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Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame to induct four members

Dec. 5, 2013, Wetaskiwin, Alta. - Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) will induct four new members at its 41st annual gala dinner and ceremony to be held in Calgary, Thursday, May 29, 2014.


December 5, 2013  By Carey Fredericks

The new members are:

Clive J. Beddoe, founder of Westjet airlines
Lorna De Blicquy, flight instructor and trailblazing advocate for the role of women in aviation
Robert P. Engle, founder of Canada’s Northwest Territorial Airlines
Fred Moore, a military and civilian pilot and administrator responsible for improving air force aircraft acceptance standards, as well as the use of weapons systems simulators. Moore also rose to senior management ranks at Northwest Industries and Okanagan Helicopters.

CAHF inductees are selected for their contributions to Canada’s development through their integral roles in the nation’s aviation history. This year’s inductees will join the ranks of the 212 esteemed men and women inducted since the hall’s formation in 1973.

Tom Appleton, CAHF chairman of the board of directors, said, “The CAHF is proud to honor these four well-deserving individuals for their significant contributions to Canadian aviation, and to Canada’s development as a nation.

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“Our 2014 inductees come from backgrounds that span the width of Canada’s unique aviation industry. Aviation has brought Canadians together as a country, unlike any other form of transport. Our new inductees reflect that cohesion through their pioneering activities and spirit.”

The 2014 inductees:

Clive J. Beddoe: An early interest in aviation in his native England blossomed into a dream of creating a new Canadian airline in Canada in the mid 1990s. The resulting WestJet phenomenon has revolutionized air travel in Canada with its legendary attention to the customer experience, its competitive pricing, its strong commitment to employees and its excellent safety record. Beddoe successfully weathered early difficulties at WestJet and has now launched a spin-off to extend service far beyond traditional markets.

Lorna De Blicquy: A trailblazing advocate for the role of women in aviation and supremely accomplished pilot, instructor and examiner, Lorna De Blicquy played a significant and highly recognized role in changing the face of aviation in Canada. Active in aviation for almost fifty years, Lorna was instrumental in providing air services, training and humanitarian relief in many parts of the world, especially in Canada's high Arctic.

Robert Parsons Engle: Engle enjoyed a career of some fifty years in aviation in Canada’s north. From very early contract flying out of Yellowknife, he went on to expand his operations across the length and breadth of the Arctic and in so doing change the way in which remote communities are supplied by air. He created Northwest Territorial Airlines which was subsequently taken over by Air Canada, pioneered the use of heavier cargo aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules and championed the expansion of commercial routes linking northern communities with each other and destinations in southern Canada.

Fred Moore: Fred Moore spent a lifetime in fixed and rotary wing aviation in both the military and civilian fields. As a young officer he was given significant levels of authority to improve acceptance standards for military aircraft ordered for the RCAF and subsequently to manage the early efforts to develop simulators for increasingly complex weapons systems. In industry, he rose quickly to senior management levels with NWI in Edmonton and then Okanagan Helicopters and its successor companies. His skills, technical expertise and business acumen have been widely recognized in Canada and other countries.

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