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HEAVY IRON in the 60’s

The 1960s saw the Canadian business aviation industry advance with the arrival of turbine-powered aircraft. Prior to that, the large aircraft operated by domestic corporations were  converted airliners or former military machines.


May 20, 2009  By Frederick K. Larkin

The 1960s saw the Canadian business aviation industry advance with the arrival of turbine-powered aircraft. Prior to that, the large aircraft operated by domestic corporations were  converted airliners or former military machines. To get a better picture of what the scene looked like then, the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register dated March 31, 1964, was searched. For the sake of brevity, only aircraft with a gross takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds were included. This meant the exclusion of popular lighter twins such as Aero Commanders, Beech 18s and de Havilland Doves.

The following list displays the 50 aircraft by type,
registration (without the CF- prefix) and owner.

DOUGLAS DC-3
BZI    Interprovincial Pipe Line   
CAR    Sparrow Drilling
CUC    Cities Service Oil     
DJT    Robert Simpson Co.   
DXU    Canadair       
ESO    Imperial Oil
ETE    Hudson’s Bay Co.    
FBS    Hollinger North Shore  
GHL    Great Lakes Paper 
GJZ    Algoma Steel
HPM    Ayers 
HVH    Robertson & O’Connell
IAE    Shell Canada
IKD    Ontario Paper
IOC    Imperial Oil
ITQ    Canada Steamship Lines
JRY    Shell Canada
JUV    Smith & Stone
KCI    Irving Oil
QCM    Quebec Cartier Mining 
TDJ    Goodyear Tire
    & Rubber
WIC    Wabush Lake Railway

CONVAIR 340
TCL    Texaco Canada

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CONVAIR 440
KQI    Shell Canada

B-25J MITCHELL
MWC    Cascade Drilling

ON MARK MARKETEER
CCR    Canadian Comstock

LOCKHEED LODESTAR/VENTURA* 
BAL    British American Oil
BAO    British American Oil
CEC    Turnbull Elevator
CPL    Canada Packers / CIBC
EAE    Timmins Aviation
MFL*    Dominion Tar & Chemical
PPL    Pacific Petroleums
TCV    Noranda Mines
TDB    Imperial Oil
TDG    Massey Ferguson
TDI    Mannix

LOCKHEED JETSTAR
DTX    Dept. of Transport
ETN    T. Eaton Co.

GRUMMAN MALLARD
BKE    Ontario Paper
GEV    Rodair
HWG    Great Lakes Paper

 GRUMMAN GULFSTREAM
ASC    Algoma Steel
 IOM    Imperial Oil
 JFC    Denison Mines
 LOO    Home Oil
 MUR    Massey Ferguson
 NOC    Westcoast  Transmission
                                 
FAIRCHILD F-27                              
LWN    Geomont Explorations

VICKERS VISCOUNT
TGN    Canadian Schenley

As this was at the start of the turbine era, there were only two bizjets registered, including one operated by the federal government. Twenty-two of the corporations listed would eventually replace their propeller-driven equipment with jets. 

And only five continue to operate aircraft today. Given the massive expansion of the corporate fleet, this says more about the changing face of the Canadian economy than it does about the important role of business aviation.

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