Development of Winnipeg's Aviation Industry
This article was developed to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Engineers Geoscientist Manitoba in 2020.
Winnipeg is home to a sizable aerospace industry that is directly responsible for employing many within the city. That industry traces its origins in Winnipeg to over 100 years ago.
Industry Beginnings
The industry currently employs a number of engineers in a wide range of roles and projects. However, the development of the aviation industry did not begin as an area specifically for engineers. In contrast to industries such as the rail industry, which started out as a series of significant engineering projects, the aviation industry began as activities of flight enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. The early beginnings in the air transportation system evolved over time to require more and more technical support to solve more and more complex problems, which was what brought engineers into the local industry. The various collaborations between the pioneer aviation enthusiasts and engineers evolved into economic development throughout the last century in Manitoba and into the development of a robust local aircraft/aerospace industry that continues today.
| Earliest History Similar to River Boat Industry |
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The history of the development of the air transportation system in Manitoba is probably more like how the river-boat industry evolved to use the network of rivers to move goods around in the mid-1800s. There was very little local engineering required or available at the time. Knowledge was transferred by a few key, mechanically trained/experienced individuals who saw an opportunity and adapted the technology for this area. Without question, these systems spurred economic activity within the growing urban and rural settings of Manitoba and enabled Manitoba to grow. |
Aero Club of Canada — 1909
The air transportation system in Manitoba had humble beginnings in the early 1900s. Prior to the First World War, aviation was more associated with entertainment than practical functions as evidenced by the many ‘aviation exhibitions’ that were popular attractions at community fairs across the country due to their novelty and daring by the performers.
| First Aviation Association in Canada |
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The Aero Club of Canada was the first aviation association in Canada, created in 1909 in Winnipeg to encourage research and investment in aeronautics.1 Their ambitious initial project resulted in the first aircraft designed and built entirely in Canada, the “Aero Car Canada” (also described as the “Aerocar Canada”), led by William J. Robertson (who was not registered as an Engineer in Manitoba). The first aircraft designed and built in Canada with an innovative design, the Aero Car Canada was displayed on July 14–15, 1909, at the Happyland Ball Grounds in Winnipeg. However, a test flight was not successful. A second aircraft design was initiated also in 1909 under the auspices of the Aero Club of Canada, although it was not able to proceed beyond research and design. The Kelsey Helicopter, named after its Winnipeg inventor, Edwin E. Kelsey (also not registered as an engineer), was revealed to the public on April 6, 1909. The craft, described as a “dirigible helicopter”, never progressed to final construction, although the design had proved to be successful in scale-model form, lifting into the air and flying even in a confined space. A further five aeronautical projects commenced by members of the Aero Club of Canada were similarly fated to never be completed. This second program ultimately led to the design of Canada’s first helicopter several years later.3 |
It was not until after the utilization and enhancement of aircraft in the First World War, with improvements in flight technology and the abundance of experienced pilots, that aviation began to be commercialized. Following the First World War, surplus aircraft were plentiful, particularly “flying boats” which had demonstrated their reliability in a wide range of uses particularly for anti-submarine patrols in coastal areas. The expertise and uses were soon to evolve to meet many new commercial needs including moving passengers and freight, initially in the forestry, exploration and mining industries and then the transportation of mail.
Red Lake Gold Rush
The breakthrough in Manitoba occurred following the staking of gold claims in 1925 in the Red Lake area, northwest of Dryden, Ontario. The claims followed the publication of a geological report by the Ontario Department of Mines in 1924. The rush was on to service this remote location.
Insert map of Red Lake Ontario
The quickest, most efficient transportation option of the day for remote areas like Red Lake was the fixed-wing aircraft. These aircraft were considered the most practical means of access with little to no infrastructure investment. Water was the preferred surface for aircraft on floats (pontoons) in the “open-water season” and skis when the water was frozen.
The gold rush created the incentive and the profit potential for aircraft to fly people and equipment to Red Lake.
