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With a brand new pilot’s license and total flying experience of
16 hours on a Tiger Moth at the Moose Jaw Flying Club, Don
boarded a train to the Cessna factory in Wichita, Kansas to buy
his first airplane. He returned with a Cessna 120 after paying
the then large sum of $2,945.
Don's first business venture with the new aircraft was to take
passengers for rides at rural sports days. This led to work crop
dusting, cloud seeding and flying passengers to destinations in
and around the Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan area. In 1948 Don
heard of an opportunity transporting fish from lakes to nearby
processing plants in Northern Alberta. He ended up in Cold
Info from Airspray website Lake where he quickly earned the reputation of being a pilot
Don Hamilton was a true aviator willing to help in any situation. To this end Don was involved
whose passion for flying resulted in numerous search and rescue missions in the North and
in an illustrious career in aviation flying polio patients from Cold Lake to the hospital in
spanning nearly 70 years. Edmonton.
Don's experience included such
diverse aviation pursuits as air
force training, barn storming,
cloud seeding, commercial cargo
and passenger transport, crop dusting and fire
bombing. He flew thousands of hours in dozens of
different aircraft ranging from his first flight at the
controls of a Tiger Moth to the left seat of a Cessna
Citation jet.
Don was born in Havelock, Ontario in 1924 but
established his real roots growing up during the
depression in Tilney, Saskatchewan, a small town near
Moose Jaw. Although his father was a grain buyer for In 1949 Don saw the opportunity for flying passengers
the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and his mother ran the between Cold Lake and Edmonton on a routine basis. Using a
post office and general store, Don had no interest in Cessna 195 and a 12 passenger Anson purchased from
following in their footsteps. Right from the beginning, Canadian Pacific Airlines Don started the “Cold Lake Air
his interest was always airplanes. Service”. In 1950 Don was approached by the Department of
Don fell in love with flying in 1943 when he joined the Transport to fly personnel around Alberta to locate a site for a
RCAF at the age of 17. After accelerated training as a new military base. Don suggested the Cold Lake area as being
navigator, he earned his officer’s commission in 1944. a suitable choice and based on Don’s recommendation the
A posting overseas was postponed by the end of the Cold Lake air base was built. The airline turned out to be a
war in Europe in the spring of 1945. He never made great success flying passengers working on the construction of
that journey, but an adventurous career in aviation had the base between Edmonton. It operated until 1954 when
begun. Don headed further north to help with the construction of the
After the war Don enrolled in the Engineering Faculty Distant Early Warning Radar Line (“DEW Line”) in the Arctic
of the University of Saskatchewan, thinking he would and later flew as an executive pilot for Chevron Standard flying
pursue a career in Engineering. After a few months, Anson, Lockheed Loadstar and Beaver aircraft.
however, Don realized his first love was flying and In 1958 Don settled in Edmonton and started Hamilton
decided he would not be happy unless he was in the
Aviation Ltd. at the Edmonton Municipal Airport to sell Helio
air. Don left the engineering program and, using the Courier and Dornier aircraft. Don also rekindled his charter
money saved for University, enrolled in flying lessons
and cargo transport business using a Fairchild 82.
to earn his pilot’s license.
