My family bought a Moth biplane in the 1930s.  It was flown commercially by my brother Hank.  I obtained my maintenance Engineer’s licence and became the mechanic.

I received my private license at Fort William in the early thirties then passed for my Commercial at Konnie Johannesson’s Aviation School in Winnipeg.  Then came my Transport license at Charlie Graffo Flying School in Winnipeg.

With Hank, I was in partnership on a Waco plane out of Savant Lake, Ont. And a freight hauling company into Pickle Lake.  I bought my own Moth and flew it out of Collins Ontario on a Sturgeon hauling job.  Closed down after two seasons and flew a Super Universal for Starratt Airways into the Wehi Lake Gold mine.  For several weeks I flew nothing but dynamite and beer.  At freeze-up and the outbreak of WW II went to Royal Canadian Air Force station at Trenton, Ontario for an instructor’s course.  We flew Fleet Fawns and Finches.

That September I was sent to No. 2 Flight Training School at Fort William where I was a flight instructor for 12 months.  Then I went to No.7 A.O.S. at Portage La Prairie where I flew the Anson on navigation training exercises. Because of an instructor backlog I became the check pilot for other staff pilots and spent many hours on night flying and radio range operations.

In the spring of 1943 the I went to RAF Ferry Command at Dorval, Quebec.  They delivered bombers to wherever they were needed for military operations.  I checked out as captain on a Lockheed, Hudson, a Ventura, and the B-25.  Next it was off to the base at Nassau in the Bahamas where I flew Marauders to Cairo and about thirty Baltimores to Africa’s Gold Coast.

We also had Dakotas which were so good we could go to Miami, Florida and get a load of freight then deliver it across the South Atlantic.  We could end up almost anywhere when we had one to deliver.  Most of them went to Allahabad, India.  Then it was back to Dorval to fly the old route Dorval to Prestwich, Scotland.  At the end of the war we were getting ready to ferry Avro bombers which were replacing the Lancasters.

At wars end I returned to Northwestern Ontario and bought a surplus Tiger Moth.  Keith, my younger brother just out of flight training in the army joined me.  We added a Fox Moth new from the factory and later a second used one.   In 1950 we bought our first Norseman.  In addition we operated a Bellanca Skyrocket, a SeaBee, Beech 18 and Cessna 140, 150, 170, 180, 185, 195, Twin T50 and a 310

I came from a flying family- Hank, the oldest, myself, Keith and kid sister Ruth all have Commercial licenses or better.

We operated out of Kenora, a trading post at Pikangikum, commercial fishing camps, a tourist camp and an aircraft overhaul hangar in Kenora.

Hank had a very busy flying business out of Flin Flon, Manitoba.

We had the usual mercy flights, mishaps, etc. which are common in any charter air service. A baby was born in one of our 180s and surprised us all as it made the front pages in Europe.

At the present time I am raising llamas ans fallow deer as a hobby.  It is bit dull after 40 years in the flying business, but we cannot pass the medicals forever.

                                                         As told by Bud Parsons