Member Profiles

Maurice D'Arcy Allen Fallow

Birthdate: September 5, 1913
Birth Place: Vermilion, Alberta
Death Date: May 22, 1971
Year Inducted: 1992

"His dedication to the flight and safety training of young pilots and the growth of the Edmonton Flying Club was of great benefit to Canadian aviation."

In 1942, Maurice Fallow joined the RCAF and on completion of his training became an instructor. He returned to Edmonton in 1945 where he founded both Western Aero Motive and a flying school in Vermilion, Alberta. In 1948, he joined the Edmonton Flying Club as Secretary Manager where he remained until his death in 1971. During this time the Edmonton Flying Club grew from 54 members to 1500 to become Canada's largest club.

John Emilius Fauquier

Nickname: "Johnny" Fauquier
Birthdate: March 19, 1909
Birth Place: Ottawa, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1974
Death Date: April 3, 1981
Awards: DSO**, DFC

"His exceptional abilities as an airman and wartime operations commander set the highest standard of leadership and dedication to purpose and caused those whom he led to excel themselves, resulting in outstanding contributions to Canadian aviation."

John Fauquier earned the reputation as one of Canada's great pilots during WWII. He joined the RCAF in 1939 as a Flight Lieutenant, completed an advanced course and served until mid-1941 as an instructor of BCATP instructors. In 1943, Fauquier was promoted to Group Captain of No. 405 Squadron, the Pathfinder Squadron. He took part in many bombing raids including the epic raid on Peenemunde, Germany, during which he made 17 passes. He would be eventually promoted to Air Commodore, but declined so that he could continue to fly missions.

George Harold Finland

Nickname: "Mike" Finland
Birthdate: April 21, 1901
Birth Place: Victoria, British Columbia
Year Inducted: 1974
Death Date: November 4, 1983

"He coupled a professional calling with pioneer bush flying, and despite adversity created new demand for air transport into virgin areas, substantially benefiting Canadian aviation."

George Finland was one of Canada's early pilot/geologists. During the 1930's he became known for locating mineral locations from the air. He staked the Con Mine claims which led to the founding of the Town of Yellowknife and the birth of the mining industry in the Northwest Territories. Finland pioneered new methods of aerial prospecting, and utilized aircraft in supervising both ground and water transportation of major equipment into isolated areas.

James Charles (Jim) Floyd

Birthdate: October 20, 1914
Birth Place: Manchester, England
Year Inducted: 1993

"His outstanding accomplishments as an aeronautical engineer, manager and leader and superb organizational skills in the field of aeronautical engineering have been of lasting benefit to Canadian aviation."

During his early career, James Floyd was employed as a design engineer on the Anson, Manchester, Lancaster, York Lincoln and Tudor projects at A. V. Roe. He was later appointed Chief Project Engineer at the Avro office in Yorkshire, where he worked on the application of jet engine technology to transport aircraft. He moved to Canada in 1946 and in 1952, he was named Chief Engineer and worked on such aircraft as the Avro Jetliner, CF-100 Fighter, and the Avro Arrow, through which he and Canada were recognized as international leaders in aeronautical engineering. He later worked for the British government as a consultant on the Concorde passenger jet from 1965 to 1972.

Norman Gladstone Forester

Nickname: "Norm" Forester
Birthdate: March 21, 1898
Birth Place: Oakville, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1974
Death Date: October 4, 1975

"The application of his superior skills in aerial mapping and his mercy flights to aid others, despite adversity, have been of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."

Norman Forester is best known for his talent in aerial mapping. His skills were used for this purpose in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. In addition to his aerial mapping skills, Forester also gained recognition as a great humanitarian. On one occasion he flew a critically ill woman through a blizzard to get her to a hospital. And on another mission, he saved the lives of the passengers and crews of two American military planes from a frozen lake in Quebec. Forester also completed high-altitude photographic surveys in B.C., Quebec and the Maritimes.

