Flying On Instinct Read online

  Foss mulled over his situation. On takeoff, La Vigilance probably wouldn’t clear the trees that grew right to the water’s edge. But he had to try. When the rain stopped, he floated over the lake looking for deadheads, then powered up for takeoff. In struggling to clear the trees, a wingtip hit the water, and the flying boat cartwheeled. Caldwell was thrown out and thumped onto the wing. Foss, unconscious in the submerged cockpit, was rescued by Caldwell. After Foss regained consciousness, the pair hiked along a nearby river to a trapper’s cabin, and the next day the trapper guided them to the railway at Fauquier. On a return mission a few days later to recover the downed HS-2L, it was declared a writeoff. Even the engine was scrapped.

  The original hull of Curtiss HS-2L flying boat La Vigilance was preserved by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and is displayed next to a Curtiss HS-2L reconstructed from parts of three different HS-2Ls and marked as Laurentide Air Service G-CAAC, the original La Vigilance registration. L.D. CROSS

  And there La Vigilance remained, slowly sinking into the silt of the lake bed until 1967, when it was discovered by Kapuskasing businessman Don Campbell. Nobody knew the true identity of the HS-2L, but the Canada Aviation and Space Museum decided to retrieve and reconstruct it as historically representative of its type, since no others existed. In the salvage operation from what is now called Foss Lake, the true identity of the plane became clear.

  In 1970, the longest restoration project ever undertaken by the museum began on the Curtiss HS–2L. The restoration was complex and time-consuming due to the size of the plane and the need to reconstruct a complete hull. Curators wanted to retain the recovered hull for historical purposes, but the water-soaked wood was not suitable for restoration. In 1986, an exhibit of the G-CAAC La Vigilance’s original hull and a reconstructed HS-2L aircraft assembled from three different HS-2Ls was unveiled at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, where it can be seen today. This is the only complete HS-2L in the world.

  Some Museums with Bush Plane Holdings

  Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton, Alberta

  www.albertaaviationmuseum.com/

  British Columbia Aviation Museum, Sidney, British Columbia

  www.bcam.net/

  Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario

  www.aviation.technomuses.ca/

  Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

  www.cahf.ca/

  Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

  www.bushplane.com/

  Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ontario

  www.warplane.com/

  Reynolds-Alberta Museum, Wetaskiwin, Alberta

  history.alberta.ca/reynolds

  Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba

  wcam.mb.ca/

  Selected Bibliography

  Boer, Peter. Bush Pilots: Daredevils of the Wilderness. Edmonton: Folklore Publishing, 2004.

  Braun, Don C., and John C. Warren. The Arctic Fox: Bush Pilot of the North Country. Boston: Back Bay Press, 1994.

  Bungey, Lloyd M. Pioneering Aviation in the West. Surrey, BC: Hancock House Publishers, 1992.

  Cole, Dermot. Frank Barr: Bush Pilot in Alaska and the Yukon. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books, 1986.

  Erickson, George. True North: Exploring the Great Wilderness by Bush Plane. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2002.

  Foster, J.A. The Bush Pilots: A Pictorial History of a Canadian Phenomenon. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990.

  Gibson Sutherland, Alice. Canada’s Aviation Pioneers: 50 Years of McKee Trophy Winners. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1978.

  Grant, Robert S. Bush Flying: The Romance of the North. Surrey, BC: Hancock House Publishers, 1995.

  Godsell, Philip H. Pilots of the Purple Twilight: The Story of Canada’s Early Bush Flyers. Calgary: Fifth House Ltd., 2002.

  Keith, Ronald A. Bush Pilot with a Briefcase. Toronto: Doubleday Canada Ltd., 1972.

  Lamb, Bruce. Outposts and Bushplanes. Surrey, BC: Hancock House Publishers, 2005.

  Main, J.R.K. Voyageurs of the Air: A History of Civil Aviation in Canada, 1858–1967. Ottawa: Canada, Department of Transport, Queen’s Printer, 1967.

  Matheson, Shirlee Smith. Flying the Frontiers. Vol. II. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises, 1996.

  McCaffery, Dan. Bush Planes and Bush Pilots. Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., 2002.

  Oswald, Mary. They Led the Way. Wetaskiwin, AB: Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999.

