Superior Airways

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black hole
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by black hole »

I cut the nose off to repair one that had gone on its nose.

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Re: Superior Airways

Post by NWONT »

I'm curious. Who were you with? I worked for Ontario Central Airlines and we did a nose stand or two every year.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

March 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

Attached is a photo of Cessna 180 CF-KVU parked on the ice in the bay at
Sioux Lookout in March 1971. The aircraft was based in Pickle Lake and had
flown into Sioux with a load of passengers a day earlier.

KVU was painted in the Superior Airways red, white and black paint scheme.
Superior Airways Ltd. Ft. William, Ontario was on each side of the fuselage.

Over the years KVU operated out of Armstrong, Nakina, and Pickle Lake. During the
summer of I believe 1969 or 1970 it was based in Pickle lake. KVU did come into Sioux
Lookout quite a few times.

The aircraft was fitted with Edo 2880 flat top floats in the summer and Federal straight
skis in the winter.

In the book Noorduyn Norseman Volume 2 page 177, it is written that Rainy Lake Airways
operated CF-KVU in 1960 to at least 1961. I have been trying to find more information
about KVU's time with Rainy Lake Airways and the date it was purchased by Mr. Wieben.

The aircraft is parked near the companies runway scraper. The scraper was towed
behind the swamp buggy after the runway was packed with rollers to cut down the high
spots in the runway. This gave a fairly smooth surface when finished.


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Leo G
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Leo G »

Hi, I'm wondering about the current situation of the company, hiring, if anyone workes there at the moment etc. Thanks
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valleyboy
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by valleyboy »

The wonderful world of thread drift. Page one and a few posts were about a company that name which was also the name of a company from Thunder Bay who operated in NWO in the bygone years. The thread was hijacked and 99.9% was about history. Which turned out to be onre of the best threads in this section.

To answer your, Superior is alive and well in Red Lake, no connection except in name from the original. They do have a pilot want-ta-be program but I do not know if they have vacancies. You won't find out unless you get off you bhutt and try. Good Luck, there are many such as you out there right now. Graduation is here.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

April 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

This is a brief accident report that was issued for DC-3 CF-XXT that was involved
in an accident while taking off on the ice at Wunnummin Lake in April 1977.

Photos of the DC-3 after the accident are in an earlier posting above.


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samcole
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by samcole »

strikestwo wrote:Severn's office in Sioux Lookout the summer of 1972. Later that summer the painters showed up and painted it blue. One of the apprentice engineers lived in the small suite in the upstairs.
Tremendous Canadian aviation history! This image brought it all home. In 1965 I lived upstairs in the building, if you can believe it. I was 12 years old and my father was Flying for Porky. My parents, and three kids. Father was Jim Cole.
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Antique Pilot »

samcole wrote:
strikestwo wrote:Severn's office in Sioux Lookout the summer of 1972. Later that summer the painters showed up and painted it blue. One of the apprentice engineers lived in the small suite in the upstairs.
Tremendous Canadian aviation history! This image brought it all home. In 1965 I lived upstairs in the building, if you can believe it. I was 12 years old and my father was Flying for Porky. My parents, and three kids. Father was Jim Cole.
Check your PM.

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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

May 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

Avcanada member samcole posted about living at the Severn Enterprise base in
1965 when his father flew in Sioux Lookout. He was commenting after seeing the
photo of the office building that Avcanada member strikestwo had posted Feb 25, 2016
on page 9 of this thread. strikestwo had taken the photo in 1972.

A bit of information about the Severn Enterprise base in Sioux.

The base was built in "the bay" on the shore of Pelican Lake. There were three buildings
on the base.

The office building was located in the center of the base. As evident in the photo that
strikestwo posted, the office building had seen better days. That being said there were many,
many people that got their start in aviation by walking thought that office door for the first time.
The office building served its purpose.

The office itself was divided into three sections on the lower floor. The first section when you
walked in the front door had a small waiting room with the main office right across from it.
The waiting room had a floor to ceiling map of Northwestern Ontario. It was an eight miles to
the inch map and covered the entire area the company flew in and out of. The office itself
contained all that was needed for the day to day operation.

The second section in the office building was more a stowage area and furnace room. It also
contained the stairs for access to the second floor.

The third section of the office building was called the pilots lounge I believe. There wasn't a
lot in it and it wasn't used a lot.

The upstairs was split into two rooms. A living room and kitchen on one end and a bedroom
on the other. There was pretty well always someone living in the upstairs area.

