Club History
Contents
1927-1939
1940-1945
Club Aircraft 1928-1940
Flying Club Trivia
On November 1, 1927, barely six months after Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean, a group of over 100 aviation enthusiasts met to form an organization that would become an important part of the lives of several thousand pilots over the next seventy years.
The Calgary Aero Club (the name was changed to "Calgary Flying Club" in 1946) came into being due to a number of factors. Chief amongst these was the financial and material support provided by the Department of National Defence (DND). Following the conclusion of the First World War it became clear that Canada's military would require a base of trained pilots from which resources could be drawn in time of future conflict. The DND agreed in 1926 that it would provide two free aircraft to any flying club that would meet certain requirements including providing a suitable aerodrome from which to fly and finding at least 30 members who were prepared to become qualified pilots. The DND would also subsidize training to the amount of $100.00 for every pilot's certificate granted and $3.00 per flying hour for training taken between the private and commercial licences. This sounded like a very good deal to aviation enthusiasts in Calgary.
Fred McCall
(Glenbow Archives, NA-1258-22)
On November 1, 1927 the first meeting of the Calgary Aero Club was held in the Armouries. World War I flying ace Fred R. McCall, DSO-MC-DFC was unanimously elected as the first president of the Club. 98 people took out memberships the first night and of these 56 were willing to undertake flight training. The next day the Calgary Herald reported that "The meeting was considered one of the most enthusiastic ever held as an organization venture in the field of new endeavour in Calgary". The first ground school commenced on November 15 and was held in Calgary Fire Hall #1. Ground school cost $15.00 for 25 lectures and a private pilot licence was to cost $150.00. Despite the large expense the Club soon had 100 students. On December 1, 1927 the Calgary Aero Club was incorporated.
The next several months were spent preparing a field near the Banff Coach Road to the West of the city. The Club was delayed in obtaining aircraft until well into 1928 as it was unable to find a qualified flight instructor until Bill Rutledge was hired in August and attended an instructor's course. On September 12, 1928 the Club's first aircraft, a de Havilland D.H. 60X Cirrus Moth (G-CALA) arrived and on September 19, 1928, the Club commenced flying operations. The Club hosted Calgary's first airshow on September 29.
Calgary's first airfield circa 1928
(Glenbow Archives NA-3277-2)
By the end of 1928 the Club had logged 349 hours of flying time and had produced nine private pilots and one commercial pilot. Club membership had grown to 310. Apart from the strain on training resources the choice of airfields was causing a problem for the Club. Gusty wind conditions and rocky soil at the Banff Coach Road aerodrome created havoc for the relatively light biplanes. Plans were made to move the Club to the new municipal airport near the Stanley Jones School (about a kilometer north-east of what is now Calgary's downtown core). On November 21 1928 the first female pilot in Alberta, Gertrude de La Verne, obtained her private licence from the Club.
Gertrude de La Vergne
(Glenbow Archives NA-3277-7)
In 1929 the Club grew to 1060 members, making it the largest flying club in Canada and the second largest in the British Empire. A campaign to get new members had paid off and had included stunts performed over the city by Bill Rutledge. The Club began to publish a members' magazine called the "Slipstream" with de La Verne as the first publication manager. The Club's banquet and dance held at the Palliser Hotel on March 20 was a note-worthy affair. Those attending were surprised to see one of the Club's aircraft, G-CAKQ sitting on the dance floor of the Crystal Ballroom when they arrived.
Entrance to the Club, 1929
(Glenbow Archives NA-3277-5)
In July 1929 Rutledge resigned to form his own company and took with him the assistant instructor, the air engineer and apprentice engineer. Without sufficient staff the Club was forced to suspend flight operations until August 9 when the services of Joe Patton were obtained as flight instructor. In September the Club moved to the new Municipal airport.
Joe Patton and C-CAKQ at one of the Club's early airshows circa 1930. (Glenbow Archives, NA-1111-17)
The arrival of the 1930's was not easy on the Club. The Depression was in full swing and some members felt that the Club should stop all flight operations, sell off the assets and leave training to Rutledge Air Service and Great Western Airways, the local commercial services. After some debate it was decided at the 1930 annual general meeting that the Club should stay involved in flight training. In retrospect this was a good decision - Rutledge and Great Western went into receivership the following year.
On March 9, 1930 a Curtis C-1 Robin operated by Rutledge Air Service landed on top of the Club's de Havilland D.H. 60M Gipsy Moth, CF-CAO. The Moth was badly damaged and the student pilot, Bill Smith (who would go on to become manager of the Club from 1936-1969), received serious injuries. On July 22 the Club's only other aircraft, G-CAKQ was damaged after landing short and could not be repaired. The Club was again forced to suspend flight operations since both it's aircraft were out of service.
