November, 2005    31st Edition

The Act of Remembrance

They shall grow not old

as we who are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them

nor years condemn.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning

We will remember them.

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Wherever you may be on Remembrance Day,

Friday, November 11, at 11am,

 stop,

give thanks for the freedoms you enjoy,

and wear your poppy proudly.

*********************************************

In Flanders Fields -- John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

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Next CHAA Meeting:  Tuesday, November 15 at 7:30pm

Tillsonburg OPS Building

Guest Speaker: Wing Commander John McClure

DFC, CD.  Fighter ops, NW Europe

What’s happening…?

Condolences:

Our thoughts are with Marg and Bob Hollister as they mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Marg’s mother.

Upcoming CHAA Flight Schedule: Greg Tyrell

Weather permitting

Nov 11 - 4 planes – Toronto -   2 seats available  

Nov 11 - 4 planes - London/Woodstock - 2 seats available  

Nov 13 - 4 planes – Fly over Buffalo Bills Game – seats available

To Book Backseat Rides: contact Dave Delaney for details   

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (519)-471-4730

REMEMBRANCE DAY FLY-PAST, November 11, 2005 

The following letter was sent by CHAA member Ken Arnott (on CHAA letterhead) to all resident veterans, patients and staff of Sunnybrook & Woman’s College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto:

Dear Veterans, Residents and Staff,

The City of Toronto has requested our Harvards to once again fly in tribute of Remembrance Day, Friday November the 11, 2005, and in honour of this “The Year of the Veteran”.  

A formation of four AT6 North American Harvard aircraft will fly over the cenotaph at Toronto’s Old City Hall (weather permitting) at precisely 11:06 and then proceed up the Don Valley to the Military wings of L and K at Sunny brook Hospital by 11:10.  We will perform three passes over the hospital including the “Missing Man Manoeuvre” in honour of the five hundred living veterans still in residence there.

These North American AT6 Harvard aircraft are all 1941 R.C.A.F. original issue which were used for the advanced training of allied aircrews as hosted by Canada’s British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.  It was an enormous undertaking, but at the end of the day the plan trained some 200,000 aircrews during the six years of W.W.II.  There were 107 schools on 231 sites all across Canada, involving 11,000 aircraft and the employment of 104,000 men and women.  After graduating, these men and women were posted to operational combat units overseas.  17,000 of our Canadians did not return.  We, as modern day representatives of that historic endeavour, and in keeping with The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association’s mandate: “to acquire, preserve, restore, maintain, display, and demonstrate the Harvard aircraft and any other aircraft associated with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan”; our pilots fly today in honour of them all.

Report on C-FRZW: by Acquisitions Chair Greg Burnard:

C-FRZW has finally been completed!
Due to a bad carburetor, we were delayed about a week and now,
unfortunately, due to the timing of Transport Canada's request to complete a full review of the logbooks before issuing a new certificate of airworthiness, we will not be flying it for November 11.The disappointment of those involved with this project to not make the Remembrance Day flight is beyond words, and I sincerely apologize to the entire membership for this not coming together. A full report of the entire acquisition and restoration of C-FRZW will be in the next ROAR. Thanks to all that have helped bring RZW back.  (Many thanks go out to Greg for all the work he has done on this and other projects....the behind-the-scenes dedication shown by Greg and many other members is truly appreciated, and all too often we forget to voice our thanks.)

2006 Calendars: Pat Hanna, Bill Shepard and Sandra Sparkes

Many thanks to the following businesses as they purchased advertising space in our calendar: Tillsonburg Municipal Airport, Moosehead, Stauffer Motors Ltd., Spitfire Emporium, Canada Stampings, Coyles Country Store, Jimmy’s Restaurant, Trevor McNally, Whitelaw Trucking and Spectrum Aviation.

Our committee is proud of the fine quality of the 2006 calendar and pleased by overall membership response.  A separate email will be sent out in the next few days RE: distribution.

CHAA Website: www.harvards.com Lance Russwurm continues to do weekly updates to our site which has both the history of CHAA and all its latest news.  To remain informed, check it often.

