Ontario Central Airlines

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Ontario Central Airlines
Nunasi-Central Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
NUN NUNASI
Founded 1947
Operating bases Kenora Airport
Fleet size 22 (in 1963)
Destinations Ball Lake Airport, Red Lake Airport
Key people Don Watson
Barney E Lamm (President)
Rex A Kiteley (Vice President)
Stanley Matthew Deluce

Ontario Central Airlines was a Canadian airline headquartered in Kenora, Ontario. It was founded in 1947. In 1984, the airline was renamed Nunasi-Central Airlines.

History

Ontario Central Airlines was founded in 1947,[1] starting with two Fairchild 82 aircraft.[2] Originally founded as a charter airline, in 1957 Ontario Central introduced its first scheduled services, having purchased Beechcraft 18 CF-KIA. The first two routes were from Kenora to Winnipeg, Manitoba and return, and from Kenora to Fort Frances, Atikokan and Fort William and return. These services were discontinued in the summer of 1958.[3] In 1963, its President was B E Lamm and the Vice President was R A Kiteley.[1] In 1976, the airline was bought by entrepreneur Stanley Matthew Deluce.[4]

In December 1984,[5] Ontario Central Airlines was renamed Nunasi-Central Airlines.[6] Nunasi-Central Airlines was allocated the ICAO Code NUN and used the callsign NUNASI.[7]

Services

The airline operated amphibious flights from Kenora, Ball Lake, and Red Lake in Ontario. The airline also engaged in aerial advertising and pest control services.[8]

Fleet

Ontario Central Airlines operated the following aircraft: -

Beechcraft 18

  • CF-KIA. This was the first Beech 18 bought by Ontario Central Airlines. It was used to start operating scheduled services.[3]
  • C-FSFH Built in 1943 as C-45B Expeditor for the USAAF as 43-35481. To RAF as HB112 but diverted to RCAF without serving in the RAF. Sold out of service and registered CF-SFH, then re-registered C-FSFH. Served with Ontario Central Airlines under this registration. Sold in May 1983 to Selkirk Air, Selkirk, Manitoba.

Cessna 180

  • Ontario Central Airlines operated fiveCessna 180 aircraft in 1963.[8] They were still operating five of these aircraft in 1970.[1]

Consolidated PBY-5A Canso

  • CF-OWE c/n CV-397. Built in 1944 for the RCAF and allocated serial RCAF11074. Struck off charge on 7 November 1961 and sold to Ontario Central Airlines in 1965 and registered CF-OWE. Withdrawn from use in 1970. Sold in 1977 to Ilford-Riverton Airways, Winnipeg, Manitoba and re-registered C-FOWE. Sold in 1983 to Northland Outdoors and then sold in June 1984 to R J Franks, Los Angeles, California and re-registered N691RF. Sold in 1986 to Jonathan Seagull Holdings, Vancouver, British Columbia and re-registered C-FOWE. On 30 May 1986, the aircraft was damaged in a landing accident at Plymouth Harbour, United Kingdom but was repaired and returned to service. In March 1989 it was registered once again to R J Franks, and re-registered N69RF. Sold in 1990 to Flying Catalina Corp, Los Angeles and operated until 1992. Sold in 2000 to Wilson Edwards, Big Spring, Texas. As of 2001, the aircraft was airworthy.[12]

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

Douglas DC-3

  • CF-BKV c/n 4441. Built as Douglas R4D-1 BuNo 01985 for the United States Navy. Struck off charge on 30 September 1946 and placed on United States Civil Register as NC4806N, then to RCAF in June 1951 as RCAF10912. Re-serialled RCAF12967 in June 1970. Sold in November 1973 to Atlantic Central Airlines and registered CF-BKV. Bought by Ontario Central Airlines that month. Leased to Patricia Air Services but written off on 12 May 1977 at Pickle Lake Airport, Ontario.[17]
  • CF-YQG c/n 4654. Built as a Douglas R4D-1 BuNo 05054 for the United States Navy. Struck off charge on 30 April 1946 and registered NC62001.[17] To Crane Co in 1951 and then to Beldex Corp and registered N99U. Sold in June 1963 to John F Oyster Manufacturing Co, Pittsburgh.[18] Bought by Ontario Central Airlines in July 1969 and re-registered CF-YQG. Re-registered C-FYQG in 1980, passing to Nunasi-Central Airlines in March 1987 and served until October 1996.[17] In 2007, the aircraft was owned by Buffalo Airways and in store at Red Deer Airport.[18]
  • C-GSTA c/n 10201. Built in 1943 as a Douglas C-47-60-DL for the USAAF as 43-24339. Transferred to the RCAF in September 1943. Sold to the RAFO in 1969 and allocated serial 502. Sold to a Norwegian owner in 1972 and registered LN-TVA. Bought by Ontario Central Airlines and registered C-GSTA. Sold in 1991 to SADELCA, Colombia and re-registered HK-2663X. Sold in 1992 to SAEP and served until 1994 when placed in storage. Served at one time with AeroVanguardia. In April 2004, the aircraft was in service with ARAL.[19]

