Page 4 - March 2019

showed it existed), Austin Airways plus the air services of
the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments. Lambair
showed up frequently from its base at The Pas and, as time
passed, Calm Air appeared too.

Vincent also learned the rules of working at a floatplane
base: Shove when you’re told to do so. Don’t ask
unnecessary questions. Stay tuned and watch out for other
aircraft. And from AMEs like his brother, he learned the
basic rules of operating in winter. Heaven help you “if the
oil congeals in the motor and you can’t start.” That meant
oil had to be drained quickly from an arriving aircraft and
taken inside shelter, along with the battery. Next morning,
you get the battery into its place, pour the oil into the
engine “and hope like hell it starts.” The weather was cold and windy; a Transair 737
arriving earlier had aborted its landing and diverted to
Vincent had one “Mayday” experience. He was in a Cessna The Pas, from which passengers were taken by bus to
180 CF-IRQ flying over Big Island Lake with his brother and
Flin Flon. But the YS11 crew thought it could pull off a
bush pilot Al Williams. Why, Vincent even had a seat and a landing, so in they went. Vincent had vivid memories
seat belt. Luxury! Abruptly, the engine stopped. Vincent had
of the Flin Flon terminal building – located about three
no idea what was happening as Williams said “Mayday!
quarters of the way down the runway – suddenly
Mayday!” into (what appeared to be) the radio microphone flashing past “Somehow or other,” Vincent said, ”we
and went through the process of restarting the engine. And
got down by the end of the runway.”
then, the engine restarted. “It was a little while later that
my brother told me that he (Williams) shut off a magneto –
for my interest and pleasure!” Another day, another test
flight -- with four aboard a floatplane. It was a hot day and
Williams had trouble getting the aircraft airborne. After he IT’S TAX Time Again!
did, Vincent heard a peculiar sound: sort of a scratching at
the bottom of the floats. “We were clipping the tops of the
trees,” Vincent recalled with a wince, adding a post-landing
check turned up pieces of pine tree embedded in the
rudders of the metal pontoons.

A maintenance check found the problem: part of the engine Twigg & Company Chartered
had been reinstalled incorrectly, preventing it from
developing full power. Flin Flon also had a landing strip for Professional Accountants
wheeled aircraft – which sets the stage for another tale told 650 Regency Center
by Vincent, whose storytelling and walking tours have made 333 - 25th Street East
him well-known in Regina. Many years after leaving Flin Saskatoon, SK S7K 0L4
Flon, Vincent was working at CKY-TV in Brandon, when he Main Number 306-244-0808
and a colleague were assigned to go to Flin Flon for the Fax 306-244-0004
provincial Consuls curling play down or championship. They Email: twigg.ca@sasktel.net
got to Winnipeg, then boarded a Transair YS11 (a twin-
engined airliner resembling a stretched Hawker Siddeley
748) for the remainder of the trip. We can help YOU work through all the issues.

Give us a call or e-mail us now!