Robert Howden Fowler

Birthdate: September 19, 1922
Birth Place: Toronto, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1980
Date of Death: August 23, 2011

"His ability as a pilot, together with his knowledge of flight engineering, has enabled him to provide major contributions to the engineering, flight testing and subsequent development of a family of short takeoff and landing aircraft, which has brought his company to world leadership in that specialized field, and which contributions have been of significant benefit to Canadian aviation and to the nation."

Magnetic surveys and high altitude photography helped give Robert Fowler a name in the aviation field. In 1952, he was hired by de Havilland of Canada where he spent much time testing new aircraft models. Fowler also played a major role in the development of flight controls and propeller systems which led to de Havilland becoming a leader in the production of STOL aircraft. This work was later followed by his research in modulated jet thrust. Fowler performed the first flight of the PT-6A turboprop engine.

Walter Warren Fowler

Nickname: "Walt" Fowler
Birthdate: September 8, 1906
Birth Place: Sackville, New Brunswick
Year Inducted: 1974
Death Date: January 19, 1986

"The total dedication of his well-rounded aeronautical career to improving the nation's air service, despite adversity, has been of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."

Walter Fowler, an exceptional pilot, spent much of his time instructing others to fly. He flew several different missions and joined Trans-Canada Air Lines where he flew every Canadian route and flew aircraft from various American manufacturers into Canada to be used by the RCAF. His skills in instrument flight were used to train ferry pilots from the U.S. to fly across the North Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom. He retired in 1971 after logging 10,000 command hours in 41 aircraft types, from WWI trainers to four-engine airlines, without injury to passenger or crew.

Thomas Payne Fox

Nickname: "Tommy" Fox
Birthdate: December 24, 1909
Birth Place: Vancouver, British Columbia
Year Inducted: 1983
Death Date: September 14, 1995

"His leadership in Canadian bush plane operations, his foresight in the use of helicopters for oil explorations, and his tenacity in keeping the DEW Line supplied for Canadian operators, has been of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."

Thomas Fox learned to fly at the Sprott-Shaw School of Aviation, Vancouver in 1930. The following year he constructed a Pietenpol Air Camper from plans published in a home mechanics journal. He flew the aircraft for several years and it was considered one of the most successful "homebuilts" in Canada. In 1942 he joined No. 45 Group, RAF Ferry Command as an aircraft ferry pilot until war's end. On his return to Canada, he played a major role in the use of helicopters for oil exploration. His company, Associated Airways Ltd. at Edmonton, transported crews and equipment to otherwise inaccessible regions. Eventually they expanded and began moving heavy equipment with a Bristol Freighter and supplied the western Arctic sector of the DEW Line airlift. Fox was instrumental in ensuring that air transport requirements for construction of the DEW Line would be handled by Canadian civilian operators.

James Henry Foy

Birthdate: August 8, 1922
Birth Place: Brantford, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1980
Death Date: April 28, 1974
Awards: DFC

"His exceptional abilities as an aviator in war and peace, coupled with his exemplary qualities of leadership and dedication to purpose, brought credit to his chosen profession and to the organizations for which he laboured, resulting in the advancement of aviation in Canada."

James Foy began his aviation career with the RCAF. During WWII, he was shot down over France, and later began working with the French Resistance helping other downed allied pilots to reach safety. Upon his return to England in April 1944, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and released from service. He later flew with Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada for 30 years, at which time he flew all of the fleet aircraft on all domestic and overseas routes. He was later named president of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots where he served for three years. During his career, he acted as a pilot-in-command of aircraft totalling more than 21,000 hours.

Wilbur Rounding Franks

Birthdate: March 4, 1901
Birth Place: Weston, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1983
Death Date: January 4, 1986
Awards: OBE, CD

"His invention of the Franks Flying Suit and the Human Centrifuge, which have been accepted throughout the aerospace industry, and his significant contributions to research in aerospace medicine have been of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."