Fairchild 82

  • CF-AXL Ontario Central Airlines operated this aircraft along with CF-AXM. Both were purchased from Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1947. AXM crashed during take off at Kenora Ontario. AXL was sold in 1954 and is currently preserved at the Canada Aviation Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

Grumman Goose

  • Ontario Central Airlines operated two Grumman Goose aircraft in 1963.[8] They were still operating one of these aircraft in 1970.[1]

Noorduyn Norseman

  • CF-CPS c/n 429. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-35365. Diverted to Canadian Pacific Airlines and registered CF-CPS. Sold to Ontario Central Airlines in January 1948. Crashed on 23 December 1950 at Kirkness Lake, Ontario killing the pilot and his passenger.[21]
  • CF-DRD c/n 831. Built in 1945 for the USAAF as 45-41747. Disposed of as war surplus in August 1946. Sold to Dayton Aero, Dayton, Ohio and registered NC75938. Bought in April 1958 by Ontario Central Airlines and re-registered CF-DRD. Registered to Teal Air, Winnipeg, Manitoba in November 1958 and returned to Ontario Central in September 1968. Registered to Swanair, Dryden, Ontario in August 1973 and then to Wings Aviation, Red Lake, Ontario in February 1974. Withdrawn from use in 1981 and reported sold in 1983. Bought by the town of Red Lake, Ontario in 1992, restored and displayed on a plinth at the waterfront.[21]
  • CF-DRF c/n 429. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-35355. Disposed of as war surplus in April 1946 and registered NC75049. Bought in March 1953 by Ontario Central Airlines and re-registered CF-DRF. Entered service in September 1955. Crashed on 20 December 1957 at Ball Lake, Ontario in a snowstorm. The pilot was seriously injured and the three passengers were killed.[21]
  • CF-DRG c/n 147. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-5156. Sold as war surplus to J McCrow, McMinniville, Oregon and registered NC50051. Sold in 1953 to Ontario Central Airlines and re-registered CF-DRG, entering service in September 1954. Sold to Bohman Airways, Rainy River, Ontario but destroyed on 19 October 1958 in a crash at North Spirit Lake, Ontario that killed the pilot.[21]
  • CF-EZK c/n 229. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-5238. Disposed of as war surplus in October 1945. Sold to V C Rasmussen, Chicago, Illinois and registered NC88777. Sold to Ontario Central Airways in December 1952 and re-registered CF-EZK. Entered service in February 1953. Sold in March 1953 to Riverton Airways, Winnipeg Manitoba and then to Eco Exploration, Winnipeg in November 1959. Purchased in November 1968 by Ontario Central Airlines as a spares source, having suffered substantial fire damage.[21]
  • CF-GOB c/n 421. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-35347. Disposed of as war surplus in August 1945 and registered NC58435, possibly later re-registered NC55800. Sold to Canada in 1950 and registered to Uranium Corporation of Canada in 1951. Operated by Queen Charlotte Airlines. Acquired by Pacific Western Airlines in 1959. Sold to Ontario Central Airlines in 1960 then to Messrs Rickey and Woods in 1961. Crashed 6 nautical miles (11 km) east of Lynn Lake, Ontario in 1961. Airframe reported with Northern Skyservice in the 1990s and was sold privately in 1992.[21]
  • CF-GTN c/n 325. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-5334. Disposed of as war surplus in August 1945 and registered NC48993. Sold in August 1950 to The Pas Airways, The Pas, Manitoba and re-registered CF-GTN. Damaged in an accident when it broke through ice and then sold to Rusty Meyers Flying Service, Fort Frances, Ontario in April 1953. Sold in July 1971 to Stan's Flying Service, Ear Falls, Ontario, then to Parsons Airways in August 1974. Registered to Neil Walsten, Kenora in May 1976 then re-registered to Parsons Airways later that month. Re-registered to Neil Walsten in 1978, the apparently sold to D W Graham. Leased to Ilford-Riverton Airways, Winnipeg in July 1980, then leased to Ontario Central Airlines in December 1980 and Bearksin Lake Air Service, Sioux Lookout, Ontario in July 1982. Sold to Cross Lake Air Service, Wabowden, Ontario in 1982 and then to Walsten Air Service, Kenora in 1983. Crashed on 24 June 1983 at Round Lake, Ontario due to fuel exhaustion. Salvaged in 1984 and registered to Silver Wings Leasing, Sioux Lookout, Ontario in May 1989. Sold to United States in November 2001 and re-registered N2038L.[21]
  • CF-HQD c/n 348. Built in 1943 for the USAAF as 43-5357. Disposed of as war surplus in November 1945. Sold to J G Ross, White Bear Lake, Minnesota and registered NC88760. Sold in July 1954 to Rainy Lake Air Services, Fort Frances, Ontario and re-registered CF-HQD. To W C Plummer, Flin Flon, Manitoba in September 1954. To Chukuni Airways, Kenora in 1958 and then Ontario Central Airlines in 1960. On 21 February 1968 it was damaged in an accident at Lac Seul, Quebec. Later sold to Slate Falls Airways. Withdrawn from use in 1981 and later used as a spares source at Kakabeka Falls, Ontario. Fuselage used in the restoration of CF-OBG.[21]
  • CF-IRH c/n 836. Built in 1945 for the USAAF as 45-41752. Sold as war surplus in November 1946 to a buyer in Arkansas. Registered in Canada as CF-IRH. Sold to Ontario Central Airlines in 1956. Involved in a mid-air collision with Norseman CF-BZM of Parsons Airways at Kenora Airport on 25 July 1958. Repaired and returned to service. Crashed on 26 March 1960 at Red Lake, Ontario and was destroyed.[21]

