beech699 wrote:NEED HELP. A group of us are trying to get a aviation center started in Thunder Bay to preserve the history of those who have flown in NW Ontario. We have a name, NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE ( web site NOAHC.ORG ) We have charitable status, we have a few volunteers We do not have stories about pilots, aircraft, airports, pictures etc etc. Limited to NW Ont. A lot of the history is now gone and only lives in memories. We need those stories. Can you help us out? If so can you send emails with the information to noahc@shaw.ca
What the hell does this have to do with a thread called Superior airways
Also the guy who started Superior Airways, Orville Wieben was a legend in bush flying circles and was responsible for giving many pilots their start in aviation. He was instrumental in Confederation College establishing their Aviation Programs. He was also a test pilot on the Hawker Hurricanes during WW II in Thunder Bay and test flew them at the now Thunder Bay airport as they came off the assembly line at the Canada Car plant in Thunder Bay.
Not only did he establish Superior Airways bases at Thunder Bay and Pickle Lake but also Armstrong, Pays Plat and Wiebenville north of Pickle Lake. He owned and operated Lakehead Flying School in Thunder Bay for many years and also owned numerous fishing processing plants in the north.
I think I can go out on a limb here and say the Orville Wieben and Superior Airways played a huge part in the Aviation History of Northwestern Ontario.
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You Can Love An Airplane All You Want, But Remember, It Will Never Love You Back!
beech699 wrote:NEED HELP. A group of us are trying to get a aviation center started in Thunder Bay to preserve the history of those who have flown in NW Ontario. We have a name, NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE ( web site NOAHC.ORG ) We have charitable status, we have a few volunteers We do not have stories about pilots, aircraft, airports, pictures etc etc. Limited to NW Ont. A lot of the history is now gone and only lives in memories. We need those stories. Can you help us out? If so can you send emails with the information to noahc@shaw.ca
Yeah, I'd go ahead and start a new thread for this one.
...Orville Weiben... that must be Liz's old man. Never knew him but was taught by Liz at the College. A great lady I must say!!
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Twenty years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Harry Swanson had some 8mm movies of Porky up to his nuts in loon shit trying to salvage a cracked up Norseman of a river bank just the other side of nowhere. Harrys movies (bless his soul) belong in a museum! cheers
Squawk
Harry Swanson had some 8mm movies of Porky up to his nuts
Now there was a hell of a guy -- Harry was a pretty amazing individual -- kind of put people in their place when he tore beer caps in half -- NWO has been the birth place of many classic bush pilots like him --
Sorry to bring this thread back up but I may have flown in one of these planes out of Pickle Lake.
Worked off OPAP lake in the winter of '88 (Yes I'm old), for Placer Dome and the Musselwhite project.
We were flown in on several types. I have a photo of one Twotter that's now with Voyageur Airways out of BC(used to be Orange/Yellow on White). Don't know if they still have it. Forget the Tail number. Other A/C were a single Otter(side bench seats only) and I believe a C-180.
We had those crazy Elan machines out there jumping off old drill rig spots(serious air time)
We broke the pull-starters so we used a string wrapped around the clutch fan.
Can't imagine getting one in the 180 but its possible.
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"Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops boy"
"Up the Irons"
We always flew with passengers in the seats, however, for reasons I don't know, staff flew on beds, beer cases, stoves, fridges, lumber etc. Maybe they were more expendable or had harder heads
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What little I do know is either not important or I've forgotten it!
Transport Canada's mission statement: We're not happy until you're not happy
Anyone know about the fish processing facility at Mississa? When did it operate? Where was the fish flown to? Was this a government subsidized operation?
The buildings are still standing, but with holes in the roofs.
higherthenakite wrote:....who would be worse to work for "Mike" or "the Champ". I know a few folks that say Mike but I also know a few that say The Champ.
Has mike ever run down one of his AME's with his truck?
didn't we cross path in wiebenville I flew O.J b-18 cf- prz on floats out of horseshoe lake across the road from wiebenville summer of 72 and spent the winter of 72 on cf- ttz on skis with conrad racine as captain. pm me and I will tell that hellish story if indeed we crossed path there
PFR
_________________________________
HI.... I Knew a guy named Conrad Racine who flew F-86 in Korea and he was shot down and made POW... is it this guy ? If yes, I knew him very well, enough to write a biography... He died 4 years ago. I tried for years and still trying to find his copilot to know more about Conrad. I think I just hit the jackpot ! TELL ME MORE PLEASE....
I have lot of questions. Thanks
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Last edited by Barr on Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Worked for Severn Enterprises / Superior Airways from the late 60,s to 74
in Sioux Lookout, Pickle Lake, and Weibenville.
The company taught me a lot and I still use some of it today.
Great bunch of guys.
Had one of the largest Beech 18 float and ski operations in the country.
Orville Wieben manufactured his own Beech skis.
I never worked in Thunder Bay but they rebuilt dozens of aircraft there.
They also operated Otters, Beavers, and Cessna 180s on floats and straight skis.
The DC-3,s were on wheel/skis in the winter. AUQ and XXT were the first
DC-3,s in the fleet. Otter CF-GBX was serial #4.
To this day I enjoyed the years I was there and the friendships I made.
Always have great stories to tell.
beech18,
I too flew beech a beech 18 on floats primarily out of Nakina in the summer but spent the winter of 71-72 flying beech 19 CF-VCE on skis out of Pickle Lake and Wiebenville. I always felt uncomfortable with that machine. No escape hatch in the cockpit roof meant the only way out was over top of your load.
