"Immediately after the second world war, the Bristol aircraft company stopped concentrating on Royal Air Force fighter planes and began designing a peace-time freighter, The resulting square-bellied cargo plane has a wing span of 108 feet, reaches 32 feet high at the top of its tail, and weighs 44,000 pounds when fully loaded,. There were 214 of these Bristol Freighters built in the early 1950s. There are nine such planes still in flying condition in the U.K., New Zealand and Canada. But pushed out by the new quiet jets with comfortable, pressurized cabins, only one is still actively working, and it’s here in Ter- race. by Charlynn Toews. The one remaining. Bristol Freighter after last week’s land- ing accident, C-GYQS, has a fine resume and an impressive family background. The -Bristol aircraft company was formed in 1910 as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company Ltd. The 1917 Bristol F-2B was flown by Canadians A.E. McKeever and L.F. Powell, who used the fighter plane to shoot down 30 enemy planes over eight months during the first world war. Ac- cording to aircraft historian En- zo Angelucci, the F-2Bs were ‘‘oreatly feared by German aviators’’, The World War Two Bristol Beaufighter was nick- named ‘Whispering Death” by the Japanese. When Bristol acquired the Cosmos engineering firm, the company became as famous for its engines as for its airplanes. One of the largest aircraft of the post-war period was the Bristol Brabizon. It was equipped with eight engines for a total of 20,000 horsepower, and was used on the London-New York route.” In the 1950s, the Bristol Britannia was considered an ex- cellent aircraft, but was pushed aside by the arrival of the jets. However, Canadair (which now manufactures the Challenger jet) developed several versions of the Britannia, such as the CL44, which remained popular into the 60s and early 70s. Anthony Robinson’s -Dic- tionary of Aviation traces the mergers in the Bristol family: In 1960, the Bristol company became part of British Aircraft Corporation, along with English Electric, known for its jet war planes: BAC’s most ambitious and well-known accomplish- ment is the Concorde supersonic jet, produced in partnership with. Aerospatiale of France. In April of 1977 BAC and Hawker Siddeley (a successor to the Sop- with Camel manufacturer) merged to form British Aerospace. The country-cousin to the Concorde, the Bristol Freighter has its own claims to fame. Its sturdy construction and large cargo capability make it ideal A Bristol Freighter and crew after an uneventful landing at almostirreplaceable Br one ee Bronson Creek (for the eventful version, see page 21). The post-war plane has 2,000 horsepower In each of its two engines and cruises at about 145 knots (170 m.p.h.). over the vast distances, and for sea search-and-rescue in New Zealand, carrying dinghys under their large wings to air-drop to . survivors. The Royal New Zealand Air Force purchased a number of brand-new Freighters, our C-GYQS among them, for transporting road-building and medical teams, for relief and rescue work in Cambodia,.to fly in repair crews and equipment to hurricane-torn Fiji, even going as far as the Himalayan foothills with work crews and: telegraph poles, cement and fencing to help Ghurkas released by the British army to re-settle. Gerry Gaston has worked with the Freighters since 1957, first as a pilot with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, then with the private company Her- cules Air (which purchased C-CYQS and seven other Freighters from the RNZAF), and now as an engineer with Trans Provincial Airlines. Terrace Review — Wednesday, June 29, 1988 5 The New Zealand company used the Freighters to haul livestock, including thorough- bred race horses. ‘‘They loved it. I saw a great big stallion, frothing at the mouth when they put him in, settle right down _after a few minutes in the air. As long as the horses feel steady on their feet, they’re fine,’ Gaston said. Gaston travelled to Terrace from New Zealand with two Freighters when they were pur- chased by TPA in September. “There isn’t a modern replace- ment for the Bristol Freighter: that’s why it’s still around. The Royal New Zealand Air Force bought the British-built An- dovers as a replacement, but they wouldn’t last in this en- vironment, they couldn’t handle the kind of landing strips we have here.” . The Andovers are more com- fortable, but they’re also costly — about $45 to $50 million, compared to about half a million dollars for the Bristol. The cheaper purchase price as well as the good operating Local Tories hear candidates A meeting at the Inn of the West last Saturday gave two Progressive Conservative nominees an opportunity to describe how their background and talents best suit them to represent their party in the next federal election. The two can- didates are Doug Smith of Ter- race and Ray Halvorson of Kit- wanga. In a video-taped presentation, Halvorson, who is a logging contractor in Kitwanga, said that it has been 53 years since Skeena riding last