Bob Burns recently passed away at the age of 80. In his honour, I am putting these stories about Laurentian Air Services from him up first. Jim Irvin was always the “nuts and bolts” of LAS and Air Scheff. When I joined LAS the first time in 1970, he was chief pilot and flewContinue reading “Bob Burns Remembers “Sir” Jim Irvin”
Category Archives: Aviation
Laurentian Air Services Personnel List
When my first book, For the Love of Flying: The Story of Laurentian Air Services, came out in 2009, I created a small do-it-yourself website to host additional ‘living’ information. Recently, I let that domain name lapse, so I am moving the photos and stories and data – like the below – over to this site soContinue reading “Laurentian Air Services Personnel List”
“The Job for Me” for Legion Magazine now up!
“Whiplash is how they described it. In 1980, when captains Nora Bottomley, Deanna (Dee) Brasseur and Leah Mosher walked anywhere in their Canadian air force blue flight suits, heads snapped around. The three women were the first in the country to receive their wings for active duty, and they knew they were under the microscopeContinue reading ““The Job for Me” for Legion Magazine now up!”
Liz Muir launches new books about Canadian aviation for kids this month!
ROSELLA BJORNSON: CELEBRATING WOMEN OF AVIATION
Rosella Bjornson is Canada’s first woman commercial airline jet aircraft pilot and Canada’s first woman airline captain. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Alberta Aviation Museum, 11410 Kingsway Avenue, Edmonton Rosella Bjornson makes history by becoming Canada’s first woman airline jet aircraft pilot – April 1973. The Alberta Labour History Institute (ALHI),Continue reading “ROSELLA BJORNSON: CELEBRATING WOMEN OF AVIATION”
2016 CAHF Inductees Announced
Wonderful news from Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. Fred Carmichael from Inuvik, NWT will be recognized for his incredible achievements and contributions. I am so happy I was able to help honour him by nominating this amazing aviator! After interviewing him in 2010 and writing about him in Polar Winds, I knew he deserved it.Continue reading “2016 CAHF Inductees Announced”
Holiday Moving Sale!
I realized I have 12 copies of Polar Winds and 24 copies of For the Love of Flying hanging around in my basement, ready for a new home. I don’t feel like boxing them up and moving them down to Texas, so I am offering signed and personalized copies to you for $30, shipping andContinue reading “Holiday Moving Sale!”
Canadian Women in the Sky
There’s a new book about women in aviation in this country and it comes to you from Elizabeth (Liz) Muir. I was happy to write the foreword to Canadian Women in the Sky: 100 Years of Flight, her exploration and celebration of some of the fantastic women involved in flight in Canada. It is anContinue reading “Canadian Women in the Sky”
Speaking to Edmonton’s Canadian Club this week
On Wednesday I will speak to the local chapter of the Canadian Club, at the beautiful Chateau Lacombe hotel, following in the footsteps of many luminaries and dignitaries! I will trace a “Century of Flying in the Canadian North” through a narrative that explores the hope and heartbreak of aviation North of 60. Looking forward toContinue reading “Speaking to Edmonton’s Canadian Club this week”
Glowing Review of Polar Winds in Arctic!
Was so pleased to read a review of my latest book, Polar Winds, in Arctic, the Journal of the Arctic Institute of North America, by esteemed colleague Shirlee Smith Matheson: “As a reviewer and avid reader and writer of aviation history, I take my hat off to Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail for her work in containing this massiveContinue reading “Glowing Review of Polar Winds in Arctic!”