The west side of the base had a building called the marine shop. It was built like a Quonset
Hut that contained the companies outboard motors and parts for repairing them. There was
a large walk in cooler built inside, but I don't recall it being used. The south wall facing the
bay had a large drive though metal door. Freight was sometimes stored in the building before
it was flown north.

The third building on the base was the freight warehouse and maintenance shop. It was one
building split in the middle by an inside wall. It was located on the east side of the base.
All maintenance on the aircraft was carried out from this building.

The base had two docks. The main dock was basically straight out from the office.
80/87 av gas only at the main dock. A secondary dock which was also used for maintenance
was located on the east side of the base. That dock had the 100/130 av gas pump.

The only other structures on the base were an A-Frame for float and ski changeover, a ramp
to place aircraft in the water or remove aircraft from the water and a heated oil shed right off
the main dock.

One further point about the photo that strikestwo had posted. There are two aircraft in the
photo. Beech 18 CF-YQB is seen parked on floats without its left engine. YQB was parked in
the same spot each winter as it did not go onto skis. The other aircraft is the wing only of
Beaver CF-MXR. MXR was operated on straight skis in the winter.
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

June 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

A photo of Cessna 172 CF-VBW departing Sioux Lookout in July, 1969.
The direction the aircraft is flying is into the bay.

VBW was flown in the summer of 1969 by a pilot who was born and raised in
Sioux Lookout. He moved onto Cessna 180 CF-LBR shortly after this photo was
taken. Each season one pilot would fly VBW until an opening came up on one of
the Cessna 180 aircraft. I believe pretty well all the pilots that I can recall that
put time in VBW all moved up into a Cessna 180 fairly quickly and then into the
Beaver and then into the Beech 18 all within a few years.

VBW spent the winter months flying in Thunder Bay at Mr. Wieben's "Lakehead Flying School".
In the spring it flew to Sioux Lookout and was changed over to floats at the little lake near
the airstrip. It spent the summer flying light loads to the company fishing and hunting camps
as well as carrying a passenger or two when required to destinations north of Sioux.

I can't confirm this information, but I heard that VBW had been damaged and was rebuilt in
the Superior Airways hangar in Thunder Bay. I don't know if it was purchased by Mr. Wieben
in damaged condition or if it was damaged while flying for the company. If it was damaged
while flying for the company I would think it would have happened while on wheels as no one
ever mentioned an accident VBW had while on floats. Again I can't confirm this information
about the aircraft being damaged at one time.

Severn Enterprise Ltd. Sioux Lookout, Ontario was painted on each cabin door.
When on floats it had one water rudder.
VBW never had a propeller spinner installed.
The aircraft was in good condition and flew the flights that was required of it.
At the end of float season VBW returned to the Lakehead Flying School.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

July 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

Attached is a photo taken during an early morning start up in the bay at Sioux Lookout
in August 1971.

This is the main dock at the base. It has a floating dock attached on each side at the end.
The water looks to be low as the floating docks are sitting a few feet below the main section.

Four aircraft are in the photo.

Cessna 180 CF-VSD is tied to the dock. It has a set of PeeKay 3500 floats installed.
In the summer of 1971 VSD was based in Sioux, not in Round Lake as usual. VSD would
only be four years old in this photograph.

Right in front of VSD is the yellow tail of Cessna 180 CF-PHL. PHL was a leased 180 that
was with Severn Enterprise for only one float season. PHL had Edo 2870 round top floats
that I believe were painted white.

Beech 18 CF-YQB is tied to the dock behind VSD.

The fourth aircraft in the photo is Norseman CF-HQD. The aircraft is taxing into the bay.
HQD was owned and operated by the original Slate Falls Airways. HQD prior to a major
rebuild in the late 1960's carried the name Slate Falls Trading on its fuselage.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

August 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

Attached is a photo of DeHavilland Beaver CF-GQU taken at Sioux Lookout in August 1971.

GQU was beginning to look a little worn from the day to day wear and tear of flying year
round. The aircraft's paint was beginning to fade and was peeling in a number of areas.
The engine cowlings had been stripped of all paint about ten months earlier and had been
left bare metal.

In early August the Beaver was taken out of service for approx. a week or so and a complete
repainting of the aircraft began. The aircraft was not taken out of the water, but was tied
to the dock on the east side of the base. Panels that could be removed were removed and
then stripped and cleaned in the maintenance shop. The fuselage, wings and tail were all
prepared for repainting at the dock.

The cabins interior panels were removed and new side panels and a headliner were made in
the shop and installed. The removable plywood floor boards were also replaced.

When it came time for the actual painting, the town sign painter came to the base and sprayed
the aircraft at the dock. It took a bit of time to complete because instead of the painter
moving around the aircraft to apply the paint, the aircraft being on floats was moved around for
the painter who remained on the dock. It worked well as very little equipment had to be
repositioned.

