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The Birthplace of Flight


Last week, the Red Canoe crew paid a visit to the Wright Brothers National Memorial just outside Kitty Hawk North Carolina.
The inventors chose the isolated location on the outer banks because of the strong, constant winds. The guys at Red Canoe tested the validity of this claim with a few days of intense, on-site research. Kite surfing.


The Memorial is the largest monument in the country ever built to a living person (Orville attended its dedication in 1932.) The Canadians pay homage.


The Wright Flyer….. Reproduction. The original is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC.

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Spring Break for Pilots – 2011

Dax and David ventured south for the opening event of the airshow season.  “Spring Break for Pilots,” as Sun N Fun has become known, certainly provided lots of excitement.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Pilots Gone Wild type of excitement the guys had hoped for…  A massive storm front ripped through the field, tossing anything not bolted down – Including aircraft.

While the fellas took shelter in a nearby tent (loving their prudent decision to fly commercial) around 50 airplanes were destroyed.

A brand new amphib Husky casualty.  Tragic.

While their experience in the tent was harrowing, Dax and David could only thank their lucky stars they hadn’t chosen one of the many upturned porta-potties as shelter.  Some flipped onto their front doors, making escape from the stinking receptacles next to impossible….

Dax, concerned with flying debris, makes use of whatever is available to ensure survival…

Undeterred, the fantastic Sun N Fun team worked through the night and the show opened first thing Friday morning.  Finally, the Sun returned (the Fun followed directly.)

 

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The Bard of the Yukon

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Robert Service’s first collection, The Spell of the Yukon, was published in 1907.  It’s mandatory reading for anyone living north of the  49th parallel.  Words to live by…

The Men that Don’t Fit In
by Robert W. Service

There’s A race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain’s crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far,
They are strong and brave and true;
But they’re always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: “Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!”
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It’s the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that’s dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.

He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life’s been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He’s a rolling stone, and it’s bred in the bone;
He’s a man who won’t fit in.

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The Mystery of Tom Thomson

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The mystery surrounding the death of Canada’s most famous artist has endured for nearly a century since his body surfaced on Canoe Lake in 1917. Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor spent 40 years unraveling the details and shares what he uncovered in this incredible presentation.  Truth is indeed stranger than fiction….

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-mystery-of-tom-thomsons-death/article1737761/?from=1738779

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Canadian Aviator/Explorer Herbert Hollick-Kenyon:

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In 1935, American Lincoln Ellsworth and Canadian Herbert Hollick-Kenyon flew nearly 3500 km across the breadth of Antarctica, claiming 350,000 square miles of the last unclaimed territory in the world.

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They flew at an altitude of 13,400 ft in a low-winged Northrop Gamma called the Polar Star, making four landings during their flight across the Antarctic. After a blizzard that occurred during the night at the third camp, the inside of the plane was packed solid with drifted snow. The two explorers spent a whole day scooping out snow with a teacup.

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They were forced to land 40 km short of their goal due to the lack of fuel. As their radio had been lost at the outset of the trip, they were assumed lost. After six days hiking on foot, they arrived at the abandoned Little America camp, where they remained for nearly a month. They were eventually spotted by the British research ship Discovery  and transported home. These guys were the real deal…

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A major land area in Antarctica is now named the “Hollick-Kenyon Plateau.” He was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975. The Polar Star now sits in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. If you get a chance to check it out, keep an eye open for the Red Canoe gear now available in the gift shop!

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The USS Hornet

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Tucked away in a quiet shipyard in Alameda California, David stumbled upon the USS Hornet, one of America’s least known National Historic Landmarks.  She played a major role in the Pacific battles of WWII, served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and was used to recover the Apollo astronauts as they returned from the Moon.

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President Nixon was on board to greet the astronauts, but could do little more then wave to the men who were immediately placed in quarantine for fear that the moon might contain unknown infectious diseases.  The practice required 21 days of isolation in accordance with the “Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law”…. Seriously.

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In addition to her legendary service record, the Hornet is also said to be one of the most haunted warships in the American Navy.  The numerous reports of supernatural activity have been featured on Ghost Hunters, Beyond Investigation Magazine, and Scariest Places On Earth. The crew bunks might give you an idea why.

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In a remarkable show of good faith by the crew, David is given the helm for a quick spin around the harbor…. Must have been the flight jacket.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman Sporting Red Canoe on ‘The Hour’

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During the Toronto International Film Festival, Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared on The Hour in a very fetching RCAF cap.  Check out this link for the footage! Note: Skip to the 1:25 mark if you’re in a rush….

A big thank you to P.S.H. for his kind words (and impeccable taste).

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The Mighty Avro Lancaster

Dave Reith, of Langley, BC, recently sent us some photos from the Abbotsford International Airshow, where the Avro Lancaster stole the show.

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“This Lancaster, owned by the Canadian Warplane Herritage Museum, is one of two remaining Lancasters still able to fly (the other is owned by the Queen, I think) and was by far the most popular attraction at this year’s show both on the ground and in the air,” Dave writes. ” High praise considering the Snowbirds and USAF Thunderbirds were also in attendance.”imgp8301

“Pictured here is my dad, Capt. Jim Reith (at the controls) and Capt. Andy Dobson. Both are former CF-101 pilots and current Air Canada pilots. Andy is one of the privileged few Lancaster drivers. While you’d think there’d be a lineup of pilots offering to fly the Lancaster, few are actually willing. Apparently, full-power taxi and take-off roll with four RR-Merlin engines in a nose-high attitude is such a raw and terrifying experience, most guys don’t get past the first check-ride!”

To thank Dave for his letter, we’re sending him a Red Canoe Avro Aircraft cap!