This aeronautical map shows the Calgary area in 1942 and gives us just a little glimpse at how very crowded the skies of southern Alberta must have seemed with numerous training bases all in such close proximity to one another. In this little snapshot we have about 60 miles of latitude and 11 BCATP aerodromes!!! You can identify the individual bases starting right at the bottom of the map with Vulcan, then Ensign, Frank Lake and so on as you go north. Some of these aerodromes were satellite fields to the main training bases, a place away from the main training aerodrome to practice takeoffs and landings, precautionary landings and forced approaches. Here's the kicker for you...of the 11 BCATP installations shown on this map in 1942, only three are still in use today as airports (Calgary International, Airdrie and soon Vulcan which is being brought back to usefulness as an airport after having been left to rot on the prairie for more than 60 years).
The area circled in red pencil is the approximate boundary of the training area for a pilot from High River which was home to #5 Elementary Flight Training School. This map came with the actual markings that one Leading Aircraftsman Cavanaugh had marked while learning the basics of flying an aircraft. You can see areas marked for dual work (where the trainee has the instructor along to teach the pupil and to help in case the student gets himself into a tough situation), solo work, aerobatic solo area (I'm sure that was a popular area!), L.F. area which was for low flying (pilots are taught how to use fields other than aerodromes and runways for precautionary and forced landings...you always have to be ready to land just about anywhere when flying a plane) and then there are four areas marked for "F.L." which I believe were actual fields that had been picked as appropriate for practice doing forced landing...the instructor simulates an engine failure (the engine is brought to idle so it is still turning over, it just isn't providing enough power to maintain altitude, you can add throttle again to restore powered flight) and the student has to learn how to manage the amount of altitude he has left in order to bring down his aircraft in a safe landing on a dirt field.
This is the same general area as the first aeronautical map but the first thing you probably noticed is the color of the background. The colors are much darker and are in the red spectrum...these maps were used for training pilots and navigators on night flights...these colors could be seen easily with a red light which would help the trainee to view the map in a darkened cockpit without ruining their night vision. It took me a while to figure out these maps as there is nothing on them to say they are for night navigation specifically. I can imagine this map having been used by L.A.C. Cavanaugh on a night navigation exercise. I have some of his flight logs which show some of the flights he did and some of the waypoints along the way which just fires up ones imagination all the more. I must say, it is truly inspiring to be holding a historical document in your hand that acts as a tangible link to the past. All the more reason, I think, that items like this deserve not to be locked up in some dusty drawer somewhere unappreciated but out in the public eye for anyone who might gain something from being able to view them again.
This photo is from an Australian fellow who came to Canada to continue his flying training here at #3 Secondary Flight Training School in Calgary. This particular aerodrome fascinates me for a number of reasons. This facility was located where Mount Royal University sits today. I attended Mount Royal when it was still called Mount Royal College and parked my car in a field that would have sat right in the middle of this triangle of runways and taxiways. This aerodrome actually accomplished two purposes...it was home to #3 S.F.T.S. and it was also home to #10 Repair Depot which would accept damaged or "pranged" aircraft and either repair them fully or take them apart for their still valuable functioning parts. If you look at the top and the bottom of the photo, you will notice two separate sets of hangars...one was for #3 S.F.T.S. and the other for #10 Repair Depot. The repair depot continued to function after the war and the base was also used as a storage place for war weary aircraft like the Avro Lancaster which were kept in flyable condition in case Canada faced another foreign threat. The base was closed in 1958 and the runways were still available for emergency use until 1964.
The Australian fellow who took this and a multitude of other photos I was fortunate to acquire had a most interesting story to tell. I was so lucky that his sister who sold me the photos was so willing to relay all the stories that she had about her brother and his time training in far away Canada. That story would make for a wonderful Blog entry in itself. I think I just came up with the inspiration for my next installment of this journal.
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