GQU was a very nice looking aircraft in its brand new red, white and black Severn Enterprise
paint scheme once all the paper and masking tape was removed.

Severn was painted in written letters on each side of the aft fuselage behind the cabin port
hole window.

In the photo the red paint has just been applied. The aircraft elevators had been removed and
repainted in the shop. They have not yet been reinstalled.

Cessna 185 CF-YNS parked behind the right wing of GQU was covered during the spraying with
a tarp to protect it from overspray.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

September 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

A few points that were missed in the posting above concerning the painting of
Beaver CF-GQU in August 1971.

When the painting was completed the aircraft paint scheme was just a little bit different
from the rest of the Severn Enterprise / Superior Airways red, white and black aircraft.
Only the wing tips on GQU were painted white.

All the other aircraft that had the red, white and black paint scheme had white wing
tips along with the first four or five feet of the outer wing sections painted white with a
small black pin stripe separating the white from the red paint.

When GQU was removed from service in the middle of float season for painting it was
something that was rarely done. Aircraft were not taken out of service for any length
of time during the summer except for a 50 or 100 hour inspection, a float repair or an
engine change. Even then those were done quickly so the aircraft could return to flying.
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

October 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

A photo of Beech 18 CF-PRZ taken in 1969 at Northumbrian Lodge on Abram Lake in
Sioux Lookout.

PRZ was based in Pickle Lake during the summer of 1969. This aircraft very very
seldom did any flying for the tourist camps in the Sioux Lookout area. The Beech
had flown in from Pickle Lake earlier in the day and was needed, so it was dispatched
on this flight.

The aircraft is off loading a group of American tourists that had been fishing for a week
at Northumbrian's outpost camp at Wapesi Lake approx 40 miles northwest of Sioux Lookout.

Severn Enterprise did a lot of flying for the local tourist camps in the area. This kept the
aircraft quite busy all summer between their flights that serviced the northern communities.

A bit more information about Abram Lake.

The direction the Beech 18 is heading is more or less east. In the distance there is a point
of land. Right behind that point is the base for (what it was called back then) the Department
of Lands and Forest.

That's where the Lands and Forest aircraft operated from year round. Floats in the summer
and skis in the winter. The ski strip in the winter was just off that point of land located straight
above PRZ's cargo door in the photo. It ran east and west on the ice. The strip was snow
packed by rollers and the sides were marked with pine trees in the winter.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

November 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

Attached is a photo of Beech 18 CF-ZQR taken in Pickle Lake.

The Beech was being loaded for a flight north. There is a light dusting of snow
on the dock.

This photo was taken after the Sioux Lookout base had been sold to Patricia Air
Transport (PAT Air). Up until that time Beech 18 ZQR was a Sioux Lookout based
aircraft. After the Sioux base was sold its aircraft were moved to the bases that
could use the aircraft the best. Pickle Lake had no problem taking on another
Beech as the base was always very busy in both summer and winter.

Other aircraft that were repositioned after the sale of the Sioux base were
Beech 18 CF-YQB,
Beaver CF-MXR,
Cessna 180 CF-JQM,
Cessna 180 CF-LSN,
Cessna 180 CF-VGA.

Mr. Wieben sold the Sioux Lookout base in September 1974.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Antique Pilot »

Interesting photo at PL. Just up the hill on the right is the old Pickle Lake Hotel with it’s Men’s only beer parlour. Proprietors were Mr. and Mrs. Graves. Farther up on the left is the vague outline of Charlie Davidson’s store. Any idea who the 2 fellows on the dock are?

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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

Antique Pilot wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:59 am Interesting photo at PL. Just up the hill on the right is the old Pickle Lake Hotel with it’s Men’s only beer parlour. Proprietors were Mr. and Mrs. Graves. Farther up on the left is the vague outline of Charlie Davidson’s store. Any idea who the 2 fellows on the dock are?

AP
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

December 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

The attached photo was found on the internet. Do not know what magazine it was
in or the date of the ad. Sometime in the early 1960's.

The Lakehead Flying School was owned and operated by Mr. Wieben. The school operated
at the Thunder Bay Airport. Quite a number of pilots who got their licences at the
Lakehead Flying School went on to fly for Superior Airways and Severn Enterprise.

The Lakehead Flying School went back many many years and has a long history of training
pilots in Thunder Bay. A lot of different aircraft were flown by the school over those years.

In the book titled "Aviation in Thunder Bay" there is a very good story about The Lakehead
Flying School and the history behind it. There are many photos and stories of the aircraft
that flew for the school in the early years.

