Proximity Flying in Wingsuits

In another place, in another time, in another lifetime maybe...THIS excites me.  I think this would be as close to human flight as we will ever achieve.

Check out this link, it is incredible.
http://www.wimp.com/wingsuitflying/

This is Jeb Corliss. Absolutely fearless. In fact, check out the film based on his adventures called "Fearless"

Calgary Street Names: Barlow Trail

Ever wonder where some of our street names have come from?  Fortunately, intrepid me has done some of your homework for you and come up with a few gems that are close to my heart.  Today that street of choice is Barlow Trail.


Born in Denbeigh, Wales, Noel Barlow immigrated to Canada in 1924.  As a child Barlow would watch biplanes flying over his family’s farm and it created within him a great desire to fly. The family moved to Carseland in 1932.

Two years later, Barlow took the first step towards realizing his dream of becoming a pilot. To save money, he worked at the Great Bear Lake and Giant Yellowknife Mines up North, becoming the 16th non-native person to arrive in Yellowknife. 

Barlow joined the Calgary Flying Club in 1936 where he obtained a commercial pilot's license. The following year, he sailed to England to join the Royal Air Force. However, at 24, he was too old for pilot training by three months. Instead, he signed up for ground crew for the 242 squadron and later became the personal mechanic for legendary double amputee squadron commander, Douglas Bader.  As an experienced pilot he was the best choice as a mechanic as he was able to test fly the aircraft he worked on and made sure that they were in tip-top condition.

But Barlow still dreamed of flying in the RAF. Eventually, with the support of the famous Douglas Bader, he was permitted to remuster as a pilot once the age restrictions were eased up near the end of the war. He started flying Liberators for the RAF, dropping supplies in India and Burma.

After the war was over he and his wife returned to the family farm at Carseland to raise their two daughters. 

Barlow started managing the Strangmuir elevators, a job he kept for 25 years.
However, he didn't lose interest in the sky above. Barlow and Jeanne welcomed the Calgary Parachute Club to use the airstrip on the farm.

Noel Barlow (centre) with Jock Palmer (left) and an unidentified friend

Shortly after his death, his former commander Douglas Bader came to Calgary and petitioned that former 242 flying Ace Willie McKnight (an other story for another time) and his mechanic Noel Barlow have streets named in their honour.

Addendum to the Airport Tunnel Debate

Just a quick shout out today to the Calgary Mayoral Candidates.

The race is finally on to see who will become Calgary's next mayor and so far there is one front runner, Ric McIvor, with Barb Higgins running (for now) a distant second.

If I might be so bold to lend some advice to the also-rans that are still in the picture and still think there is a ghost of a chance (like I am an expert in Municipal politics). Get invested in the airport debate. There are hundreds of thousands of Calgarians that are directly affected by the final outcome of the issue and those votes can go a long way in pushing you up the municipal ladder. I know that, by and large, the decision at the City of Calgary level has been decided but if your voters feel there is someone in their corner it can make an enormous difference in how you fare.

Whoever ultimately wins the mantle of Mayor of Calgary, the only thing I ask is this: Please, PLEASE don't spend my money frivolously on things like $25 million dollar eyesore bridges and then pander to the populace by calling it the Peace Bridge...but I digress.


Regardless people, whether or not you think the airplane tunnel is your concern, vote with your head. Read up on all the candidates, identify their platforms and vote accordingly. Get informed. get involved.

We now return you to the much more enjoyable Airplane related programming that is already in progress.

The Calgary Airport Tunnel

Many of you might be aware of the issues surrounding the Calgary Airport Expansion and the inflammatory discussions/concerns about building a tunnel for access to Calgary's northeast. If you aren't, check out this article to get informed. TUNNEL FUNDING


Suffice it to say that the city of Calgary (who had the gall to spend $25 million on a footbridge) has finally ponied up to $90 million they had for the project but the Alberta Provincial Government still won't supply their portion.


I understand that, largely, this is a municipal issue and the Alberta Provincial Government is hurting for funds (insert sarcasm here) but aren't the citizens of Northeast Calgary ultimately a subset of Alberta citizens and deserve provincial funding to be used to enrich their quality of life? 


Do you have an opinion on the subject?

Great Canadian Flyers: Fred McCall Pt. 2 Dynamite and Nitroglycerine

In the 1920s, McCall formed Great Western Airways, the first airline to offer service over the mountains to Banff, Fernie, and Golden. Fred was the first pilot to successfully land an aircraft in Banff.

