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Old Feb 13, 2015, 3:44 am
  #6827  
WHBM
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: London, England.
Programs: BA
Posts: 8,476
Almost looks like S2A made the trip 35 years ago just in the expectation of this question coming up one day

CP, Canadian Pacific, CP Air, Canadian, whatever they called themselves as it changed each decade, originally had a substantial north-south operation through BC/Yukon, which they progressively shed, mainly to little Pacific Western, who built up to enough mass over time that they eventually merged and absorbed CP themselves. Of course, it all started with DC3s, followed by the DC6Bs which the Britannias had displaced from longer runs.

BC Highway 97, the north-south route through the BC interior, has a particular moment for me, because it was on that road in 1969, at it's southern end border post with Washington state, that I first saw the USA. I know for most regulars here it is home, and for the Europeans their first sight is commonly one of the major arrival airports, but for me we had gone to Vancouver to see family (by Wardair of course), driven inland to more family in Penticton BC, and then did a day trip south, ending up in a real Western small town, far from any airport service, called Omak WA. It was August, about 100 degrees, and the restaurant we wilted into had a technology quite unknown in the UK at the time - air conditioning. It was a whole new world. My mother was so quietly enthralled as well. "Look, That Man's Wearing A Cowboy Hat" she announced from our window table at about 100 decibels, to ensure everyone even back in the kitchen knew.

Anyway, back to old aircraft, because that house in Penticton had a fine view across the town, highway 97 itself, and the airport, where in the schedule of the time a Pacific Western 737 arrived a couple of times a day from Vancouver, which of course I sat out on the deck and looked out for. It had been a CP DC6B operation until shortly beforehand. On reflection it was the first 737 I ever saw. I've seen and flown on a goodly number since ! We saw another 737 a few days later at Vancouver airport, a United one, alongside a DC8 which was still in the old Canadian Pacific livery, some years after they changed their image to CP Air, obviously they were pretty slow in changing over.

Last edited by WHBM; Feb 13, 2015 at 4:10 am
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