Service Unit Wish List for 2005-2006: submitted by Al Spiers  

Still need: FLEX SOCKETS ¼” Drive SAE

      1    SET of BATTERY BOOSTER CABLES

Anyone wishing to donate any of the above, please contact Al Spiers ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  One of our generous members donated an eight foot aluminum ladder...so that’s off the wish list.  Many thanks!

Bingo: For more info on how you can help, contact Bill Shepard This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and visit the Dive Team site www.chaa-recovery.ca for upcoming bingo dates.

Membership News: from Marion Bennell (519)633-0053 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text39262 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

CHAA Dive Recovery Team: www.chaa-recovery.ca 

We suggest you make it a practice to visit this easy-to-navigate site for updated information on CHAA and the ongoing explorations of the Dive Team. Visit the following link to find info on a sunken T6.

http://www.cv41.org/photos/gallery/mishap_snj

Unsold copies of CHAA’s 2005 calendar:

These MUST be returned to Janis Bennell ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by the December meeting, if not sooner.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Mailing Address for CHAA:

Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association
P.O. Box 175, Tillsonburg, Ontario N4G 4H5

Upcoming CHAA Meeting Dates: Mark your calendar

(7:30pm) Tuesday: Nov 15

(10-Noon) Saturday: Dec 17, Jan 21, Feb 18 (Annual Business Meeting) and Mar 18

Suggestions for Guest Speaker:

If you have a name of interest, Pat Hanna This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it will be pleased to hear from you.

Thanks to those who have contributed to this newsletter.  Your efforts to keep the membership informed are appreciated.  If you have submissions for consideration, please send to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

A Toast to the Veterans at the CATPM Banquet held on October 14, 2005:

Written by John McNarry, President of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Museum in Brandon, Manitoba

Veterans, as I have come to know them, do not seek praise for their
service, but they deserve recognition, for their willingness to serve their
country.
This year, The “Year of the Veteran” is our year to give pause for thought,
give praise to courage, and give thanks to a most deserving group. It is an
opportunity to remember Canada's heroes, retell Canada's history and
inspire Canada's youth.
Who are these veterans that we are honouring during the “Year of the
Veteran”? We immediately think of those who gave their lives, and of the
soldiers who came home from the line of battle; the airmen from the skies
and the sailors from the seas. Those women who served as WDs in the RCAF,
Wrens in Navy and those in Canadian Women’s Army Corp are veterans also.
There are others who are veterans; the cooks who converted rations into
edible meals, carpenters, builders, mechanics, orderly room clerks, Service
Police, MT drivers, and many others all of whom performed functions which
were essential for the successful prosecution of a war, These veterans, and
those who kept “The Home Fires Burning” so often are forgotten when we
“Remember”.
Our veterans – of the Second World War, of the Korean conflict, and of all
the places where they have opposed tyranny and stood as Peace Keepers –
have left behind them a trail of international goodwill and admiration for
Canada, When they left their uniforms behind these veterans continued to
work towards making our country the great and respected Nation we have
become.
Canadians are grateful to all of them, as we remember them in this Year of
the Veteran.
Bless ‘em all. The long and short and the tall!”
To the Veteran. .

Until next time...clear skies, safe flights and smooth landings!

MORE NEWS, 29 Nov:  The Tiger Moth was moved into the south side of the Restorations hangar this morning.
It will be somewhat drier and also easier to work on come annual  inspection time.
Work is ongoing to get the wings off of MTX so that it can be moved to the east end of the north side of the Restorations hangar. That will give us a bit more room for storage, and/or maintenance.
The AME has started to remove the engine from HWX and was just about ready to hook up the hoist when we left at 1500 hours. The engine change should be complete before Christmas.
 

NEW PRESIDENT: As of the November 14th Board of Director's meeting, Greg Tyrell is no longer the President of CHAA.  He is still a Director.  It was his intention from the start of the year to identify a successor and step down at the end of the year.  Roy Venn will be the new President effective immediately. 
 
The change was made because of the maintenance cycle we are starting to enter into over the winter.  As Greg was identified to be the new CTECHO, it was decided to make the change now so we could get going on maintenance instead of delaying the change.