VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

THE COMOX VALLEY AIR FORCE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

ON PROUD WINGS
Dedication of Heritage Stones & Plaque

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

HERITAGE STONES & OBELISK CEREMONY FRANK STEVENS STORY EDITORIAL PRESIDENTS PODIUM MANAGEMENT MATTERS KENS FLIGHT OF HIS LIFE THE COLLECTION CORNER Y2K UPDATE COMING EVENTS MEMBERSHIP FEEDBACK CVAFMA QUARTERBACK REVIEW NOTICES & ADS 12 1 2 2 3 3

5 6 7 8 8 9 10-11
THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE GROUND CREWS AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL WHO HAVE MADE FLIGHT POSSIBLE DURING THE LAST 100 YEARS.

WITHOUT THEM AIRPLANES WOULD JUST MAKE NICE MONUMENTS

DEDICATD BY THE MEMBERS OF CVAFMA 2009

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: Heritage Stones & Obelisk Dedication. Y2K open house & signing. Frank Steven & the CoF. Kens thrill of a lifetime. Bye bye Black Maria.

Y2K Open house

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VOLUNTEER VIGNETTE: FRANK STEVEN Frank, who has been flying since 1942 and still possesses a PPL, is probably the longest flying pilot we have in the Comox Valley. The account of his career is peppered with some interesting stories. Over the next few issues we will bring you a number of those stories, which will be about the people for whom they were made, along with many interesting technical details of the flying challenges. Franks greatest fulfilment in flying has been in the latter non-combat portion of his flying career. Along with that, and some combat incidents, he will be talking about the 1944 - India various dramatic characteristic of the early aircraft he has flown. But, meanwhile, on to some background: Born in Glasgow and only 15 when WW2 was declared, Franks ambition to fly against the hun had to wait until half way through his 17th year when the RAF would allow him to enlist as just a volunteer for aircrew. First assigned to BCATP, Regina and Brandon, for flying training, Frank was later back to Britain, on HMS Ile de France, for advanced flying training. There, he hoped, he would go on to Lancasters. In actual fact, he only made it into Bomber Command, with 5 Group RAF, by the spring of 1944. Then, he managed to complete 13 bomber raids before the Germans quit! Did they see him coming, your editor wonders? Franks training with BCATP began in Brandon in Tiger Moths, then led to the Fairchild Cornell Tiger Moth and finally the Cessna Crane. The latter, ordered by the RCAF to supplement the Avro Anson for training Canadian pilots on twinengine aircraft, was also known by its pilots, for reasons of their own, as the
Cessna Cranes

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

Wichita Wobbler, Bamboo Bomber or the Bobcat. An eccentric aircraft, no doubt! Looking back, Franks distinct experiences and one chief interest in the Centennial of Flight for him is in the planes themselves and their various idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. These obscure characteristics often amounted to great pain and/or pleasure for their pilots and engineers! Frank suspects that is what ultimately may have led to the adoption of the female gender for identifying individual aircraft! Much as was also done for ships, over a much longer period! Following his European wartime assignments at the end of that war (VE), war continued in India to where Frank was assigned in a command in Burma, flying Vultee Vengeance dive bombers and Mosquitoes, against the Japanese attack on India. He continued there for a year after VJ day. Franks RCAF service began in April 1951 when he was first assigned as instructor on Harvard Aircraft in Gimli, Manitoba and Moose Jaw, Sask. This period was followed much later by his service in Comox and Peace-keeping in Egypt. Later again, Frank retired to Comox where he now lives and still keeps active in flying, whether as a volunteer ground school instructor or flying fire-spotting missions in times of widespread logging activities. Some of the stories that we will be following up in future issues from his logbook are: 1956: North Star a/c, hit by lightning over the Atlantic, between Goose Bay and Prestwick, Scotland.. 1953: Harvard a/c, Winnipeg to Moose Jaw, with thunderstorms and high winds en route c/w hairy episodes at Regina and Moose Jaw. 1952: 2FTS Gimli, Man with some interesting students formation flying attempts. 1958: Canso Flying Boat Winnipeg to De Salis, Banks Island. At 1500 miles round trip, the longest medivac in history of RCAF. A Comox Airshow crash, in a Tiger Moth piloted by Frank, in front of 8000 stunned viewers. Ed.

