A tapered brick smokestack towering 300 feet broke the horizon at Ketton, about three miles off the east end of Runway 26, and was affectionately referred to by returning pilots as the ‘Luffenham Beacon.’ ..

During the long days of the Second World War, the wide, flat Ottawa Valley was a virtual production line for pilots bound for the battlefront theatres of Europe, North Africa, Asia and South Pacific….

There it is – on the left!” someone cried from behind us. A wave of excitement swept over the crowd of visitors at the Vintage Wings Open House. We all turned to the left, and searched the sky…

When the post-war Luftwaffe of the German Federal Republic was formed in September of 1956, plans called for the formation of several air defence day-fighter wings. The choice of a suitable aircraft was …

The entry in my log book reads simply: “Scramble - 32,000’ - 45 minutes - night”, but it was an experience I have never forgotten. Today's all-weather pilots would consider this little adventure a joke, ..

For me, ‘inspiration’ has come in the form of sights, sounds and feelings that have combined in unforgettable moments. These were experiences that touched my emotions, lifted my mind and guided me…

In April of 1944, a 78 Squadron RAAF P-40N Kittyhawk, nicknamed "Come in Suckers!" met her end along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea landing on a muddy and miserable airfield known as Tadji…

“Ewing!! Get over to Transient!! Some officer wants to see you!!” Thus started my Centennial tale in 1966….

On the afternoon of Thursday, 13 July 1944, Squadron Leader Harold James Dowding led his 442 Squadron pilots back home across the French countryside after an uneventful fighter sweep behind enemy lines….

The VE Day sounds of celebration, revelry and relief were given new life when the stirring base tones of two Merlin engines at full power caught the attention of Canadians in Calgary, Alberta on the afternoon of 9 May 1945….

This weekend past was the first weekend of the Canadian Tulip Festival, a two week long celebration here in the city of Ottawa. Parliament Hill, the banks of the Rideau Canal and the shores of the historic inner city waters …

y name is Captain Chris Strawson and I have the privilege to explain to you the role of an Honourary Colonel in the Canadian Air Force and to discuss some of the many contributions HCol. Charley Fox made to 412 Squadron and the Canadian Forces….

The great sweep of the Canadian North lay largely unreachable and uninhabited up until the coming of the aeroplane. Small isolated communities clinging to existence beneath thousand foot cliffs at the very edge …

J. A. D. McCurdy, on his February 23rd, 1909 flight, unleashed the power of man to thrill, shock, elevate and set Canadians free from the pull of gravity. He put his hand on the "Arc of History” and bent it towards a momentous day for Canadian aviation….

After reading the Vintage Wings of Canada piece on the Silver Dart I was reminded of Douglas McCurdy and that he and I did his last flight together! McCurdy died in Montreal on June 25th, 1961 at the age of 74.

Archie Pennie is a man of uncommon forthrightness, who continues to share with anyone interested, the nature and the detail of his personal experiences as an instructor pilot for the BCATP and as a …

There is no doubt that Canada, pound for pound, fights above its weight when it comes to aerospace technology and contribution to modern aircraft design and propulsion systems. …

Laid across John Bennett’s dining room table, like memories strewn across the decades, are dozens of yellowed photographs, some notes written for some purpose now long forgotten and an aeronautical…

We were on for a sweep and I was having an awful day. You know, when everything seems to go wrong from the start. Well there I was, doing my cockpit check and somehow I must have bumped the gun button…

Bert Joss relates his experiences flying the Swordfish at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia during the Second World War. As we get set to bring our Fairey Swordfish to full flying status, new relationships with…