Bill Smith and CF-CAO decked out for winter flying in 1937.(CFC Archives)
In January 1932 the Club won the law suit it had launched against Rutledge Air Service and received a net amount of $2500. After debts were paid the Club was left with only $1500 and still faced the responsibility of restoring the Gipsy Moth CF-CAO to flying condition because it had be loaned to the Club by the Department of National Defence. The DND, realizing that the other flight training facilities were now gone, was very interested in seeing the Club continue flight training operations. It was agreed to allow CF-CAO to be rebuilt for $1000 using some of the parts from G-CAKQ. In July 1932 flight operations were resumed with George Clarke as the Chief Flying Instructor and Air Engineer.
By 1933 demand had grown to the point that a second aircraft was needed and in October an Avro 616 Avian IVM, CF-CDV, was made available by the DND. The aircraft had to be flown to Calgary from Camp Borden, Ontario by George Clarke. The trip took Clarke over two weeks to complete since the Avian's engine required repairs en route. Clarke even needed to borrow a pair of skis from the Winnipeg Flying Club.
Ron Campbell and CF-CAO in 1937
(Glenbow Archives NA-4670-18)
In the latter half of the 1930's the economy began to improve. The demand for aviation personnel created many changes in the Club's staff in this period. In 1936 the Club was able to offer instruction in "Blind Flying" in it's new IFR-capable Tiger Moth (CF-CBS).
By 1939 the tensions that would develop into the Second World War were at play and in the summer of that year the Club was contracted to train pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force. In August of 1940 the Club closed down it's operations at the Calgary Municipal Airport and moved the personnel to Lethbridge where the Club was to operate #5 Elementary Flight Training School as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
First Air Force pilots trained at the Club during WWII, October 1939
(Glenbow Archives NA-4670-27)
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War in September of 1939 the Club's facilities, aircraft and staff were moved into the service of the Air Force. The Department of National Defence completed a study of the Renfrew Aerodrome in Calgary and found that although it was large enough to accommodate a flight training depot, the fact that it was bordered by residential areas made it a less-than-perfect location for military flight instruction. The Club recommended using High River (an aerodrome just south of Calgary) since it had been used frequently by instructors and members and was clearly suitable. The DND however chose Lethbridge as the base of operations, and #5 Elementary Flight Training School (EFTS) was born.
Work got underway at Kenyon Field (now Lethbridge Airport) to construct buildings for # 5 EFTS and on July 29th, 1940 flight training commenced. The original class consisted of 24 students and 9 instructors with Bill Smith as the CFI. Living conditions were a challenge - aside from bunks the only furniture available was scrounged from the Club in Calgary. Empty nail kegs and fruit boxes were also pressed into service as furniture. Water and sewer hook up was not complete so arrangements were made to use the showers located at the Trans-Canada Airways (TCA) facilities.
The weather was even more of a challenge. The high wind that is common to the Lethbridge area made for interesting flying in the Tiger Moths used for training. Windy landings were accomplished by "bulldogging" the Moths on either side with trucks. Ground crew on the flatbed of the trucks would reach out and steady the wings and assist in taxiing back to the hanger. Some said that it was also unfortunate that the EFTS was located at a TCA terminal since it made it convenient for officials with Command Headquarters to pay a visit. It also meant that it was easy for EFTS personnel to hop a flight home and many a ditch was dug as punishment for "unauthorized leave".
The EFTS has it's share of humorous stories. The Dispatchers were having trouble keeping track of the movement of aircraft so some wood was salvaged from around the airport to construct a hut in full view of the ramp. The building worked fine, but as the weather warmed up the hut started to become somewhat "aromatic". After a short investigation it was determined that the wood used to build the hut had previously been part of an outdoor privy.
A sport was developed at #5 EFTS called "Cutting off the TCA". The sport consisted of waiting until a TCA Lockheed was just about it's lower flaps on final and then putting one's Moth in front of it via an early base leg. Many wonderful words of gratuitous abuse were let loose over the radio until finally such a dim view was taken of the sport that it was ordered that all EFTS aircraft were required to be on the ground during TCA arrivals.
Yet another incident occurred on May 4th, 1941 when a soon to be ex-instructor demonstrated the skill of strafing a target by forcing a group of golfers into Henderson Lake. Unfortunately, the Lethbridge Chief of Police was in the party and stood his ground long enough to get the aircraft ident off the Moth.
Its important to remember though that it wasn't all fun and games at the EFTS. New procedures and rushed wartime training meant accidents took place. Several instructors and students were killed or seriously injured in crashes. Sacrifices by pilots were not limited to the skies over Europe.