EDITORIAL
For my first editorial proper I must say that the news- Special Issue for the CoF Dinner, gave clear letters over the last two years have continually been able to messages on the publication that, hopefully, are herald a pleasant revelation in what we at the CVAFMA do all or mostly reflected in this issue. and what inspires us to keep moving on. May it continue. You have been a large part of helping with the design Various incremental changes of On Proud Wings and process. We strongly encourage that to continue in future have brought us here from the solid foundation developed issues, bringing in topical info, stories, jokes and photos. It makes a huge difference to the results. Letters to the editor previously by Ken Oxley. might also be worth a try in getting personal opinions on isSuki, our assistant editor, recently completed a feedback survey which, together with much feedback from our last (Continued on page 3)

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THE PRESDENTS PODIUM

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

It was a fine day. The clouds came and went, no one brought an umbrella and the combination of three events made it a success. The Heritage Stone Dedication was very well attended with a number of local politicians along with 888 Wing, Legion and Navy League Representatives. Twenty-six new Stones were added to the Gallery. Our Guest Speaker for the Dedication, Col. Michel Lalumiere, was very generous in his praise for the accomplishments of the Association as well as the Museum. MC Jon Ambler created the perfect ambience for the occasion. Our Association sponsored the new obelisk and memorial plaque, dedicated to the Centennial of Flight in Canada and to the Ground Crews and Support Staff that make every flight possible as so well said by Terry Chester in his introduction. The Dedication ceremony was followed by the final Open House at the Spitfire Hangar, which was very well attended and is still a big draw in the Valley.

Thank you to David Stinson for taking the lead and organizing the event along with Don Manley and his crew handling the refreshments. Thanks to all the volunteers that showed up to put all the chairs in place then 3 hours later take them all down. Thanks also to 19 Wing for its support which makes it all possible. Our next event will be the Christmas Party and Volunteer recognition scheduled for December 8 in the Officers Mess. Mike Hendren

COORDINATION & MANAGEMENT MATTERS

One Year as Program Manager/Volunteer Coordinator: I am amazed to realise that I have been at the CAFM for a full year: and it was full! My partnerships with Capt Low, Noreen Purdy and the Association have thrived, and we are achieving great successes. Looking back, I am amazed at the complexity of the Museum and all the elements it takes to have success. I have found that each and every one of our Volunteers brings something to the fight. My role and challenge is to match each volunteers temperament, skills and interests with something that needs doing. Given the quality of our volunteers there is an embarrassment of riches! Looking forward, we anticipate positive change in all aspects of the Museum: new displays depicting the reopening of RCAF Comox, Korea and the Cold War, new aircraft (a Labrador!), restoration of the CMP, a major display at the Comox Valley Art Gallery in summer 2010, and ongoing restoration of Y2K. We will continue our outreach: the Museum will support REXPO, the SD71 Heritage Fair, Canada Day, all building on this years successes At OMMC 2009 I learned a lot about Military Museums, and one key thing I learned is that we all can be extremely proud of our Museum, I know I am! Jon Ambler

EDITORIAL CONT..
(Continued from page 2)

tified in each one, in case of reference requirements. Lastly, please join me in welcoming our new Cub Reporter, Ken Oxley, who will be covering various local experiences with the Y2K project from his eyes. Also, please welcome Terry Chester, the Y2K Project Manager, who will be our regular columnist on updates for the project. Your support is much appreciated, Rodney Jones

sues. Such letters typically spruce up publications like this one in a big way. In this issue a stronger attempt has been made to keep articles brief, to the point and within one page or less. This, of course, keep the essentials intact and improve its readability. Many articles we receive are quite detailed and so we will hold the full submissions available for you, as no-

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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

Thrill of a Lifetime

Ken Oxleys dreams came true when he was drawn and called for a 40 minute flight in an L-39ZA Albatros fighter jet owned by Ed McDonald of Alberta. A contemporary of Wow times three, were Kens remarks, if the aircraft CAFMs Capt. John Low in Moose Jaw and once an instrucwasnt so darn smooth and Ed so proficient, it could have tor on Tutors there, Ed now flies Airbus 330s for Air Canbeen scary! ada and, as an engineer, runs a business in systems to locate runways in poor weather conditions. Eds flights are primarily used as a fundraiser for deserving charities and are booked up well in advance. Its a winKen found the flight very exciting and smooth even -win-win situation. Next year, Ken will be working with when pulling 3 to 4G's during some of the aerobatic mahim on a fundraising event for the Comox Valley Air Force noeuvres. He was at ease with Eds command and allowed Museum Association and another to raise funds for a local the feel of the controls for a few minutes. high school football team to buy new equipment. Everyone They headed for the Comox glacier at 4,000 feet. With will have a chance to win a ride of a lifetime. So keep doing the throttle set at 240 knots, Ken steered them around the your exercises and eat healthy! sky for about 10 mins. Ed made a bomb run on the ski According to Ken, we may even see the L-39 share the lodge at Mt. Washington and headed to Campbell River for sky with a P-51 and some red and white CT-114s in April a low altitude military break over the airport. 2010 . Ed plans on doing next years charity fights out of YQQ again for the B C winners. Ken Oxley