  Payne, Stephen, ed. Canadian Wings: A Remarkable Century of Flight. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006.

  Spring, Joyce. Daring Lady Flyers: Canadian Women in the Early Years of Aviation. Lawrencetown, NS: Pottersfield Press, 1994.

  ———. The Sky’s the Limit: Canadian Women Bush Pilots. Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 2006.

  Terpening, Rex. Bent Props and Blow Pots. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2006.

  Turner, Dick. Wings of the North. Blaine, WA: Hancock House Publishers, 1976.

  Zuk, Bill. True-Life Adventures of Canada’s Bush Pilots. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2009.

  Index

  The page numbers in this index refer to the print edition and have been linked to corresponding anchors in this electronic edition. Depending on your reading device and personal settings, you may have to continue scrolling down or turning pages before the index entry appears on your screen.

  Air Canada, 92, 101, 129. See also Trans-Canada Airlines

  Aklavik, 15, 55, 62, 63, 64, 74, 75, 76

  Arctic Circle, 13, 45, 126

  Baker, Francis Russell “Russ,” 93–94, 95, 96, 97, 98–99, 100-101, 128

  Balchen, Bernt, 27, 29, 30–31

  Barker, William George “Bill,” 10–11, 12, 104

  Bellanca, 36

  Air Cruiser, 15, 16

  CH-300 Pacemaker, 75–76, 132

  Bell-Irving, Alan Duncan, 9–10

  Berry, Arthur Massey “Matt,” 12–14

  Berton, Pierre, 97–100

  Bishop, William Avery “Billy,” 11

  blow pot, 39, 40, 127

  Bourassa, Johnny, 118-121

  Bowen, Jack, 75, 78

  Brintnell, Wilfred Leigh, 14–15, 16

  British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, 65, 78, 88, 114, 130

  Brown, Arthur “Roy,” 70

  Buchanan, Buck, 50, 51–52, 53

  Burwash, Lauchie (L.T.), 50, 52–53, 54

  Cache Lake, 29, 30, 31

  Caldwell, Jack, 133-134

  Cambridge Bay, 46, 53, 112, 113, 114

  Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, 20, 32, 67, 78, 92, 101, 105, 106, 114, 124, 130, 136

  Canadian Air Force (CAF), 11, 38

  Canadian Airways Ltd., 12, 40, 41, 49, 51, 64, 65, 129, 130

  Canadian Pacific Airlines (CPA, CP Air), 15, 65, 86, 87, 92, 96, 101, 130

  CANOL (Canadian Oil) Project, 13, 87

  Catton, W.E., 111

  Central BC Airways, 93, 100-101. See also Pacific Western Airlines

  Cheesman, Al, 26, 30, 32

  Churchill, 125, 127, 128, 129. See also Port Churchill

  Curtiss

  HS-2L, 18–21, 22, 26, 28, 111, 133, 134, 135

  JN-4 Canuck, 10, 103

  Lark, 26

  de Havilland

  Beaver, 66, 91, 96, 101, 112, 119, 120, 124

  Buffalo, 66

  Caribou, 66

  Chipmunk, 66

  Dash 7, 66

  Moth, 80, 88, 89, 91, 131, 132

  Otter, 25, 66, 90, 91, 112, 116, 126

  Twin Otter, 66, 112

  Dickins, Clennel Haggerston “Punch,” 27, 50, 55, 56–67, 68, 75, 78, 79, 87

  Distinguished Flying Cross, 57, 70

  Edmonton, 12, 15, 56, 57, 63, 68, 71, 74, 75, 78, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 101, 106, 116, 136

  Eldorado Mines Ltd., 15, 16

  Fairchild Aircraft Ltd., 11, 36, 42, 66

  KR-21, 11

  FC series, 43–44, 45
>
  Finnie, Richard “Dick,” 14, 53, 54

  First World War, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 27, 36, 49, 57, 69, 102

