Description
a-photo of airfield in 1954 including a Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair CT-133 Silver Star jet.
Generally referred to as a "T-33", this jet was built by the Canadian company Canadair; the T-33 was an American designed and built airplane, but Canadair got a license to build them in Canada for the RCAF.
Rugged constructed and extremely mechanically reliable, it was flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force and (after the government got rid of the air force's name), the Canadian Armed Forces, then (when the military was renamed again) Canadian Forces for 54
years, from 1951 to 2005.
The T-33 was employed in a multitude of uses. It was a two-seat airplane. At North Bay they were used:
- to teach jet flying to pilots,
-to carry people to other air bases in Canada and
the United States--or from other bases to North Bay,
- to fly small airplane parts and other small
cargo to and from North Bay,
- used as targets to train fighter pilots and
defence personnel on the ground, whose job was to detect and track
airplanes on their radar sets,
b and c- photos of airport offices in 1954. In c, Lorne Hicks is on the left and Mr. Hutchinson (Air Traffice Controller) is on the right. Info provided by donor, John Hicks.
d- photo of Trans Canada Air Lines Plane in front of airport with name Barrie Davis on back of photo (likely North Bay Nugget photo). 020.01.03d
Information from Captain Doug Newman:
The airplane is a Viscount airliner, made by Vickers, a British company.
Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) then Air Canada (as TCA was renamed o 1 January 1965) used Vickers Viscount airliners for 20 years, from 1954 to 1974.
TCA was the first airline in North America to fly the Viscounts. They were extremely popular with passengers, having big windows to look out and being very quiet. The noise of the engines on previous airliners had filled the passenger compartment, sometimes a numbing experience.
Furthermore the Viscount seen here is in front of the airport terminal (not a hangar) which replaced the original 1938 building in 1963.
And this very airliner began flying with the Air Canada name on its side on in fall 1966.
The terminal was named after Jack Garland in 1966.
Since: the Vickers Viscount is still marked with the old company name, and it sits in front of the (then) new terminal which does not have Jack Garland's name, the image date is between 1963 and 1966. Information for a and d provided by Captain Doug Newman.Date(s) of Creation
1954 - 1964