Wilbur Franks became involved in the aviation field because of his medical research. Commissioned into the Royal Canadian Air Medical Corp, he began active medical research into solving the problems related to pilot blackout from acceleration in high G-manoeuvres. He eventually designed the Franks Flying Suit, which he personally tested, and was the first person to be successfully protected from radial acceleration in an aircraft. He also helped design the RCAF human centrifuge which was used to reproduce various G-forces at high speeds, simulating the effects of manoeuvres in combat aircraft.

Douglas Cowan Fraser

Birthdate: August 21, 1904
Birth Place: St. John's, Newfoundland
Year Inducted: 1987
Death Date:1990

"His exceptional flying abilities coupled with scientific interest in aviation have made him an honoured member of Canada's flying fraternity and earned him a prominent place in Newfoundland history."

Douglas Fraser received his Canadian Commercial License in 1930, and in 1931 he established Old Colony Airways. During the "hungry" thirties, he promoted aviation throughout Newfoundland. Captain Fraser was instrumental in completing an aerial survey of Newfoundland to establish triangulation for the Geodetic Survey of Canada. In 1936, he transferred to England where he flew as a co-pilot between England, France, Belgium, Italy and Ireland. He later returned to Newfoundland to prepare for the Trans-Atlantic flying boat operations and, while there, was responsible for the calibration of the wireless direction finding stations at Botwood and Gander airports. Near the end of his flying career, Fraser located the Dr. Frederick Banting crash site and recovered important research on the effects of high acceleration causing blackouts in pilots.

Alexander Beaufort Fraser Fraser-Harris

Birthdate: November 16, 1916
Birth Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Year Inducted: 2005
Death Date: October 19, 2003
Awards: DSC*, CD**

“His inspired leadership and vision in guiding the post-war modernization and growth of Canada’s Naval Air Service, which earned him the title ‘Father of Canadian Naval Aviation’, together with his skills as an aviator and as an astute operational planner, have proven to be of outstanding benefit to aviation in Canada.”

Fraser-Harris began his career flying after joining the military and attending the Royal Naval Military College in 1930. He attained his Fleet Air Arm pilot’s wings by 1939 and took part in the sinking of the German cruiser Konigsberg, which was to be the first enemy warship sunk by aerial bombing. Fraser-Harris would continue flying for the remainder of the war even after being forced down twice and evading capture.

At the conclusion of the war, he transferred to the RCN and was first Captain of RCNAS and first Canadian Naval Aviator to command an aircraft carrier. In 1963 he was promoted to Commodore and appointed to the position of Chief of Staff (Air).

During his career in the RCN he played an important and key role in the struggle for enlightened development of naval aviation as a vital, versatile and indivisible element of the fleet, often against deeply entrenched opposition to essential change and wiser decisions.

Elmer Garfield Fullerton

Birthdate: October 29, 1891
Birth Place: Pictou, Nova Scotia
Year Inducted: 1974
Death Date: March 6, 1968

"The application of his exceptional abilities as a pilot and instructor, and his unswerving demand for perfection in flight during a distinguished and dedicated career, have been of outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."

Elmer Fullerton began his aviation career during WWI. In 1921, he and George Gorman flew into the Mackenzie River District of the Northwest Territories on a pioneer exploration flight. During the trip, their Junker planes "Vic" and "Rene", had their propellers damaged almost beyond repair. In a remarkable feat of engineering, William Hill constructed a hand-made propeller for the "Vic" using sleigh boards and moose glue. Fullerton then made the six-hour flight to Peace River, Alberta. In 1922, Raould Amundsen chose Fullerton to accompany him on a trip to the North Pole, but the trip was cancelled. Later in his career he became an excellent instructor, passing on his outstanding skills to many students. Fullerton also designed the RCAF Tartan, officially adopted on August 15, 1942.

© Copyright in the portrait drawings of the honoured members of the Aviation Hall of Fame, which were prepared by Mrs. I. Coucill are the property of Mrs. Coucill.