In 1941 it was determined that #5 EFTS would be moved to a new base near the town of High River just south of Calgary so that the school could get away from the wind and concentrate on graduating courses on time. On June 28th the EFTS was moved to the new airfield and a new chapter in the history of the Club began. Conditions at High River were almost as rough as they had been in the early days at Lethbridge. Construction work on the facilities was not yet complete and EFTS staff resorted to bribing the contractors with cases of beer to keep the work ahead of schedule. After the completion of the buildings and hard-surfaced roads the Station resembled a small town. The base was unique for it's day in that the roads were named after famous aces of World War One (Bishop Drive, Brown Street, etc). On September 23 the School was officially opened with a ceremony attended by 2500 dignitaries and people from the surrounding district. The opening was celebrated with an airshow that reportedly broke every aviation regulation in the book.
The following month the EFTS had the great honour of a visit by the Duke of Windsor. Unfortunately the Duke arrived at the gate a bit earlier than expected and was being driven in a rather ordinary-looking car. The guard at the gate (who was probably expecting a Rolls Royce and a man wearing a crown) refused to allow the vehicle to pass. When the Duke told him who he was the guard is said to have replied, "If you're the Duke of Windsor, I'm Premier Aberhart!". Following further argument the Duke eventually toured the Station . What happened to the guard is unknown.
1942 brought a flurry of activity at #5 EFTS. Bill Smith was promoted to Commanding Officer of the RCAF personnel while D.K. Yorath continued as Managing Director. In January the EFTS was inspected by the president of the Canadian Flying Clubs Association and a few days later by an Air Vice-Marshall. In February the student population increased resulting in a need for more staff. There were now twice as many instructors as there were students in Lethbridge when the School first opened. The EFTS began it's first of many "Victory Loan" campaigns and raised a total of $30,400 - far in excess of the $12,000 that was expected. Even better news was the arrival of the first female staff to actually live at the Station. The Airmen were described as "overjoyed" at this event.
Spring 1942 saw intense flooding in High River. Station personnel leapt into action to sandbag sections of the Town, maintain vital services, and air-drop supplies to civilians cut off by the raging waters. The Station felt the effects of the water as well; the south end of the airfield was submerged and the rest was unserviceable due to mud and restricted space. Unfortunately this did nothing to improve the pressure to graduate courses on time.
Another unfortunate event occurred a little later in the year when a control-tower operator (who was known for a lack of sobriety) sent out a message that the Station was being attacked by the Japanese. He caused quite a stir until the story was checked out and discounted. Not surprisingly, the gentleman was removed from the Station the following day. The irony to this incident - and this appears to be a fairly well-kept secret to this day - is that Alberta was, in fact, attacked by the Japanese during the War, though not in the conventional sense. The Japanese placed large packages of explosives under balloons and made use of the westerly air- flow over the North Pacific to float the units over North America. Several of these bombs actually made it to land - one of which landed next to #5 EFTS. Station personnel found the balloon and disabled it. They were placed under strict orders by the DND not to discuss the existence of the balloon bombs since it was feared that it would foster panic in the civilian population.
The Commonwealth program to train pilots was so successful that by 1944 there was an excess of qualified airmen. In March of 1944 the closure of #5 EFTS was announced. By October the operations of the Station were being wound down and in February 1945 the last civilian personnel abandoned the base. Since the inception of #5 EFTS the school had flown over 254,000 hours and had trained several thousand airmen.
Following the closure of #5 EFTS the base was turned over to Crown Assets for disposal and the aircraft were dispursed to other commands. The base's auditorium was dismantled and found it's way to the town of High River and is still in use. The Club continued to use High River as a base of operations through to the end of the War and maintained a presence in the town into the late 1940's. By 1946 the Club set up shop in another new location and appropriately this would be McCall Field in Calgary - the airport named in honour of the Club's founder and first president, Fred McCall.
In the early days of aviation students often soloed with only a few hours of flight experience. Several of the Club's first aircraft were damaged in accidents - often before they had left the ground. The lessons learned by the early aviators lead to the high quality of flight training and aircraft technology that in modern times has made aviation remarkably safe.
This page lists the call letters and a short history of the individual aircraft used by the Club until 1940 when the Club started training pilots for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as #5 Elementary Flight Training School.
CF-CAH
Type: de Havilland 60M Gipsy Moth.
Entered Service: April 24, 1928. Aircraft was provided by the Department of National Defence (DND). Substantially damaged the same day and removed from service.
G-CALA
Type: de Havilland D.H. 60X Cirrus Moth.
Entered Service: September 12, 1928 and given the name "Onaway". This aircraft was provided by the Department of National Defence (DND).
Removed from service after a structural failure May 19, 1929.
G-CAKQ
Type: de Havilland D.H. 60X Cirrus Moth.
Entered Service: September 28, 1928 and given the name "Miss Calgary". This aircraft was provided by the Department of National Defence (DND).