Western Canadian Airways
This led entrepreneurs like James Armstrong Richardson, son of the grain merchant, James Richardson, to get involved in commercial aviation.
In 1926 he financed and founded Western Canadian Airways Limited (WCA), initially focused on the opportunities at Red Lake. It was found that the most suitable aircraft for this type of work was being manufactured by the Fokker Aircraft Company in New Jersey, as it was readily convertible from wheels to skis and to pontoons in the open-water season.2
WCA started small, operating from a tent at Hudson, Ontario, with a single Fokker monoplane—G-CAFU called the ‘City of Winnipeg’, but quickly expanded.
Brandon Avenue Seaplane base
In 1927, a slipway and five acres of land were rented in Winnipeg for the WCA’s new pontoon and ski-equipped Fokker airplanes at the city’s only seaplane base, which was at the foot of Brandon Avenue on the Red River.
Insert map of Brandon Avenue
At first WCA shared the Brandon Avenue seaplane base with its original renters, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The RCAF soon moved its floatplane operations to Lac du Bonnet. By 1930, Brandon Avenue was abuzz with more than 30 engineers and mechanics, working in five permanent buildings; WCA had grown into one of the largest civilian air services in the British Empire.
Insert map of Lac du Bonnet
Over the next few years WCA helped open up the mining development of the North with their air transport routes and spurred the rise of a new industry—commercial aviation in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. This illustrates an early connection between engineering and geoscience disciplines.
| Linkage with Northern Projects |
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An additional notable engineering linkage came in March 1927, when the Federal Department of Railways and Canals contracted WAC to fly eight tons of freight from Mile 423 on the Hudson Bay Railway to Churchill to support the engineering activities associated with the development of the new port of Churchill. |
Over time, WCA obtained 51 aircraft and a complement of top bush pilots and military pilots. One of WCA’s first pilots was the famous “Punch” Dickins, flying ace of First World War fame. WCA provided various services, particularly cargo transport, to northwestern Canada. Whether it was financing operations, hiring and selecting personnel or selecting the best equipment for operations in Canada’s tricky climate, James Richardson took a very hands-on approach to running WCA. He was also in constant contact with people throughout the aviation industry at the time, to learn and adapt efficiently. See https://royalaviationmuseum.com/punchdickins/ and also https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clennell-haggerston-dickins
MacDonald Brothers
One of the people who was attracted to the seaplanes and their pilots at Brandon Avenue was Grant MacDonald. He was very interested in the planes and spent time watching the float planes flying from the base. He became friends with the pilots: Wop May, Milt Ashton, Punch Dickins and others who were mostly flying for WCA. Once they learned that Grant was involved in a sheet metal shop, they got him to carry out repairs on their floats and other aircraft parts when necessary.
Many of the floats in use were manufactured by Edo Aircraft Corporation from College Point on Long Island, NY. Edo was owned by Earl D. Osborne. He recognized he needed to have a manufacturer in Canada. Osborne decided to check with the users who unanimously recommended Grant MacDonald in Winnipeg. This led Grant and his two brothers to open MacDonald Brothers Aircraft Limited in 1930, as a separate company housed behind their sheet metal plant on Aikins Street. MacDonald was invited to visit Edo in NY and Grant and Earl developed a friendship which was formalized only several years later, after the Second World War. (Check out the fascinating story of Earl Dodge Osborn and the EDO Corporation).
The MacDonald Brothers story starts in 1904, when the three MacDonald brothers left Nova Scotia for the Prairies. Two of them, Grant and his brother James, arrived on a harvesters’ excursion train to farm near Portage la Prairie. Apparently, farming didn’t really suit the brothers as in 1906, with the third brother Edwin, they formed the MacDonald Brothers Sheet Metal and Roofing Company. The company prospered and was still operating in Winnipeg as late as 1980. Grant’s interest in aviation sparked the creation of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft Ltd. and they opened a new shop on Robinson Street in Winnipeg’s North End near their Sheet Metal and Roofing Shop. They also had some work space at the Brandon Avenue base for fitting and installing repaired components. It was the beginning of an operation that would manufacture floats for aircraft of Western Canada Airways and become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of seaplane floats.