I know that in my 5 plus years flying for OJ that I learned an awfull lot.
I am sure that our paths crossed at some point in the time I was there.
Bob Ostrom
Corpus Christi TX
I have nothing but good to say about Mike and his AME Matt. Yesterday I landed in YRL with a flat nose wheel and Mike and Matt fixed the flat quickly and properly so that I could continue my trip. I've heard about this kind of service and willingness to help a fellow pilot but had not encountered it before. It was a really pleasant experience that made what could have been a major PITA into a minor inconvenience.
bobo
I never flew the Beech. I was a dockhand went then into maintenance for my AME. Spent a full 42 years in the business. Now retired.
If you were a kid from Sioux and loved aircraft there was nothing prettier than the Beech 18 on floats.
You surely flew VCE. Only someone who was around VCE would know it had no hatch or for that matter no cargo door.
VCE was I believe based in YQT in the summer on wheels and was put on straight skis in the winter. The last time I saw VCE
operating, was in Sioux Lookout in the winter of 1973/74. In the spring it was pulled off the ice in Sioux and stored behind the
office at the water base. I could be out by a year but it flew no longer than the spring of 74 because it did not have a spar mod
installed. Sometime in 1975 or 76 after I had left Wieben's, some maintenance people did arrive in Sioux and installed engines and
some flight controls that had been robbed for other aircraft and I believe Orville Wieben may have flown the aircraft away himself.
I would attach a few photos of VCE on skis that I have but I am not sure how to attach them.
I do remember your name mentioned when I was with Mr. Wieben and it was always mentioned in a very good way.
Severn Enterprise / Superior Airways operated quite a number of aircraft when I was with them.
I will try to list some of the ones that were around in my time and some that were not.
All the aircraft during that time had the CF- registration. I am starting with the Cessna 180
fleet today:
CF-VSD was based in Sioux Lookout but spent a lot of its life flying out of Round Lake.
It was written off in a whiteout accident on Dec 8, 1973 in Wunnumim Lake.
CF-VGA was based in Sioux Lookout. After I left heard this was written off in a bad weather accident?
CF-JQM was based mainly in Sioux. Built in 1957. She was the oldest 180 in the fleet and there are
a lot of good stories to be told about the life JQM had. I will try to tell some. Some have
stories of their own. I am not sure where JQM is today.
CF-LBR was based in Sioux lookout early on and then spent a lot of its life in Round Lake. It broke its left leg
taking off at Bearskin Lake in March 1973. It was flown out of Bearskin Lake with Orville Wieben's
band aid attached to the belly. For those of use who were around to see the band aid in operation
it was really a marvel of engineering for its time. A lot of Cessna 180's with broken legs were flown
home with it attached to the belly and aft float fitting. The last I saw of LBR it was in pieces on
tailor.
CF-LSN was based in Sioux sort of. Only came to Sioux for spring and fall changeover and for float repair.
It spend most of its time in Big Trout Lake. I do not know what became of LSN.
CF-KVU I believe KVU was based in Pickle Lake. It may also have been in Armstrong or Nakina. The last I
saw of KVU was on skis in Sioux Lookout in the spring of 1971. KVU seemed to have had a harder
than normal life. I am not sure what became of KVU but I believe it was damaged before I left in
1974 because I never saw it again after that spring in 71. I do remember it having one heck of a
rough landing that spring on the ice in the bay in Sioux Lookout.
CF-KQP Not sure exactly where KQP spend its life. I know it was in Pickle Lake and Armstrong a lot. One
pilot who flew KQP in the summer of 1971 always said the P in KQP meant patch. When I saw this
180 it was either on straight skis or CAP floats. These may have been Superior's only CAP set of
floats. I do not know what became of KQP.
CF-KJZ The only time I saw KJZ was in the summer of 1969, maybe the summer of 1970. I am not sure if it
was owned or just leased by Mr. Wieben. I do know it was written off landing on glassy water
north of Sioux Lookout. When it was salvaged, the fuselage was tied onto the side of the floats on
the Otter CF-GBX and flown out. I did see a photo of it and it looked pretty big. The last I heard
of KJZ was it was being rebuilt in Thunder Bay.
CF-IWD This was Mrs. Wieben's aircraft. I only saw it a few times but it always looked good. I think it was
based out of Pays Plat or maybe Thunder Bay but I am not sure about that.
CF-RNF This was based mainly out of Thunder Bay. It was one of the very few aircraft the Wieben's had on
wheel skis in the winter. It did operate a bit out of Sioux Lookout in the winter of 1973. I am not
sure where this aircraft ended up.
All the Cessna 180's spent their summers on floats and all spent their winters on straight Federal Skis. Except for
CF-RNF who had a set of Federal Wheel/Skis.
A few Cessna 180's that I heard about but were gone before my time were: CF-DMB, CF-JDP, CF-LBX.
There are no doubt Cessna 180's that Severn Eneterprises / Superior Airways operated that I have missed or did
not know about. Please feel free to add any Cessna 180's I have missed.
I will follow up with information on the Beaver, Otter, Beech 18, and DC-3 fleets in the coming days.
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Last edited by beech 18 on Sun May 23, 2021 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
-- NWO has been the birth place of many classic bush pilots like him --