I know very little about the flying school except that during my time with the company the
following aircraft were operated:

Cessna 150 CF-VXY.
Cessna 150 CF-WIW. I only saw this aircraft once when it landed on the ice runway in
Sioux during a cross country training flight. It may have been purple in colour?
Cessna 150 CF-XWU. This aircraft was involved in an incident while attempting a landing
on the north road outside of Sioux Lookout after running low on fuel. A photo of that incident
is on page 5 of this thread. The registration in the photo is C-FXWU.
Cessna 172 CF-SZK.
Cessna 172 CF-VBW. This aircraft also flew on floats in the summer out of Sioux Lookout.

I may be wrong with this information about these two last aircraft, but I believe in the winter
of 1969 / 70 for a very short time a Cessna 140 or maybe a Cessna 170 from the flying school
was seen on the ice on skis in Sioux Lookout. Again I may be wrong about that and it may not
have been a flying school aircraft.

Cessna 172 CF-PYE. I recall seeing a photo of this aircraft and it may have been a Lakehead
Flying School aircraft? CF-PYE was mostly red in the photo. Once again I may be wrong
about this aircraft.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by flyerboy101 »

beech 18 wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:26 am December 07, 2017

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

The attached photo was found on the internet. Do not know what magazine it was
in or the date of the ad. Sometime in the early 1960's.

The Lakehead Flying School was owned and operated by Mr. Wieben. The school operated
at the Thunder Bay Airport. Quite a number of pilots who got their licences at the
Lakehead Flying School went on to fly for Superior Airways and Severn Enterprise.

The Lakehead Flying School went back many many years and has a long history of training
pilots in Thunder Bay. A lot of different aircraft were flown by the school over those years.

In the book titled "Aviation in Thunder Bay" there is a very good story about The Lakehead
Flying School and the history behind it. There are many photos and stories of the aircraft
that flew for the school in the early years.

I know very little about the flying school except that during my time with the company the
following aircraft were operated:

Cessna 150 CF-VXY.
Cessna 150 CF-WIW. I only saw this aircraft once when it landed on the ice runway in
Sioux during a cross country training flight. It may have been purple in colour?
Cessna 150 CF-XWU. This aircraft was involved in an incident while attempting a landing
on the north road outside of Sioux Lookout after running low on fuel. A photo of that incident
is on page 5 of this thread. The registration in the photo is C-FXWU.
Cessna 172 CF-SZK.
Cessna 172 CF-VBW. This aircraft also flew on floats in the summer out of Sioux Lookout.

I may be wrong with this information about these two last aircraft, but I believe in the winter
of 1969 / 70 for a very short time a Cessna 140 or maybe a Cessna 170 from the flying school
was seen on the ice on skis in Sioux Lookout. Again I may be wrong about that and it may not
have been a flying school aircraft.

Cessna 172 CF-PYE. I recall seeing a photo of this aircraft and it may have been a Lakehead
Flying School aircraft? CF-PYE was mostly red in the photo. Once again I may be wrong
about this aircraft.


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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

January 07, 2018

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from the late 1960's to 1974.

On Dec 8, 1973 Cessna 180 CF-VSD owned and operated by Severn Enterprise
was flying from Big Trout Lake to Wunnummin Lake. The aircraft had the pilot
and two passengers on board.

The aircraft encountered white out conditions at Wunnummin Lake and contacted
the surface of the ice in a slightly nose down attitude. The aircraft bounced and
came to a rest after hitting one wing on the ice. The Cessna 180 was very close to
coming apart before stopping on the ice as the two forward door posts failed at the
lower edge of the the windshield. The two main gear legs were sheared off in the
accident.

The pilot flying VSD received a back injury in the accident and was flown to Sioux
Lookout in an OCA / Hooker Air DC-3 the next day. I don't remember the two
passengers being injured.

The weather wasn't the best coming into Sioux that day and on top of that the DC-3
crew came in on one engine after having to feather I believe the left engine for a
reason that I can't recall.

The DC-3 landed on the lower strip and stopped just before the taxiway that used
to go straight up the hill to the radio shack. An ambulance picked up the injured
pilot right at the aircraft on the runway. I can't recall the registration of the DC-3
but it did have a cargo door. The reason I mention this is because OCA / Hooker Air
flew DC-3 CF-XPK out of Sioux a lot, but it had a small door. No cargo door.

Attached is a photo of VSD taken about two months after the accident. Snow had
drifted around the aircraft since the crash. This was just before VSD was taken
apart and flown out in one of the company DC-3's on skis.


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