For the fledgling company the early years were difficult. The depression of the 1930s meant fewer aircraft were flying and being built, therefore, fewer floats and repairs were needed. The factory produced a variety of floats for more than just Edo; both Fairchild and Junkers floats were also constructed. The biggest problem was that their work was seasonal. The workforce would fluctuate between as few as 2 and as many as 20. Due to cash-flow problems for all involved, aircraft repairs would be done only just before the flying season. The bulk of the work would be done in the late winter, spring and early summer and involve a lot of overtime to ensure the aircraft were available after the spring thaw. It took many years for aircraft repairs to become a steady, annual workload. By then the work included the first overhaul of a Fokker aircraft. This work provided for steady growth of the workforce, which reached 65 employees in 1936.
In these pre-Second World War days, MacDonald Brothers also started a relationship with the RCAF, which was to be the foundation for the massive expansion in the war effort that followed. Prior to 1936 the RCAF was responsible for overseeing the airworthiness of all aircraft both military and civilian. Hence, a close liaison developed between the RCAF inspectors and the MacDonald brothers. The plant overhauled RCAF Avro Avian and the ubiquitous Tiger Moth.
As the amount of flying into the North increased, the need for rugged “bush aircraft” also increased.
| Noorduyn Norseman |
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One of the most successful bush aircraft was the Noorduyn Norseman. The Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd., founded by Robert B.C. Noorduyn, was established in early 1933 outside Montreal, Quebec. In the later part of the 1930s MacDonald Brothers became the supplier for the floats and the undercarriage installations. The designer of the Norseman, Robert Noorduyn, had an excellent pedigree as he had been responsible for the design of the Fokker Universal, the popular 1920s utility transport aircraft that was chosen by James A. Richardson for Western Canada Airways in 1926. This selection was based on its rugged suitability for Canada’s northern conditions. The Norseman design revolved around a few basic criteria: it should be an aircraft with which a Canadian operator utilizing existing talents, equipment, and facilities could make money; it should be a high-wing monoplane to facilitate loading and unloading of passengers and cargo, at seaplane docks and airports; a better view of the ground beneath and it should be an all-around superior aircraft to those currently in use in Canada. The fact that they chose MacDonald Brothers as a supplier is evidence of the high calibre of work the plant was producing. |
| Standard Aero Engine Works |
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The need for aircraft maintenance in the Winnipeg area also gave rise to the creation of Standard Aero Engine Works in 1938. This was an offshoot of the Standard Machine Works founded by Charles Pearce and William Bucknell in Winnipeg in 1911. They started to repair and overhaul aircraft engines in the late 1920s. Today it is known as StandardAero. As the company steadily grew, so did its reputation and today it has a worldwide presence in the aviation industry. Today it is the world’s largest independent small turbine engine repair and overhaul company. StandardAero also operates facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia as well as in Winnipeg. |
The outbreak of the Second World War dramatically impacted Manitoba’s industrial base, few more so than MacDonald Brothers. MacDonald Brothers first expanded their Robinson Street plant. They then moved to a 16-acre site on the east side of Stevenson Field as it was known in 1940 – now on Berry Street. The site was adjacent to the original Winnipeg International Airport and its replacement Richardson International Airport. Employment went from 100 in 1939 to 1,100 in 1945.
In 1954, MacDonald Brothers sold the Aircraft Company to Bristol Aeroplane Co. of England for a reported $3-million. It was then renamed Bristol Aerospace and was known as such for the next 40-plus years until 1997 when the ownership changed to Magellan Aerospace Limited.
