decade away from flyee!” While Aja’s younger brother has (Archaeology) and Religious Studies. Prior home seeing the world, Aja decided it was successfully pursued a career in aviation from to convocation with the Class of 2012, Aja time to return to Western Canada. She is a very early age and has flown more planes in worked at the university campus Owens Art now the Collections Manager for Canada’s his lifetime than he has been a passenger, Aja Gallery and participated in archaeological Aviation Hall of Fame. 3 Celebrating Canada 1967 test pilot Col. Georgii Mosolov flying a highly- Editor’s Note: On the next few pages, The modified and rocket-boosted MiG-21 (E-66A) Flyer will present stories from Canadian fliers to 113,891 feet. who set out to celebrate Canada’s Centennial Year, 1967. Mary Oswald The first story, titled The Centennial ‘Zoom’, written by LtCol (Ret’d) Dan Dempsey, is excerpted from his magnificent book, A Tradition of Excellence - Canada’s Airshow Team Heritage*. It describes Wing Commander “Bud” White’s Canadian Altitude record Briefing sign, “Zoom” Profile achieved in December, 1967. under IFR rules in the area of the busiest civil This is followed by a Q and A section set up by Russian Air Force M66 MiG-25 myself with Bud White, trying to get a clearer air traffic in Canada, meant that extraordinary understanding of what his altitude attempt support and coordination by MOT air traffic Although the Aerospace Engineering and Test controllers was required to vector Civil and was all about. This story will be presented in Establishment (AETE) at CFB Uplands at two parts, with the second part following in the IFR aircraft out of danger without revealing the Ottawa was given the prime task, the project confidentiality of the “zoom” flights. September Flyer. would ultimately involve hundreds of Military, Defence Research Board and Ministry of The third story takes us back to the Centennial Although the Centennial team fell short of the Air Show, with W/C Dave Wightman describing world record, AETE gained valuable technical his experience flying a WWI Sopwith Snipe, insights that were to prove highly valuable for “Flying a 50-Year Old Airplane 50 Years subsequent CF-104 maintenance and operations. Ago”. W/C White did attain a paint-blistering speed of Mach 2.45 - the fastest ever attained by any * Dempsey, Dan. A Tradition of Excellence - Starfighter - and his authenticated altitude of Canada’s Airshow Team Heritage. High Flight 100,110 feet achieved on December 14th, 1967 Enterprises Ltd. 2002 still stands as the official Canadian Altitude All photos for these three stories were Record. supplied by Dan Dempsey, R.A. Bud White and Dave Wightman. Photos are not used in any Much was made of White’s record following particular order. Sign, one of many, showing goals of the the flight, with extensive press coverage across Centennial Project the country as Centennial year drew to a close.