Redford Henry “Red” Mulock

(1886 – 1961)

     Born in Winnipeg, Red Mulock graduated in engineering from McGill University in Montreal, joined the army in August 1914 and was shipped overseas. In January 1915 he transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service, received his pilot’s certificate and was commissioned as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant. By May he was flying in combat, carrying out fighter patrols, photo reconnaissance, directing naval gunfire and using parachute flares to spot artillery fire at night. On September 6, 1915, Red Mulock was the first Canadian pilot to attack a submarine. He became the first Canadian ace and the first RNAS pilot to score five victories or more.

     In 1916, Red was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and with the formation of No. 3 Naval Squadron, he was appointed as commanding officer. Still flying in battle, he was awarded a bar to his DSO. His responsibilities and rank continued to rise and with the joining of the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, he became a group captain in charge of a bomber group. Following the war he was honoured as a Companion of the British Empire. Red Mulock then joined Canadian Airways Limited and rose to the rank of Air Commodore in the RCAF Reserve.

     Willy Laserich immigrated from Germany in 1952, then obtained his private pilot’s license through the Edmonton Flying Club and continued flying with a perfect safety record for the next 50 years. Starting in 1957 he flew in the Northwest Territories as a commercial and airline pilot for various companies. From 1983 until his death, he flew as chief pilot for his company, Adlair Aviation Ltd. Flying throughout the central Arctic, he eventually quit recording time in his logbook at 44,000 hours!  In legendary northern work, Willy flew more than 3,000 medevac flights, more than 100 search and rescue operations and saw six babies born aboard his aircraft.

            His skill in remote areas of northern Canada earned him admiration both as an individual and as a pilot. As someone who would challenge government authority, Willy and those who flew for him earned another moniker, as “Willy’s Bandits.” However, respect for him never wavered, and he was an inspiration to other pilots. Although he would take calculated risks, he never sacrificed safety for daring, and campaigned for better air service and facilities for the well-being of northern people. Cambridge Bay's Willy Laserich Memorial Corporate Citizen Award is named for Willy, known as a gentleman as well as a pilot.

Julie Payette

(1963 - )

     A multilingual pilot, musician and singer, Montreal-born Julie Payette holds engineering degrees from McGill and the University of Toronto. She epitomizes the many talents and specialized education of Canadians selected to serve as astronauts. With research experience in computer systems, Julie was chosen in 1992 to become one of four astronauts from 5,330 applicants. In preparation for space missions she qualified as a deep sea diving suit operator, as a commercial pilot and as a military pilot, obtaining her captaincy at Moose Jaw, flying CT-114 Tutor jet aircraft. She logged more than 1,200 hours before becoming Chief Astronaut of the Canadian Space Agency from 2000 to 2007.

     In 2009, Julie completed her second space flight and has now logged more than 25 days in space. Aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1999, her duties included supervision of the spacewalk and operating the Canadarm robotic arm for the crew that performed the first manual docking of the International Space Station. In August 2009 she returned to the Space Station as the only woman in the crew, operating robotic arms, serving again as mission specialist and as Flight Engineer aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. The recipient of many honorary degrees, Julie continues work in Houston at Mission Control Centre.