Canadian Airways Limited
James A. Richardson amalgamated Western Canada Airways with five eastern air services in 1930 to form Canadian Airways Limited (CAL) to create the country’s first transcontinental airline. Air mail was the backbone of aviation at the time as it underpinned regular services and helped cover costs by providing steady income. By 1936, control of civil aviation was transferred from the Department of National Defence to the newly established Department of Transport operating under Minister Clarence Decatur (C.D.) Howe.
Around this time, Richardson’s earlier fears were on the verge of being realized as American aviation companies were beginning to work towards establishing passenger routes within Canada. The Department of Transport was considering developing a national air transport system to help protect Canada’s budding airline industry. C.D. Howe led Richardson to believe that his Canadian Airways would be the chosen airline for the task. He repeated this intention routinely. Instead, however, using Richardson’s Canadian Airways business plan and key personnel from the airline, Howe then formed a government-run entity known as Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) in 1937. By 1942, the Richardson family gave in to federal government pressure and public ownership in commercial aviation and sold CAL.
Trans-Canada Airlines
In 1937, when TCA was established, Winnipeg’s location at the geographic centre of Canada made it the perfect location from which to coordinate their trans-continental air routes. In 1938, TCA established its head office complete with hangar facilities at Stevenson Field. The staff of mechanics hired to keep the TCA fleet flying quickly grew to number more than 1,100. These mechanics were doing more than repairing engines, however. Each model of airplane used by the airline was involved in a process of constant testing and improvement in state-of-the-art aircraft research facilities, which put TCA on the cutting-edge of safety and reliability.
As Canadians prepared for war in 1939, the government tasked TCA with keeping the national transport service operating. At the same time, however, most engine manufacturers were devoted almost exclusively to the war effort. Without support from their partner manufacturers, TCA’s Jack Dyment, Chief Engineer since the company’s inception, began a program of in-house engine upgrades to compensate. At the end of the war Dyment approached the Department of Transport and requested permission to continue this upgrade process. The unmatched expertise of Dyment and his team earned TCA special status as Canada’s first aircraft modification ‘Approval Firm’.
In those days TCA placed orders for new airplanes long before the first test flights had been performed. This allowed the engineers to have influence in the design process. The most significant example of this was the design of the DC-8, beginning in 1951. TCA engineers’ collaboration with the Douglas Aircraft Company designers resulted in the installation of new Rolls Royce “Conway” by-pass engines. The improved efficiency of these engines saved 1,100 kg of fuel on each airplane. This was the first commercial use of what is today known as the turbofan engine. Dyment reported after twenty years as Chief Engineer, “…the DC-8 was the most reliable airplane we had ever put into service.”
To ensure a steady influx of new talent, Dyment introduced a comprehensive ground-crew training program in the 1950s. Many of these new employees were hired at the ‘learner’ level directly out of high school. Each new hire on the engineering staff was trained in every aspect of ground operations over a six-tiered, 3-year-long program.
When Jack Dyment retired in 1958, the newly renamed Winnipeg International Airport was home to TCA, the Canadian division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and it also had a large military presence, making the airport Winnipeg’s largest industry. The TCA historic head office was home to the Western Canada Aviation Museum until 2022 when a new museum was built further west of the original hanger location. The museum is abuzz with more than 100 volunteers, many of whom worked for TCA during the heyday of Winnipeg’s passenger aviation.
Stevenson Field
The growth of commercial aviation subsequently led to the building of an airfield and ultimately a whole industry to support the aviation industry in the St. James area of Winnipeg.
Insert map of area.
Stevenson Field (named after famed bush pilot Fred Stevenson) was opened in 1928 with sod and clay runways. It came about following an offer in 1927 from the Canadian Department of National Defence, who offered two de Havilland Moth biplanes to any community that could provide a flying instructor, an air engineer, and a licensed airfield with housing and maintenance facilities. Members of the Aviation League of Manitoba formed the Winnipeg Aeroplane Club, signed a lease for 160 acres of land in St. James, and committed to construct an airport for Winnipeg. The field was located on the far west end of Winnipeg at the time, on high dry land on a windward site remarkably free of obstructions, three miles from downtown. It would become Canada’s first international airport in February of that year.
