For the Love of Flying: The Story of Laurentian Air ServicesThis is the first book to tell the story of one of Canada's most innovative aviation companies, Laurentian Air Services, and thus fills an important gap in Canadian aviation history. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with Laurentian's presidents, pilots and ground crew, author Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail explores the company's 60-year history from its founding in 1936 in Ottawa with small biplanes through to the 1990s when it was operating scheduled flights with twin-engine Beech 99s and Beech King Air 200s. During those 60 years, Laurentian was at the forefront of air tourism in the Ottawa region and the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec as well as fly-in hunting and fishing in Canada's north. It also pioneered the use of the Grumman G-21 Goose and de Havilland Beaver commercially and provided vital air support to survey and development work for such massive undertakings as the Churchill Falls and James Bay hydroelectric projects. This book brings Laurentian's history to life through first-hand stories and an exciting collection of colour and black and white photographs, the majority of which have not previously been published. This is a long-overdue book that appeals to armchair bush flyers and aviation historians alike. |
Contents
Preface | 7 |
Warner Bros and the War Effort | 25 |
A Favourable Time for Flying | 51 |
Losing Altitude | 68 |
New Blood and Nouveau Québec | 82 |
Tales from the Boardroom and the Bush | 101 |
Great Canadian Bushplanes | 129 |
Common terms and phrases
Air Schefferville Air Transport Board Airlines airplane airport August B.M. Aviation sold Barnet Maclaren Beech Bowhunter Brinco camp Canadian Canadian Aviation caribou Cessna charter circa Club Command A-4 company’s crash Delay River Outfitters DHC-2 Beaver Doug Pickering engine field find first five flew flight floats flown flying George Beveridge Gill Grumman Goose hangar Hume hunters Iohn Jack James Bay James Bay Project John Bogie Keith Baker Kenmore Kenmore Air Harbor Kuujjuaq Labrador Lac des Loups Lachute Lake land Lauren Laurentian Air Services Laurentian bought Laurentian operated Laurentian pilot Laurentian purchased Laurentian Ungava Outfitters leased licence Maniwaki miles Montreal northern Quebec noted office Ontario Ottawa Ottawa River outfitting overhauling passengers plane Private collection Quebec radio RCAF recalls remembers rentian RG 12 vol Schefferville Sept-Iles September skis Squaw Lake summer Terziev tion U.S. Army Uplands Waco Whiteduck wrote