  Fokker,

  D.VII, 12

  Dr.1, 36, 69

  Universal, 27–28, 29, 30, 37, 44, 45, 49, 52, 53, 60

  Fort McMurray, 32, 38, 42, 50, 54, 55, 62, 63, 74

  Fort Resolution, 63

  Fort Smith, 14, 41, 54, 61, 62, 63

  Fort Vermilion, 71, 72, 73, 71, 118

  Foss, Don, 133–134

  Franklin Expedition, 50, 52–53, 54–55

  Gilbert, Jeanne, 50, 54

  Gilbert, Walter Edwin, 27, 49–51, 52, 53–54, 55, 96

  Great Bear Lake, 12, 15, 55, 58

  Graham, Madge “Poppy,” 20–21

  Graham, Stuart, 19, 20–21, 133

  Green, Chris, 82

  Hamman, Dr. Harold, 71–72, 73

  Headless Valley, 97, 98, 99, 100

  Horner, Vic, 72–74

  Hudson Bay, 26, 32, 45, 59

  Hudson Bay Railway, 27, 31

  Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), 45, 47, 54, 71, 73, 90, 131

  Independent Airways, 81, 85

  Johnson, Albert, 74-75, 76–77, 97

  Jones, Art, 97, 98

  Junkers, 36, 37

  W33, 37

  W34, 37, 97, 99, 101, 111

  Kahre, Bill, 19, 21

  Knight, Stan, 50, 52, 53, 54

  LaBine, Gilbert, 15, 16

  Lamb, Tom, 122–124, 125

  Laserich, Wilhelm Adolph “Willy,” 111–114

  Laurentide Air Service Ltd., 21–23, 134

  La Vigilance, 20, 133–135

  MacAlpine, C.D.H., 45–49, 51, 52, 59–62

  Mad Trapper of Rat River. See Johnson, Albert

  Martin B-26 Marauder, 94–95

  Maxwell, William R., 21, 22, 23, 111

  May, Wilfrid Reid “Wop,” 65, 68–78

  McAvoy, Charles “Chuck,” 116–118

  McConachie, George William “Grant,” 65, 79–87, 96, 130

  McKee Trophy, 32, 55, 66, 78, 87

  McMillan, Stan, 15, 47

  Milstead, Vi, 103–105

  Mowat, Farley, 121

  Nahanni National Park Reserve, 96, 97

  Ninety-Nines, 103, 109

  Noorduyn Norseman, 24–25, 28, 36, 126, 128

  Noorduyn, Robert B.C., 24, 28, 66

  Northern Aerial Mineral Exploration Ltd, 12, 31

  Northwest Territories, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 41, 45, 50, 58, 59, 62, 74, 78, 88, 96, 111, 118, 119

  Nunavut, 45, 112, 118

  Oaks, Harold Anthony “Doc,” 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 78