Then, it was off west for some loops and barrel rolls before heading back to Comox, hugging the coastline along the way. Two military breaks over CFB Comox were authorized before a very smooth landing.

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COLLECTIONS CORNER

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

qualifications and offers annual grants towards partial reimbursement of tuition fees and course (OMMC) materials. It has published a newsletter elecMilitary museums began over 2, 000 years ago when the Romans tronically in past years; but, its web-site was dedicated temples to house organized displays of weapons and arbadly damaged by a hacker in 2008 and is still mour captured in great battles. In Canada they began to appear being rebuilt. before Confederation. Recognized as a Canadian charity, OMMC Artefacts and displays grew in regular force garrisons like Quewas federally incorporated as a non profit orbec, Halifax and Kingston and in camps like Petawawa. The foreganization in 1992. There is no paid staff. runner of the Canadian War Museum opened in 1880. From the OMMC has always been closely allied with the DHH at NDHQ. time of the Boer War, in the late 1890s, Canadian officers and solIt provides an annual grant to cover the costs of organizing and stagdiers returning from military service brought home some ing the annual training program with certain mandatory expenses reminders of their experiences and the artefact accumulations such as auditing the financial statements. grew. The Armed Forces began to donate surplus and captured equipment, particularly in the years after the First and Second World All member museums are expected to have at least one represen-

Organization of Military Museums of Canada

Wars. The OMMC was set up by National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in 1967 to provide a common home for military museums and for persons strongly interested in the preservation and display of military heritage. At CAFM, Don Manley and David Stinson are members and Don is also a long-standing OMMC Director.

tative at each OMMC annual meeting. The annual conferences are held in different locations: Winnipeg last year, CFB Borden this year and next year in Halifax. The 2010 conference will mark the centennial of the founding of the Canadian Naval Service, forerunner of the Royal Canadian Navy. The 2011 conference at Charlottetown will be the first OMMC meeting on PEI. There is a rumour that the 2013 conference may be held in Vancouver!

All 68 accredited Canadian military museums are institutional One of its first activities was to lay the foundation of good standards of competence in all military museums. Now in its 43rd year of members of OMMC and DHH pays the annual membership fee. Any interested person can become an individual member the anoperation, OMMC continues that tradition of annual trainnual fee is usually a personal expense. The OMMC Board of Direcing. Recent topics have included: tors is made up of these individual members. Basic radiation hazard recognition; At CAFM, Don Manley and David Stinson are members and Don is also a long-standing OMMC Director. Construction of display equipment;

Location of museum material sources; Writing of artefact condition reports; and Managing museums in the military and civilian sectors. OMMC encourages members to develop their formal skills and

CAFM representatives have all found the experience valuable, particularly the personal contacts and learning from colleagues. This museum will continue to lay its part in OMMC in years to come. David Stinson

p.s. for the full text, please contact Dave or the editor.

SOME INTERESTING WEBSITES: (Ctrl + Click) or (Copy & paste to internet)

Stocky Edwards Ottawa flight with VWoC
http://www.airic.ca/html/vwoc09stocky.html

A Short History of the Avro CF-105 Arrow Mk.1 http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/equip/hst/arrow-eng.asp

Canada C-17 Globemasters first homecoming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA3q2ZpiWHc

Credit-squeeze airshow? : The Red Sparrows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_lXqMmevog

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ON PROUD WINGS
VINTAGE WINGS Y2K UPDATE

