PLANE TALK
as the sheets were not tied down correctly to stop them from sliding aft while taxiing and on takeoff before the tail could come off the ground and level the aircraft. The Bristol being a tail dragger sat nose high on the ground. The Bristol had an excellent tie
down system. Cables of diff erent lengths and cables with beads and an over center clamp. Once the cables were tight there was no movement of the load in rough air. We hauled a lot of awkward loads such as the Yellowknife fi re truck, D4 cats and most of the mining equipment for the Discovery Mine and Turcanis mine in the North West Territory was fl own in by Bristol CF- TFX. Guenther says. “What used to make me angry was that once we had hauled a D4 cat into a site on ice other airlines got the work. The Cat was used to make a runway suitable for other aircraft. Then Pacifi c Western Airlines would come in with a C 46 and hauled in whatever else was needed. Max Ward loved the A/C, knew it well and had a totally diff erent attitude than the younger pilots.” I suppose the younger pilots saw it as an antique. The Bristol freighter was an ugly, clumsy looking aircraft, but one that proved its worth in short to medium range freight operations. With its nose-opening clamshell doors and loading ramps, it could handle large awkward shaped loads, and was ideal as a drive-on, drive- off vehicle transport, which led to its use in the UK on cross-channel car ferry operations. Technically, the “Vibrator” as it was often known was typical World War II engineering. The systems were simple, and there were no complications such as retractable landing gear. The aircraft was superbly suited to its design role, that of military cargo carrying. The large fuselage would hold a substantial
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cargo load. Its very large, high wing design allowed it to operate on very rough ground especially when equipped with oversized wheels.
A MEMORABLE FLIGHT Oil dripping directly down on the wheels and brakes could cause a problem so we covered the tires and brakes at night. One day we forgot, and I had an interesting ride into Edmonton’s city center airport. I was lying on the fl oor looking down at the earth through the glass panels in the cargo door. I was surprised when we ran out of runway and continued over the grass at the end. Later I asked our pilots, ”Why are we on the grass?” The answer was that there was oil on the brakes. We cleaned that all up and went on to Yellowknife, North West Territories (NWT).
WHERE CAN YOU FIND ONE? Bristols operated all over the world and were in service of many air forces, but few remain. In Canada one is in the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg and another is located at Wetaskiwin, Alberta , at the Reynolds Museum. Wardair’s CF- TFX is on a pole at the Yellowknife (NWT) airport. I think one should also be in the National collection in Ottawa. The Bristol, although designed as military cargo carrier, arrived too late for the Second World War but it has done its part in the early civilian air cargo world, especially in northern Canada. I will close with an amusing story
I heard although I cannot vouch for its legitimacy. The story goes, when Air Canada operated the Bristol, one fl ew into New York and allegedly an air traffi c specialist asked if it was a home built. It was odd looking aircraft but as I said at the beginning of my article beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Roger Beebe
is the president of Plane Talk Consulting (www. planetalkconsulting). Prior to establishing Plane Talk Consulting
in 2007, Beebe was employed as regional director, Civil Aviation, Prairie and Northern Region with Transport Canada. Beebe held other positions during his Transport Canada career, including acting director general of Western and Central Region; director, airworthiness; and chief, manufacturing and maintenance for Canada at headquarters in Ottawa, where he was responsible for all maintenance and manufacturing activities and AME licensing. He was involved in approving aircraft maintenance programs for the new aircraft being certifi ed in Canada. Beebe’s civil aviation experience
includes Wardair, based in Edmonton and Toronto and Air Canada, based at Toronto. His aircraft maintenance experience was on the B747, Lockheed L1011, DC-8 series, DC-9 series, Boeing 707 and 727 aircraft. He also worked on the Bristol freighter, DHC-6 twin Otter and the DHC-3 Otter and the Viscount. Beebe served more than six years in the Royal Canadian Air Force, four of those years were with 1 Wing Marville, France, and later at Lahr, Germany, maintaining the CF-104 Starfi ghter aircraft. He serviced many 1960s military aircraft from several allied air forces. Immediately prior to leaving the RCAF, Beebe maintained CF-5 and T33 aircraft for 434 Squadron based at Cold Lake, Alberta. During Beebe’s career, he was involved in many national and international activities relating to aviation. In addition to his technical duties, he was involved in all the activities associated with management and executive responsibilities.
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