Programs & Events

The next regular meeting will take place at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada on Thursday, June 27 at 7 pm CST. 

Our speaker this month is Fred Petrie. Fred has been working on the restoration and digitization of audio recordings of aviation pioneers and has rediscovered some great aviation stories. Using famed bush pilot Punch Dickens as his exemplar, Fred will talk about the process and the results of his work. Fred is well known to our regulars, being a long-standing member of CAHS Manitoba, and previously presented on his time as a navigator on the Canadair CP-107 Argus.

Fred Petrie bio

Fredrick Petrie began his aviation career in 1965 as a cadet at the RCAF Navigation School. After a “Short Service” chasing Russian submarines around the North Atlantic, he finished University before beginning his civil career with TransAir followed by Transport Canada Airports. Two years in Ottawa became 21 where he finished a PPL at Rockcliffe and became a consultant specializing in helping small airports pay for themselves (still trying to do that as manager for a northern airport). Back in Winnipeg in 1997, he worked in industry advocacy with the Province and then as Executive Director for the Manitoba Aviation Council before starting a cargo airline with C46s and C47s.

After “retiring” in 2010 he tried airships before pioneering Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems for “last mile” distribution and even a small role in developing hypersonic spaceplanes! Retiring again, Fred now volunteers at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

His final career (he swears!) is to be an aviation historian and is lead for “Special Projects”. This has led him to oral histories where he has sorted the RAMWC’s audio and video archives towards making use of original stories in educating the public and inspiring tomorrow’s workforce.

Registration for this meeting is required at CAHS-MB.

The meeting Zoom link will be provided around two hours before the meeting. Please register early enough to receive the link.

Meetings are free and open to CAHS members and everyone interested in Canadian aviation history. Donuts and coffee are included!