With GWA, Fred also had one of his most heralded experiences. Calmont Oil Ltd. planned on doing some exploration in Turner Valley and required some specialized supplies shipped in.  The hired GWA to do that for them. In February 22 and 23, 1928, in a fabric covered Stinson Detroiter biplane, Fred made yet another amazing journey.  Flying 250 miles in sub-zero weather. Upon lnading in Montana, Fred loaded his cargo and turned around for the flight home with 100 quarts of nitro-glycerine stuffed in the cargo hole and twelve sticks of Dynamite wedged under his seat.

Fighting headwinds the entire trip back, McCall touched his craft down on the gravel runway on Old Banff Coach Road and almost immediately ran out of gas before he was able to taxi back to the hangar.

As hair raising as that trip was, it was all in a day's work for Fred who returned to Shelby the next day for another load.  This time, he stopped in Lethbridge, Alberta to top up his fuel before heading home.

That will be it for Fred for now, but with so many great stories left to tell we will return to him soon.  Stay tuned for further great stories about aviation past and present.

Great Canadian Flyers: Fred McCall Pt. 2

Upon his return to civilian life, Fred took advantage of his skills as a pilot to explore western Canada as a Barnstormer for several years. He performed stunts at fairs and exhibitions across the prairies, thrilling crowds with his amazing flying machine, still a rarity in those early days of aviation. On July 5, 1919 he had one of the most legendary landings in aviation history.


Notorious for his wartime exploits and his daring as a Barnstormer, Fred was a regular at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. On this fateful day, he strapped the Exhibition Manager's young sons into the front seat of his open cockpit Curtiss Jenny and took of for a thrill that would win Fred worldwide renown.  While flying high above the crowds, the Jenny's engine suddenly quit (it was discovered later that one of the boys had accidentally closed the throttle) and the plane began to drop. A car race in the stampede infield precluded an emergency landing there, in what appeared to be the only open area.


Relying on his amazing skills, Fred spotted the only open area on the Exhibition grounds. Aiming his craft with precision, McCall stalled the Jenny and dropped it squarely on top of the carousel. The flagpole pierced the fabric floor and pierced the seat between the two boys.  Remarkably, no one in the airplane or on the ground was injured.


Once Fred, the boys, and the aircraft were safely on the ground crowds of spectators crowded in on a quest for souvenirs. People began ripping pieces of fabric off the wrecked plane as a memento of the occasion. The clever stampede manager quickly put up an awning over the Jenny and charged people 25 cents to take a piece of the plane away. He split the proceeds with McCall and suggested he do the same thing at an upcoming fair in Edmonton. Fred took him up on the offer and, by summer's end, he was able to finance the purchase of a new airplane.

Next Installment: More of Freddie's peace time adventures. Dynamite and Nitroglycerine!

Great Canadian Flyers: Fred McCall Pt. 1

Fred McCall was born on December 4th, 1896 in Vernon, BC. His family moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1906. In February 1916, he joined the 175^th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and attained the rank of Sergeant. Tired of slogging about in the muck and mire of the trenches, in March of 1917, Fred transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and in December of that year he began flying bulky and slow R.E.7 and R.E.8 observation aircraft for Number XIII squadron, snooping on enemy activities.

Even though the R.E. 8 aircraft was not designed for combat, in January of 1918 Fred found himself in a battle for his life in the sky versus a German Albatros D.V. and scored his first victory. He shot down two more German aircraft in short order and earned the Military Cross for his actions. Only two weeks later he shot down another enemy aircraft and was awarded a bar on his Military Cross (equal to a second medal). Shortly thereafter, Fred was transferred to 41 Squadron and given the nimble S.E. 5a aircraft to fly. In May of 1918 he scored another four victories and earned the DFC and a promotion to the rank of Captain.

Between June 27-30, 1918 Fred shot down 11 enemy aircraft and was awarded the DSO for this impressive feat. On August 17^th, he shot down an additional three aircraft in one of the most lopsided aerial battles of WWI.

McCall and his wingman William Claxton were out on patrol and suddenly found themselves attacked by a squadron of forty German aircraft.  Plunging into the fray, whirling and diving, guns blasting at anything that crossed his sights, Fred was able to return to base not only unscathed but with three more notches in his belt. Claxton however was shot down and held as a prisoner until the end of the war.  

Shortly after this battle Fred took ill and was sent back to Canada to recover. As he was preparing to return to the fight, news of the Armistice was announced and the fighting days of Cpt. Freddie McCall came to an end with 37 victories in only seven months, ranking him fifth among allied pilots.

Coming soon: McCall proves his mettle as a barnstormer and flying businessman.

My First Blog Post

Not much exciting to share yet, but I'm sure there will be very soon.  I am going to post lots of random thoughts, profound insights, rants and general tomfoolery. I am an information junkie so I will probably be waxing poetic about lots of random things. Mostly though this will probably be a commentary about my life, my passions, and my desire to be heard by an anonymous audience.