The 38th Annual
Induction Ceremony & Dinner 2011
Event Details
Every year since its founding, Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame has held its Annual Induction Dinner and Gala at different locations across Canada. This year, the 38th Annual Induction Dinner and Gala was held on Thursday, May 26th, 2011, in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum located on Hamilton International Airport, Mount Hope Ontario. This was a very special location of great importance to the Canadian aviation community and for all those interested in preserving Canada's aviation heritage.
MC for the evening was Jacquie Perrin, of CBC News Network.
Shuttle bus bus service was supplied courtesy of Pacific Western Transportation, will be provided for attendees between the event hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, and the location of the gala dinner at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
Date:
The event occurred on Thursday, May 26th, 2011 – with the Museum open for Cocktails at 5:30 p.m., Dinner 7:00 p.m. sharp. Everyone seemed to have a good time, meeting old friends and new, and being most attentive to the ceremonies. For those interested in seeing where the Induction Ceremony occurred, and a bit about the event itself, we include a the map locating the museum, and a copy of the original advertising poster.
Event Poster:
Click to enlarge
The 2011 Inductees
John W. Crichton
John W. Crichton, born in Ottawa in 1946, has served as president and CEO of NAV CANADA since 1997. Previously he was president of the Air Transport Association of Canada from 1994-97 and was executive vice president of First Air, which he served starting in 1973. John was a major force in shaping Canada's northern air transportation industry to improve air freight and passenger service to northern communities. His leadership led to the modernization of Canada's civil Air Navigation System in the establishment of NAV CANADA in 1996, the world's first privatized Air Navigation System. NAV CANADA is the country's civil air navigation services provider, supplying air traffic control, flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information services, airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation. John Crichton has been honoured many times for his work in Canada's aviation industry.
Donald T. Hamilton
Donald T. Hamilton was born in Havelock, Ontario in 1924. He earned a pilot's license in 1946 and purchased his first aircraft, a Cessna 120, a year later. Soon he began crop spraying and cloud seeding in the Moose Jaw area, then moved on to bush flying in northern Alberta. This was followed by aerial survey work and northern flying for the Distant Early Warning Line. In Edmonton in 1957 he established Hamilton Aviation Ltd. for aircraft maintenance and flying cargo in northern Alberta. In 1970 Don began work with Air Spray Ltd. and two years later purchased the company, specializing in suppression of forest fires. Don is at the Edmonton office, and Air Spray operations are based at the Red Deer Regional Airport where the company's aircraft are used in fire fighting serve western and northern Canada.
Richard W. Ryan
Richard W. (Dick) Ryan, born in Goderich, Ontario in 1896, flew as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force in the First World War. Afterwards he graduated from the University of Toronto and University of Alberta. Starting in 1923, he taught high school in Moose Jaw. In 1928, Dick helped establish the Moose Jaw Flying Club and served as Chief Flying Instructor. In 1934 he helped to establish Prairie Airways Ltd. which was absorbed by Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1942. During the Second World War, Dick served as manager of No. 3 Air Observer School at Regina which trained navigators for the BCATP. Postwar, Dick served as assistant to CP Air president Grant McConachie, and later as vice-president. He retired from the board of directors in 1965 and died at Penticton, British Columbia in 1992.
William J. Wheeler
William J. (Bill) Wheeler, born in Port Arthur, Ontario in 1931, was a founding member of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society in 1962 and served as editor of the quarterly Journal of the CAHS from 1963 to 2008. Under Bill's editorship the Journal became a foremost magazine of Canadian aviation history. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Art, and a former art teacher, Bill encouraged Canadian artists, displaying their work on covers of the CAHS Journal. In producing the magazine he shared thousands of photographs and hundreds of previously unpublished stories with an appreciative readership. Bill Wheeler's enthusiasm and support of the organization was instrumental in building the Society to 12 chapters across Canada, and in 2001 the CAHS was bestowed a Belt of Orion award by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.
Belt of Orion
Hollinger Ungava Transport
Hollinger Ungava Transport (HUT) was established in 1948 as a private airline to supply air transport services to Iron Ore Company of Canada during construction of the 573-kilometer Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway from the port of Sept-Îsles, Québec to Schefferville, Québec. HUT operated mainly for five years, the first two years in support of exploration for iron ore and hauling fuel, all food, supplies and equipment to support 7,000 workers building the railroad grade. Tracks were completed in 1954. In that time HUT made its mark as a unique aviation operation in serving the purpose for which it was established. Using primarily a fleet of 10 workhorse Douglas DC-3 aircraft and employing 80 pilots and over 100 mechanics, radio operators, technicians and support staff, Hollinger Ungava Transport flew up to 70 flights a day at its peak.
