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.
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