Message from the Chairman

The list of Inductees to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame for 2012 has been formally announced:

  • Mr. Nils Christensen, of Salt Spring Island, BC

    Nils was a Royal Norwegian Air Force pilot in WW2 who emigrated to Canada and founded Viking Air in Victoria, B.C. today the manufacturer of the re-born Viking Twin Otter 400.

  • Air Marshal "Gus" Edwards, of Nova Scotia

    A/M Edwards is best known for the monumental contribution he made to organization and management of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which trained 130,000 aircrew in WW2, later in the war becoming AOC-in-C of the RCAF in Europe.

  • M. Pierre Jeanniot, O.C. C.Q., of Montreal, Quebec

    Pierre Jeanniot started with Trans Canada airlines as a junior technician, working his way through the ranks to become President & CEO of Air Canada, from 1984 to 1990, leading the company through the transition from government to public ownership. He was later appointed Director General of the International Air Transport Association, based in Geneva.

  • Dr. Daffyd Williams, originally from Saskatchewan

    Dave Williams is a pilot, medical doctor and retired astronaut, well known for his two space shuttle flights and three spacewalks during assembly of the International Space Station. He was later appointed Director of NASA's Space and Life Science's Directorate.

  • Belt of Orion winner: Leavens Aviation, Toronto, ON

    The 84 year old family owned business was well known for the products and services it provided to the general Aviation community in Canada through many decades.

Tom Appleton CAHF Chairman

The November meeting of the CAHF Board of Directors confirmed Montreal as the location for the 2012 Induction Gala of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, to take place on Thursday, June 14th, 2012. The dinner will be held in the main ballroom of Le Windsor, located at 1170 Peel Street, Montreal, QC, one of Canada's finest venues for such an event. To view the site, go to: http://www.lewindsor.com

Details of the contributions of each inductee to the advancement of the aero/astronautical arts and sciences can be found on the press release, but suffice to say that each has made Canada very proud and all are certainly worthy of our public recognition.

Now, only the the hard work of preparing for the 2012 Induction gala remains! Your dinner organizing committee consists of half a dozen committed volunteers from the Board of Directors and Friends of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, but we need help. If you are located in the Montreal area and think you have the time and the skills to make a contribution to the organizing committee, I would like to hear from you. Whether it is in ticket sales, advertising sales, or just organizing the details of the evening's activities, we would love to hear from you. The Induction Dinner is the year's principal fund raising event and 2012 will certainly be a banner year, judging from the quality of the Inductees. Please contact me directly at your earliest convenience if you would like to make a difference.

Tom Appleton
Chairman of the Board