Piper PA-18 Super Cub

Piper PA-23 Apache

Stinson Reliant

  • CF-OAY was operated by Ontario Central Airlines. It was in service in October 1954.[24]

Accidents and incidents

On 23 December 1950, Noorduyn Norseman CF-CPS crashed at Kirkness Lake, Ontario,[25] killing the pilot and his passenger.[21]

On 22 October 1951, Norseman CF-BTH was destroyed in a landing accident at Red Lake when it hit rocks at night.[21]

On 20 December 1957, Norseman CF-DRE crashed on landing at Ball Lake, Ontario, seriously injuring the pilot and killing three passengers. The aircraft was destroyed.[21]

On 25 July 1958, Norseman CF-IRH was involved in a mid-air collision with Norseman CF-BZM of Parsons Airways on approach to Kenora Airport. CF-BZM was written off, but CF-IRH was repaired and returned to service.[21] Of a total of 15 people on board the two aircraft, the worst injury was a broken arm.[26]

On 26 March 1960, Norseman CF-IRH crashed at Red Lake, Ontario and was destroyed.[21]

On 19 June 1974, Norseman CF-BHU crashed at Sachigo Lake, Ontario due to fuel mismanagement. The pilot was injured and one of the two passengers were killed.[21]

On 19 August 1965, Norseman CF-OBO was destroyed in a landing accident at Island Lake, Manitoba. The pilot was seriously injured.[21]

On 15 February 1983, Douglas DC-3 C-FBKX was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing near Shamattawa, Manitoba following an engine failure following which the overloaded aircraft was unable to maintain flight on a single engine. The aircraft was on a non-scheduled passenger flight, all four people on board survived.[27] As of July 2009, the hulk of the aircraft remains on site at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..[28]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Flight International, 26 March 1970, p495. Retrieved on 25 July 2010. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "FI260370p495" defined multiple times with different content
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  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Flight International, 2 April 1964, p. 523. Retrieved on 25 July 2010. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "FI020464p523" defined multiple times with different content
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  24. [Canadian Aviation Historical Society - Journal Vol.32 No.3: Fall 1994, back cover] Retrieved on 25 July 2010
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