My goal is to become a pilot in the Canadian Air Force. After graduating from McMaster University, I spent a year going through the Canadian Forces pilot selection process. After being accepted, I spent another two years going through basic officer training, second language training and waiting in …

Not a test pilot? Not a multi-thousands hours airline pilot? Not much hope of being admitted into the world of warbird flying? There is one other way to come up through the ranks to fly vintage military aircraft - but it takes determination, stamina, skill, …

After a stellar 37 year career in the service of his country, Lieutenant General Angus Watt, Chief of the Air Staff, retires at the top of his game. Taking his place at the helm of the New Canadian Air Force will be Lieutenant General André Deschamps…

As I walk up to the WACO on a sparkling day in June, light reflects off the rich, crimson, and glossy paint. This airplane is a jewel flashing in the sun! …

n Canada, the Victoria Day long weekend signals the beginning of summer play and the boundless joys of being outside. Gone are the crusted snow banks, the dirty buses, the layered grey skies and the layered grey clothing,…

This past Canada Day, as many Canadians do, some members of one particular Canadian family gathered in Ottawa to have some fun and get their photograph taken as a memento of the day….

Thursday July 8th dawned over the Calgary International Airport (YYC) with a beautiful cloudless sky and a light breeze that would keep the afternoon’s 27°C temperatures bearable – the kind of weather perfect for a family picnic or airshow. …

Friday, July 29th, 2011. Imagine a foursome of golfers at the Huron Pines Golf and Country Club near remote Blind River, Ontario, about to tee-off from the 18th on a wet afternoon. The skies are dank and glowering, the air humid and close, …

You call your self a warbird mechanic? Really? You short pants wearing, candy-assed, sun-block covered, flip-flop shod, sunny weather warbird mechanics from Kissimmee, Florida, Mojave, California, or sunny Jindalee, Queensland have nothing on…

As winter began to close in on the southern-most regions of Canada, temperatures began a steady crawl downwards, rains turned icy, and Canadians broke out the fleece, boots and layered up. But farther north, much farther north, along the shores of James Bay, the Florida-shaped extension of Hudson Bay that drives deep into …

So, first mission. Yes, well, it was obviously awesome, crazy, unbelievable, totally overwhelming. My captain is really nice, though I do feel bad for him for having to put with up me, as I'm sure even just yesterday was a test of his patience….

There's an old saying in Western culture that states, “You can't go home again.” This somewhat unhappy chestnut can be traced to an excerpt from Thomas Wolfe's novel of the same name .

Nearly all the wonderful things that make living in your home town not only bearable, but worthwhile and enjoyable – the music festivals, the kids hockey tournaments, the botanical gardens, the air shows, …

Over the past two years, Vintage Wings of Canada has travelled from coast to coast using the Yellow Wings program to tell the story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). In terms of scope, the BCATP was by far…

I know many pilots who fly with Air Canada – some for thirty or more years. Sometimes, I would ask one of them: “Do you know my friend Jeff Foss?”, “Have you ever paired with an old buddy of mine, Karl Kjarsgaard?”, “Did you ever run into a guy named Dave Hadfield?” Inevitably, the answer is no….

I don’t remember if my path was decided that day or whether it took me some time to think about it but I asked lots of questions and soon learned that young boys were eligible to join the Air Cadets when they turned 13 …

If there is one person you should introduce yourself to at Vintage Wings of Canada this year, make it Todd Lemieux, our new Chairman of the Board. You will be glad you did, for your life will be the richer for it. …

It had been a long week at work. My wife and I and Wallace the border collie were jammed into the truck with a weekend’s worth of gear, headed to the cottage. Ramping up onto the 417, westbound into the sun, we found ourselves in…

There are not many man-made objects more awe-inspiring and more emotionally and physically impacting than the sight and the sound of a Second World War Rolls-Royce Merlin engine running flat out just thirty feet from you…

In late January, I received a Facebook message from WestJet Captain Dave Maric, with whom I flew as an Air Cadet and Cadet Instructor List Officer. I hadn’t seen Dave much in the last 13 or so years, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear from him. …