  Oboe Lake, 81, 84

  Olson, Keith, 122, 124–129

  Ontario Provincial Air Service (OPAS), 22–23, 27, 111

  Pacific Western Airlines, 92, 101. See also Central BC Airways

  Parsons, Ruth, 106–109

  Patricia Airways and Exploration Ltd., 25

  Peace River, 72, 73, 74, 118

  Pearce, Richard, 59–62

  Port Churchill, 27, 29, 31, 59. See also Churchill

  Red Baron. See von Richthofen, Manfred Albrecht

  Red Lake, 23–24, 26, 109, 131

  Reilly, Moretta Fenton Beall “Molly,” 105–106

  Richardson, James A, 26, 27, 40

  Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), 60, 74, 75, 90, 99

  Sault Ste. Marie, 42, 136

  Schade, Henry Arthur “Art,” 122, 131–132

  Second World War, 10, 15, 25, 65, 77–78, 86, 94, 105, 118, 130

  short takeoff and landing capability (STOL), 35, 66

  Stevenson, Fred, 29–30

  Stinson, 36

  Reliant SR8, 123

  Stinson 108, 107, 108

  Terpening, Rex, 13, 138

  Trans-Canada Airlines, 86, 101. See also Air Canada

  undercarriages, bush plane, 35–36

  United Air Transport (UAT), 85, 86

  Vickers, 36

  Vollick, Eileen, 102–103

  von Richthofen, Manfred Albrecht (the Red Baron), 36, 69, 70

  Ward, Maxwell William “Max,” 14, 67, 87–92

  Wardair Ltd., 91–92

  Wesley, Ted, 117

  Western Canada Airways Ltd. (WCA), 14, 26, 27, 29, 31, 49

  Wetaskiwin, 32, 71, 136

  Whitehorse, 86, 94, 96

  Winnipeg, 14, 15, 26, 40, 53, 57, 59, 64, 74, 111, 129, 136

  Woollett, Walter “Babe,” 122, 129–130

  Yellowknife, 88, 89, 90, 114, 117, 119, 120, 121

  Yellowknife Airways Ltd., 14, 90

  Yukon Southern Air Transport, 86

  Acknowledgements

  As with every work, there are numerous inputs, influences, interpretations, experiences, additions, deletions and events that meld to produce the final text. However, I would particularly like to thank Lesley Reynolds for her editing expertise and Bob Mercier for his help with research, as well as Marcia Rak of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Archives, and Dora Winter of Library and Archives Canada for their assistance in sourcing documentation and illustrations in their collections.

  About the Author

  L. D. Cross is an Ottawa writer and member of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) and the Creative Non-Fiction Collective (CNFC). Her business and lifestyle articles have appeared in Canada and the US. Her publication credits include magazines such as WeddingBells, Home Business Report, Legion Magazine, Profit Magazine, enRoute, AmericanStyle, Fifty-Five Plus, Health Naturally, Antiques!, Airborn and This Country Canada as well as the Globe and Mail newspaper.

  Her creative non-fiction has been recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Ottawa Chapter, EXCEL Awards for features and editorial writing, as well as the National Mature Media Awards for her articles about seniors. In 2011, her book The Underground Railroad: The Long Journey to Freedom in Canada received the inaugural Ontario Historical Society Huguenot Award honouring “the best book published in Ontario in the past three years which has brought public awareness to the principles of freedom of conscience and freedom of thought.” She is also a co-author of Inside Outside: In Conversation with a Doctor and a Clothing Designer and Marriage is a Business.

  More Amazing Stories by L.D. Cross

  Code Name Habbakuk

  A Secret Ship Made of Ice

  By late 1942, Britain was desperate to win the Battle of the Atlantic. German U-boats had sunk hundreds of Allied ships, and Prime Minister Churchill had to find a solution to the carnage. Eccentric inventor and amateur spy Geoffrey Pyke proposed an invincible secret weapon: immense aircraft carriers built of ice that would roam the mid-Atlantic to protect Allied convoys from predatory U-boats. This is the fascinating story of the rise and fall of Project Habbakuk and how the British Royal Navy, the National Research Council of Canada and a workforce of conscientious objectors tested the strange concept in the Canadian Rockies.

  Heritage House • print | electronic

  Treasure Under the Tundra

  Canada’s Arctic Diamonds

  It is said that the sparkle from Canadian diamonds mimics the magnificent and seductive radiance of the northern lights. Yet until 1991, no one thought diamonds could even be found in Canada—no one except Chuck Fipke and Stu Blusson, who uncovered diamond-rich kimberlite in the Barrens at Point Lake in the Northwest Territories. Their spectacular find caused great excitement in international diamond circles and sparked the largest claim-staking rush in Canada since the 1896 Klondike gold rush. Here is the dramatic tale of two determined geologists who risked all and triumphed over incredible odds.

  Heritage House • print | electronic

  Copyright © 2012 L.D. Cross

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, audio recording or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher or a licence fro
m Access Copyright, Toronto, Canada.

  Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.

  heritagehouse.ca

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Cross, L. D. (L. Dyan), 1949–

  Flying on instinct: Canada’s bush pilot pioneers / L.D. Cross.

  (Amazing stories)

  Electronic monograph in multiple formats.

  Issued also in print format.

  ISBN 978-1-927051-85-6 (HTML). ISBN 978-1-927051-86-3 (PDF).

  1. Bush pilots—Canada—History. 2. Aeronautics—Canada—History. I. Title. II. Series: Amazing stories (Victoria, B.C.: Online).

  TL523.C76 2012 629.130971 C2012-904124-6

  Series editor: Lesley Reynolds

  Proofreader: Liesbeth Leatherbarrow

  Cover photo: “Bob Cockeram’s Noorduyn Norseman MK II Ruth IV,” by Robert W. Bradford, courtesy of Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa.

  Heritage House acknowledges the financial support for its publishing program from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF), Canada Council for the Arts and the province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.