elected a Con- servative MP and the next PC candidate must be able to pre- sent the performance of the Conservative government over the past four years ‘‘so convine- ingly and with such conviction that they will vote Conserva- tive’’. And he-said he is the man that could do it. He said that he has lived in Skeena for the past 22 years and has a lifetime of experience in the forest and construction in- Hazelton calls for help The B.C. government’s deci- sion to offer two non-replace- able 20-year forest licences in the Sustut area to two Prince George firms has touched off a wave of protest in the Hazelton area. And during the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine board meeting held in Telegraph Creek June 18, it generated a ma- jor discussion and an offer of assistance. A motion, to commit up to $5,000 towards a Hazelton Sawmill Recovery Project, pass- ed easily. The purpose of the project will be to carry out a feasibility study of the wood product manufacturing poten- tial in the Hazelton area. The project will be general in nature and will explore all possibilities from re-opening the sawmill to developing new industry. Hazelton deputy mayor, Eric Janze, wrote to the board to des- EMERSON MEDICAL CLINIC 3210 Emerson Street Effective July 4, 1988 the office hours will cribe the ‘“‘Hazelton Economic Emergency’’. His letter outlined an ‘‘emergency’’ request for financial and technical assistance to help communities in the Upper Skeena cope with the effects of major employment loss. He was referring to the in-. itial impact of the government’s decision, the closure of the Rim Sawmill in South Hazelton on June 10 with a loss of 115 jobs. Janze then made an “‘official request”’ for regional district contingency fund assistance. He explained that the purpose of the funding would be to organize a multi-agency meeting to discuss options for economic recovery, to prepare a report identifying economic options, and to hire a qualified forestry consultant to investigate the opportunities through a new, more efficient mill or secondary industry. dustry. Halvorson added that he is well acquainted with the ‘common people’’ and ‘‘major enterprises’’ in the riding and is also the chairman of two educa- tional institutions and director of Family Life Style Seminars. Halvorson has been married for 25 years and has. five children aged 12 to 21. Smith, Manager of Personnel and Administration at CFTK, said that he and his family mov- ed to the Northwest in 1979, and he has gained a wide perspective of the area while working in Kitimat, Smithers, Rupert and Terrace. ‘‘It is this overall perspective which can help insure our party represents the full spectrum of our riding,”’ he said. He said that in Kitimat he served as a school trustee and a Prince stol economy make it a good choice. “They've got an economical engine for the power they put out and they don’t use a lot of gas for the pounds they carry,” Gaston said. Max Ward of Wardair also flew the Bristol Freighters in his earlier years in Canada’s north. “They've made their mark here,”’ Gaston said he likes the big planes, not only for their reliability, but because of the remote, interesting and exotic places where the Bristols are capable of flying. The places he’s flown to include London, Nepal, Calcutta, Bali, and more recently, the rainforests and mountains of northwest British Columbia. The company may purchase the sister-ship of their 1951-built Freighter, which has the same avionic equipment and was used until recently for a nightly run across the English Channel. Gaston is well acquainted with this particular plane, as well: he flew it from New Zealand to England six years ago. in forum Rotarian. And in Terrace he has served as a director of the Chamber of Commerce, a direc- tor on the Tourism and Economic Development Com- mission, and chairman of the Terrace and District Community Services Society. He is presently a city alderman. Smith is mar- ried and has three children aged five and six and 10 months. Jeff Arndt, vice president of the Skeena Progressive Conser- vative Association, said that the process of selecting their can- didate begins in Prince Rupert on July 18. He said the selection - would be done with a moving ballot box in centres such as Ter- race, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Hazelton, Smithers and Stewart. The closing date for signing up as a member of the associa- tion is July 11. “VV hatever yout wear e clean with care. for rugged duty in both Canada . and the South Pacific. be: | expertly laundered Bristol Freighters were the Monday - Friday Rickards Cleaners Wednesday is SHIRT | DAY only VT\'T $410 Men’s or Ladies’ cotton blend | dress or business shirts Fete planes used by the last of the western allies to leave Saigon before it fell into north Viet- namese hands. Freighters were used in Australia to carry cattle 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon 8:06 a.m.- 6:60 p.m.-Monday to Friday $730 a.m.-5:38 p.m.-Salturday KIDOIE CORNER FROM THE POST OFFIKE