In 1929, Stevenson Field was designated suitable for the eastern terminus of the Western Air Mail Route, provided that runway night lights be installed. The City of Winnipeg undertook the installation in agreement with the federal government, with the Winnipeg Flying Club responsible for maintenance.
The airfield then received significant improvements in 1936 when the federal government created TCA. The new airline was to be headquartered in Winnipeg complete with maintenance facilities and a training centre. The federal government invested in hard surface runways and additional lighting, additional support buildings, a radio range and a weather-forecast centre. All of this additional infrastructure required engineering support, although it is not clear where the support came from. The site grew to over 800 acres.
When Canada entered the Second World War, Stevenson Field transitioned from a civilian airport into a federally controlled facility with a further military presence that had been in Winnipeg since 1925.
Sometime after 1939, the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP) No. 2 Command Headquarters was established in Winnipeg to oversee flight training at Stevenson Field as well as in the Manitoba communities of Rivers, Gimli, Neepawa, Virden, MacDonald, Paulson, Carberry and Souris.
(Insert link to the British Commonwealth Air Training Program for further information).
After the war, Stevenson Field became the fourth-largest civilian airport in Canada. However, it also handled the most military traffic of any field in the nation as it was home to the RCAF No. 2 Training School and was the supply base for the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line in the Canadian Arctic.
In 1962 Stevenson Field was officially renamed the Winnipeg International Airport, and in 1997 the airport was transferred to the control of the Winnipeg Airports Authority.
Terminal Changes
A new modernist design terminal was opened in 1964. However, the ever-increasing passenger volumes and the need for more features led to one renovation or expansion after another.
Changes were not limited to the terminal. A comprehensive study was completed in 1986 which recommended several additional improvements. The improvements included development of the property into what is now known as an inland port. There would be a new system of runways, with additional aviation and commercial areas to the south, east and west to build upon existing air-related industries. Winnipeg’s central location within north America and the airport’s unrestricted 24/7 operation also encouraged further development of cargo and courier facilities.
Planning for the future continued after the initial changes which led to a decision in 2004 to build a new state-of-the-art terminal to provide the next generation of facilities and services. It would become the first airport terminal in Canada to be LEED-certified for its environmentally friendly concept. The plan also included a multi-level parkade, a new and improved roadway system and associated airside infrastructure. Great care was extended in selecting the team of architects, engineers and construction companies that would make the new airport happen. The final team included a strong local presence from Stantec. The facility was renamed in 2006, on the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Canada’s first commercial airline. The federal government announced then that Winnipeg’s airport would be renamed to honour the founder of Western Canadian Airlines to James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.
A new LEED-certified airport terminal, designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli and Stantec was constructed in two phases, with construction beginning in 2007 and ending on October 30, 2011 when it was officially opened to the public. As of 2020, the economic impact of the airport was growing as passenger traffic increased, in addition to the airport’s continued rank as the busiest hub for freighter flights in Canada.
References
- Transforming a Community, page 16 – From Airfield to Airport City – WAA 2012
- http://royalaviationmuseum.com/article-brandon-avenue-floatplane-base/
- https://www.cahs.ca/articles/recent-articles/584-canada-s-rotary-wing-heritage (WRITTEN BY BILL ZUK ON 31 JANUARY 2013.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnipeg_James_Armstrong_Richardson_International_Airport
- http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/aviation.shtml
- Western Canadian Airways – Bulletin June 1930.
- https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clennell-haggerston-dickins, Punch Dickins | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Compiled by
Glen N. Cook, PEng (SM)
Richard Jones, PEng (SM)
Review by Ryan Bernier, PEng
Editing by James Burns, PhD
Posted by
Glen N. Cook, PEng (SM), FEC
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