Doug Cameron Part 2
In 1937, Wings Ltd. took on a contract to fly 35 to 40 men and 30+ tons of diamond drill equipment, fuel, camp gear and grub from Churchill to Rankin Inlet. Just under 300 miles one way. This was to be done during late February, March and April. We were told this was the first contract of its kind in the Barrens in the winter. We started the flights near the end, of February and were finished near the beginning of May. This was several years before the Army and Air Force moved into Churchill and built the big airfield they now have and there was no road to Farnsworth Lake that they now use for the float and ski operations. There was no Range Station or radio and our only communication was our company radio on aircraft and base at Churchill and which, due to a very bad magnetic storm affecting radio conditions around the world, we had no radio contact for the first month and more we were there.
We soon found out you just could not fly without instruments in the real bad snowstorms. Impossible to navigate in a sea of white, not able to tell lake from land. We had two Fairchilds, an 82 and a 71. My partner on the 71 was Al Hollingsworth, a fine pilot and air engineer. Sadly, he passed away, several years after many years with the Algoma Steel Company's flying division.
As the days got longer, we could finally fly from 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. which helped to make up for the bad days. As we took off from Churchill on our return south, the left ski pedestal sheared off just below the axel allowing the slip stream to push the ski, still attached to the aircraft by the check cables, fore and aft, as far as it could go away from the machine and then rush back, slamming up against the under gear which was intact. It did this three times, the last ended wedged on the gear at about 45°fore and aft. Our other machine flying alongside gave us this information. Our cruising speed was down to 85 mph, due to the skis resistance, so we decided to land at Ilford rather than Clearwater Lake near The Pas, and our original destination, and only safe ice that far south, our reduced speed put it out of our range. Canadian Airways had pulled out of Ilford seven days before on account of deteriorating ice, so we weren't too comfortable not knowing the ice conditions and having awful load and better, 2000 lbs. of gear and men aboard.
However, by holding the aircraft off of the left side on landing, it ran a distance on the right ski, finally settled level and bounced back on one ski and ran a ways, finally settled down and dug into the bare ice, did half a ground loop and slid backwards. We were all out of the aircraft before it stopped, all shaking hands, and just "shaking". No damage at all. With the big crowd there to watch our landing we had help to lift the left side/up and put on a wheel, and the same to the right side, removing the ski and installing the wheel. The wheels we had as part of the load. We took off very early next a.m. and landed at Stevenson Field at Winnipeg before noon. I had thought I knew quite a bit about the flying game but I was certainly a much more experienced pilot after the end of this contract.
One of my real close shaves happened in a Wacco place biplane. I was dropping a grub order off at Long Legged Lake at the Commercial fish camp on my way to Red Lake with a load of beer and whiskey mostly. This was before the Red Lake road was built. It was too rough to land where we usually did on account of a strong west wind and high waves. Also visibility was about 1/2 mile in heavy smoke from bad fires. I attempted to land behind a point towards the fish camp with just enough room to make a moderately short landing. As I came over a fairly high shoreline at about 200 feet above the water,, a gust of wind hit me from about 45° from the back of the aircraft turning the machine within a few degrees of completely upside-down. I had the control full left to try and right the machine and could not react fast enough to bring it level, when it did come back past level at which time the left float hit the water. I made a terrible bounce and then landed O.K. As we came off the step the machine weather-cocked violently into an 80-mile wind. I don't know why it didn't upset.
What had happened was we were hit by the front of a severe storm coming from the NE while landing west; and unseen on account of the smoke. Lorne Horan, our agent at Kenora was in the front right hand seat and wound up with a case of beer in his lap. How it got there without touching us in a mystery as there was no more room between the front seats than in a Cessna 170. Am sure the Lord was with us or we would not be here today. We were both really shook up.
It has been my great fortune to have flown with some of the finest bush pilots in the country. Trying to follow men like Rex Kitely, Rex Clibbery, Barney Lamm, Bud Parsons, Ed Walter and Milt Ashton certainly left me hanging on the ropes. There are many other fine pilots and air engineers who made our flying possible by keeping the aircraft in Al shape. It was always such a pleasure to be with them. Many feats were performed that maybe better left unexplained, DOT wise.
Doug Cameron