Substantially damaged July 22, 1931. Parts were salvaged from this aircraft to rebuild CF-CAO in July, 1932.
CF-CAO
Type: de Havilland 60M Gipsy Moth.
Entered Service: May 18, 1929.
This was the first aircraft that the Club purchased with its own funds, however ownership had to be turned over to the DND to replace the loss of CF-CAH. The aircraft was substantially damaged on March 9, 1930 when a Curtis C-1 Robin owned by Rutledge Air Service landed on top of it. This aircraft was rebuilt with the help of the DND using parts from G-CAKQ. It re-entered service on July 30, 1932, and left service August 1940 when it was donated to #187 Air Cadet Squadron.
CF-CDV
Type: Avro 616 Avian IVM.
Entered Service: October, 1932.
Substantially damaged when overturned on the ground by wind on September 8, 1936. It took over a year before the aircraft was repaired. The Avian was placed in storage in October, 1937 as ongoing engine problems made it too expensive to operate. A new engine was obtained from the Saskatoon Flying Club in March 1939. The aircraft left service prior to August, 1940. CF-CDV has been restored and has been on display at the Reynolds Aviation Museum near Edmonton since 1992.
CF-CBS
Type: de Havilland D.H. 82A Tiger Moth
Entered Service: Spring 1936.
The first Club aircraft equiped for "Blind Flying" (IFR). Taken to Lethbridge in 1940 before being returned to the DND and later became an instructional airframe in Saskatoon.
CF-ALV
Type: de Havilland D.H. 60G Gipsy Moth (used).
Entered Service: September, 1938 and sold in March, 1941.
CF-CFS
Type: de Havilland D.H. 60M Gipsy Moth.
Entered Service: Summer, 1939 on loan from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Returned to the RCAF in August of 1940 and became an instructional airframe in Calgary.
CF-CFZ
Type: de Havilland D.H. 60M Gipsy Moth.
Entered Service: Summer, 1939 on loan from the RCAF. Returned to the RCAF in August of 1940 and became an instructional airframe in Calgary.
CF-CGP
Type: de Havilland D.H. 82A Tiger Moth.
Entered Service: October, 1939 on loan from the RCAF. Returned to the RCAF in August of 1940.
This information was summarized from Bruce W. Gowan's book "Wings Over Calgary" (Chinook Country Chapter, Alberta Historical Society, Calgary, 1990)
This poem was originally published in the Club's newsletter in April, 1959. The only clue as to the author is the initials "J.H.T.". We're providing this poem exactly as it was published at the time. There is a reference to the Club having "10,000" members - this turns out to be a misunderstanding created by a typo in the Club's 30th anniversary newsletter in 1957. Prior to 1959 the Club had a maximum of 1060 members. The poem also refers to teaching "boys" to fly. Fortunately much has changed in the past 40 years and Club has the honour of training pretty much everyone - male and female, young and old.
In 1938 it cost $175 to obtain a Private Pilot Licence. In 1957 it cost $350 ($100 of which was refunded when the licence was granted).
R.H. Jenkins (president of the Club from 1949-50) flew a Lancaster bomber for the RCAF during World War II. After the War he bought his plane when it became Crown surplus, had it dismantled, and presented each of his former crew members the portion of the aircraft in which they had served.
Following a fire in 1954 that destroyed the Club, the members moved and rebuilt a WWI French hanger to use as a clubhouse and for aircraft storage.
In 1957 it was estimated that the Club had trained over 5000 pilots since flying operations began in 1928.
In 1968 the Club commemorated the 40th anniversary of flight operations by keeping the Club's aircraft flying for 40 consecutive hours.
In 1994 the Club held an "Around the World" tour. All of the cross-country miles flown by members were logged and displayed on a map at the Club. Within 30 days members "circumnavigated" the Earth.
In 1929, we were the second largest flying club in the World
The Club's predecessor was the "Calgary Aero Club" which operated from 1919 to 1925. Fred McCall was involved in the organization of both clubs.
During the Annual General Meeting of December 17, 1998 a quick tally of total flying time was made. The 27 Club Directors and Sustaining Members present at the meeting reported having over 33,000 flying hours between them. This averages to 1,222 hours per person.
Ode to a Flying Club
Sources:
Gowan , Bruce W. ,"Wings Over Calgary", Chinook Country Chapter, Alberta Historical Society, Calgary, 1990.
Herron, Robert A. and Failler, Garry A. , "History of the Calgary Flying Club". Unpublished manuscript, March 10, 1980.
The Calgary Herald, Articles from 1927 to 1992.
Taped interview of Bill Smith, Joe Patton, and Hugh Johnson, 1978.
Some of the photographs on this page are part of a large collection at the Glenbow Museum and Archives in Calgary. Click here to visit the Glenbow.