In the mid '20's, the Ontario Provincial Air Service had their Base on Coney Island [Kenora, Ontario] on the point at the opposite end of the sandbar between it and Langs (Bush) Island.  The Aircraft was an HS2L flying boat powered by a Liberty motor.  It carried a Pilot, Engineer and an Observer.  The crew lived in a summer cottage near the Argyle dock on Geddes' Point and I spent most of my summer holidays around the base, and got to be real friends with the crews, and got to learn a lot by listening and keeping quiet and not making a nuisance of myself.  By 1928 after I had my first flight,rs-.I was so badly infected by the flying bug that I never got over it and needless to say, I still suffer from the disease but can't do anything about it.

During 1929 and 1930 a number of Kenora lads and myself tried to organize what was to be known as the Lake of the Woods Flying Club.  The aircraft were to be operated on skis and floats. Unfortunately, the project was doomed from the start due to the great stock market crash in September 1929, after which people who had good incomes before it happened, wound up working on Highway Construction for $5.00 a month and no one had money to learn to fly.  Fortunately for me, I had money which had been put in trust for me and which could be made available to me to pay for flying lessons.

In June 1930, "the Northwest Aero Marine Co. sent Mike DeBliequy to Kenora with a Gypsy Moth to give instruction to ten of us who had agreed to at least try and get their private licenses.  As it turned out only three of us showed up.  Two only took 3 hours of dual and dropped out leaving just myself.  Luckily there was a great deal of mining activity in our area and Mike was kept busy on Charter Flights and my instruction and later the hours I put in solo for my licenses, Private and Commercial.  I started on the 2nd to last day of June and went solo nine days later.  On Sept. 3rd I flew solo to Winnipeg and passed my tests for both Private and Commercial licenses at the same time, on the Red River at the Old Canadian Airways (Western Canada) Base.  I had learned to fly on floats, never having been on wheels or skis and had a very fine instructor.  Mike DeBlieguy was known as one of the finest in the country.  The start he gave me I am sure, was one of the main reasons for the successful flying career I enjoyed.

Flying jobs were non-existent after the '29 crash for beginners, so I took a job as a mechanic's helper with Canadian Airways.  They had opened a base here in 1933 after a trial run for a month in the summer of '32.  In the fall of '33 I was made agent of the Kenora Base.  Starratt Airways had an opening for a young pilot and I was hired and started with them on the 1st of February 1934.  I had kept my hand in on Winnipeg Flying Club Aircraft and on an NB3 Barling low wing 3 seater airplane, built by Nicholas-Beasley.  This plane was owned by the Aeronautical Corp. of Canada in Winnipeg.  I had worked for them as warehouse man until going to the Canadian Airways job.   With Starratt, I flew a gypsy and Fox Moths, Fokker Super Universals and a 6000A Travelair. Mostly to Red and Pickle and Woman and Gas Lakes, hauling  mining, freight and passengers.

In July 1934 I became a shareholder in a new company called Wings Limited with bases at Lac DuBonnet, God's Lake and Kenora, with Head Office in Winnipeg.  We operated until 1941 when Canadian Pacific Airlines bought out most of the bush companies, including Wings.  From 1935 on I was in charge of the Kenora base.

In late 1940, Wings and Starratt Airways joined together to operate No. 5 Air Observers School in Winnipeg and one of the Commonwealth Air Training Plane Schools.  The Air Force needed a number of civilian pilots at the start until they were able to train their own men.  I spent some time at No. 5 flying Anson Bombers that were obsolete for modern war at that time.

After Wings sale to CPA, I was employed by the Ontario Provincial Air Service at Kenora and Ignace for 5 years flying a Stinson SR9.  I spent a year in Fort Frances getting J.A. Mathieu Lumber started in the aviation business.  Another year with the Elk Fisheries in Kenora when they first started.  Later I went with Ontario Central Airlines after they first got started and was with them many years with the exception of a year flying

out of Yellowknife for Plummer's Great Bear and Great Slave Lodges.

We used a Beechcraft and Grumman Goose on this work.  Spent the better part of a year with Hooks Separation Lake Lodge and then back to Ontario Central until 1968.  From then till I was through flying, I spent flying for a number of people who needed a part time pilot for various jobs in Kenora and Red Lake mostly. At this time we formed a small Mining Syndicate which is still active and use a PA-12 which we have had for some years, and I leave the flying to others.

Flying around our north country was a real enjoyment to me. One met many wonderful people who made you feel you were so welcome and really looked forward to the visits we made.  Just to fly over our wonderful countries, both Canada and the U.S.A. was always a wonderful experience and some of the sights could never be forgotten.  The herds of caribou, the polar bears, seals, Beluga whales in Hudson's Bay and the smaller game, Arctic fox, wolves, barren land Grizzlies, not very small, a numbers of other creatures were so exciting to me.  And probably best of all is the fishing which in places so tremendous as to be almost unbelievable.  To have been allowed to experience all these things have left me a very subdued and grateful person.  So many never get a chance to see all these wonders.

I spent the summer of 1935 servicing a large Geological Survey out of Ilford, Manitoba, with a Fokker Universal with a 300 HP Wright engine.  It originally was powered by a much smaller engine and consequently having the same gas tanks its range was down to 3 hours flying time, with the larger engine.  I was told by the engineer in charge of the survey, Ashton Johnson, the area we were surveying was the least known part of Canada at that time.  There were no maps so we, the engineers and I, made our own as we flew.  It was a real experience, with a restricted cruising range and homemade maps.  The area surveyed extended
as far west as Big Sand Lake, northwest of Southern Indian Lake in Manitoba and north and east along the Seal River, north of Churchill, along the end of the Barren Lands.  This whole exercise was a real confidence builder for me and was of great help to my future flying, especially in navigating in the far northern Barren Lands.

End of Part 1

Next month- Some of Doug’s bush flying experiences