June 29, 2023 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The Canadian Aviation Historical Society Manitoba Chapter monthly meeting will take place on Thursday 29 June 2023, at 7 pm CDT. Our speaker this month is Colonel John L. Orr CD, Ret’d.
The members of the Manitoba Chapter of the CAHS will undoubtedly be familiar with the saga of the first trans-Canada flight in which an intrepid group of aviators crossed Canada, by air, from Halifax-Esquimalt on 7-21 October 1920. They may not be as familiar with the background of the flight or the exploits of a number of the principals, not all aircrew, both before and after the flight. This presentation will cover the flight and then expand on the role of the key players based on recent research undertaken by the members of the trans-Canada aerial research collective.
Registration is required at CAHS-MB. Our meetings are free and open to CAHS members and everyone interested in Canadian aviation history.
Our speaker will be presenting over Zoom. Attendees are welcome to join us in person at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada or over Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided about two hours before the meeting.
About the speaker
Colonel Orr joined the Royal Canadian Navy in September 1963 and graduated in 1967 from the Royal Military College of Canada. Selected for aircrew duties, he completed five operational tours on the Sea King helicopter culminating in command of 423 Squadron. He attended the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College and has held a variety of command and staff appointments in Canada, NATO and the Middle East. He retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in September 2000. Since his retirement, Colonel Orr has volunteered as a researcher at the Shearwater Aviation Museum and concentrated his efforts on documenting the history of the Sea King maritime helicopter in Canadian military service, the remarkable saga of Shearwater from its inception as US Naval Air Station Halifax in 1918 until today and the first trans-Canada flight from Halifax to Esquimalt (7-21 October 1920). He is currently researching the civil, commercial, and military aspects of Canadian aviation in the period from 1918-1924.
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