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

planes in the Air Park now has a bonanza of supplies at its disposal! Ross Hubbard, Chief TC inspector in the Vancouver Region, has met with us and strongly supports the project. At Rosss suggestion a separation of the work area and public viewpoints, has been provided with a metal railing keeping the aircraft protected and secure. Ralph Hull, who was associated with the project at the outset and is currently building our wings in UK, will be here in the second week of October. He will look at Hull Aero, UK the entire project, including our uncategorized inventory, and help our engineers to form a plan to have the plane Wing ready by mid-summer 2011. I will be in Ontario in late October (14 to 21) on Air Force Association biz so will stop by Wright Instruments in Toronto to see whats up with the instruments that we sent them, oh so long ago. Our open house, see page 1, on the 13th September went very well, with our superstars, Stocky, Duke and John answering many questions. Future visitors to the hangar will get the usual tour, but from now on will see little outward change to the airplane since most of the work will now be internal. Well keep you updated on progress through this newsletter and, of course, the website at http://y2kspitfire.com/ Terry Chester, Project Manager

A lot has happened in the Hangar since the last newsletter. It has undergone transformation from a pure workshop to a place where we are now equally happy to welcome visitors and Transport Canada (TC) executives alike. Our museum has provided a large display case for the history and heritage of the aircraft, along with artifacts, like the actual control column that will be used. This will help us answer the inevitable questions that 2. arise. Museum volunteers are being trained to conduct tours, leaving Vintage Wings employees free to do their work. As you may have noticed, Bonn isnt with us anymore. He has been thinking about opening up his own maintenance facility for some time, and decided to take the plunge in July. We will miss him, as most of what you see today was built by those skilled hands. We continue to realize the dream of so many and two new staff engineers are now hired and busy certifying all of the work done so far. This is a statutory requirement for the approval of our newly fledged Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO). We are very proud of our progress to date; but, Transport Canada regulations require us to confirm that all work preceding the formation of the AMO is in accordance with current procedures and regulations. Accordingly, a painstaking and meticulous inspection of all paperwork and aircraft works is being completed before we are granted Quarantined parts our licence to proceed. This might take a few months and we have now been through all of the stock items in the shop, including those without history or proof of purchase, so theyve gone into the quarantine area. Thus, work on the

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COMING EVENTS

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

Date

Event

30 Oct 09: 7 - 11 Nov 09: 08 Dec 09:

Info session and Potluck luncheon (10:30 1200) - museum theatre. Remembrance Day Display in the Driftwood Mall. Christmas Party Christmas Luncheon at Museum, 11:30am. Bring a plate of goodies for the table. Bingo Driftwood Mall Volunteer Fair (Volunteers required to set up, take down and man our table and display) (Theme: TBD) Canadian Forces Snowbird Visit and Autograph Session at Museum School District 71 Heritage Fair at 19 Wing Fitness and Community Centre CVAFMA Annual General Meeting 7 PM at the Comox Air Force Museum in the theatre.

18 Dec09:

Jan - Jun10: TBD Jan10:

TBD Apr10:

TBD Apr 09:

TBD Apr10:

24 May10:

CAFM participates in Cumberland Parade with Heritage Vehicles.

TBD May10:

Garage Sale (9 AM to 2 PM) (set up at 8 AM)

07 Jun10: 1 Jul10: 02 Aug10:

Heritage Stones Dedication Ceremony. CAFM participates in Courtenay Canada Day Parade with heritage vehicles. CAFM participates in Comox Nautical Days Parade with heritage vehicles.

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ON PROUD WINGS
MEMBERSHIP A BIG WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS:

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

Len Phillips Meaghan McNamee

Ernie Bauchman Gary Sieben Bill Cuell

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Some advantages of membership to the Association are: Being part of a community-focused organization Broadening your network of contacts, making new friends and meeting interesting visitors. Involvement in a wide range of museum activities A voting member of the Comox Valley Air Force Museum Association (CVAFMA) Opportunity to become one of the Association Directors Enjoyment of membership activities and social functions Receive a discount at the Air Force Museum Gift Shop.

Learning first hand about Canadas role in military avia- tion An opportunity to develop new skills

READERSHIP SURVEY
IMPROVING YOUR NEWSLETTER.... With Jon Amblers sentiment in mind, i.e....without measure there can be no management..., we decided to find out, what - if any - improvements could be made to the CVAFMA Newsletter. Back in June we sent out a simple questionnaire to the membership that stated: ...Your editor Rodney and I want to ensure that you are seeing articles you want to see. We love what we do, and Rodney in particular is the master of pulling it all together, so here is your chance to chat away and let us know the what, how, who and why of articles you would like to see covered in upcoming issues, starting in September. Our questions were: ? ? ? ? Are you pleased with the newsletter? What can be improved? Would you like to see Movie Night resurrected? What films would you like to see? Thank you, one and all for your responses! Suki

SURVEY RESULTS

The vast majority of members are About half like the newsletter just the way it is; but,

pleased with the newsletter.

Many find it too long to read in one sitting. One suggestion was to keep each article to only 1 or 2 pages. More than half the members like the articles on volunteers. A good number like movie afternoons. One suggested we have evening showings, rather than day time matines. Suggestions for movies ranged from: Cartoons, Snowbird videos, Brit and Canadian oriented aviation movies and just about anything of the Canadian Air Force WW2 period. Someone suggested we have pre-made popcorn and a prize draw.

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CVAFMA Executive 20072007-08
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer

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Mike Hendren Don Manley David Stinson Mike Spooner

Membership Director at Large Bingo Coordinator Fund Raising

Bill Cuell Frank Steven Herb Lightfoot Terry Chester

ExEx-Officio ExEx-Officio

John Low Jon Ambler

Newsletter Publisher/Editor Assistant Editor Cub Reporter [Y2K]

Rodney Jones Sulaika (Suki) M. Levasseur Ken Oxley

Contact Information
Museum Director Program Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Gift Shop Manager

John Low, Capt. 19 Wing Heritage Officer Jon Ambler Noreen Purdy

Comox Air Force Museum

19 Wing Comox, Lazo BC V0R 2K0 (Vancouver Island)
Phone/Fax: E-mail: Website: 250-339-8162 info@comoxairforcemuseum.ca www.comoxairforcemuseum.ca www.y2kspitfire.com

Spitfire/Y2K Project Website:

OPENING TIMES: Museum, Library and Gift Shop 10am - 4pm (Tuesday to Sunday) Spitfire Hangar Heritage Airpark Re-opening mid Nov on Saturdays 10am-3pm May-September - 10am - 4pm

COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES As always, thanks to those who contribute articles and other material to the newsletter. There must be many members out there who have something to submit of interest to the rest of us, whether a photo, story, or something relevant to what we do and who we are. If so, please have no second thoughts about sending it to us. Contact us at info@comoxairforcemuseum.ca , rhj@interbaun.com or leave a message at the Museum. Visit www.comoxairforcemuseum.ca or drop by the museum to find out more about current activities. To join our Association, download the application on our website under Volunteer, leave a phone message at the Museum, or drop by and fill out an application. For only $10 annually, some of the benefits you receive include our newsletter, discounts in the gift shop, and a voice in the organization. If you are currently receiving this newsletter by mail, please forward your email address to receive a high quality issue via the Internet. Ed.

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QUARTER-BACK REVIEW
(THE PAST THREE MONTHS)

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

Canada DayLewis Park

AVE MARIA

REXSPO

VINTAGE WINGS HONOUR STOCKY OVER OTTAWA

See Flying with the Ace at http://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=1159&lang=enhttp://www.vintagewings.ca/page?a=1159&lang=en-CA

Photos by Eric Dumigan

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QUARTER-BACK REVIEW...

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

THE 19 WING ANNUAL SISIP VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION LUNCHEON

humor provided by the Canadian Improv Games National

Did you know that 350 volunteers at 19 Wing devote 15,000 hours per year? Now THAT would be a good reason to have a heck of a party, which is exactly what happened when the party hosts SISP Financial Services, 19 Wing Base Fund - got together to give all volunteers a hand.
2.

Champions from the GP Vanier School. Among the events volunteers are honored for are: Rexspo, Terry Fox Run, Deployment Dinner, Career Fair, No- Snow Fest, Snow to Surf. Highest congratulations back to Danielle Bernier, Deputy Executive Director of Programs, Directors and Volunteers for a truly great party! Suki

Since the first event in 2003 Personnel Support Programs (PSP) and Military Family Resource Center (MFRC) personnel have been working to recognize volunteers. Plates Catering fed us, we were entertained with mighty

INNER SANCTUMS

Rumour has it that the gift store has been feeling a little short-staffed lately.

Well, no, Im not feeling boxed in yet!

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VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 OCT 2009

NOTICES & ADVERTISEMENTS

Heritage Stones For Sale

$155.00 ea, with tax receipt Apply on http://www.comoxairforcemuseum.ca/heritagestones.html or visit museum gift shop

The Griffin Pub & Liquor Store

Large Sunny Patio Lunch & Dinner Specials

Fri night: Live Band Sat night: Name that Tune Sun: Brunch

Pub Open 11 am Liquor Store open 9 am 1185 Kilmorley Rd, Comox 250-339-4466