First Flight, circa 1938

Jim/James Gilmour dictated these comments about this photo to his partner, Wanda: 

"My Dad took this photo. My brother (Jack) is jumping off the float, and I'm just getting out of the cockpit. The pilot is talking to me, probably telling me how to close the door. We used to go to Waskesiu (Saskatchewan) quite often, I think. We used to tent. I would estimate that the picture was taken in 1938.

 The plane is a Fairchild KR-34C, a bi-plane on floats. The pilot and his mechanic were barnstorming--flying around, soliciting people for rides for 20 minutes for $5 each. They could carry two passengers in the front seat. They flew into Waskesiu Lake. The mechanic walked along the beach, asking the bathers if they wanted to go up. My Dad asked us if we wanted a ride and we were quite enthusiastic--a little apprehensive, but enthusiastic. We were 13, and it was our first ride. So we climbed into the open cockpit, took off, circled over the town of Waskesiu, and came back for a landing. We had to abort the landing because a motorboat came out into the landing path. We went around again, which was fortunate, because we got a ride that lasted longer than 20 minutes. We couldn't speak to the pilot during the flight. Both cockpits were open and you couldn't hear a thing with the roar of the engine and the wind. We had to use hand signals to point to a boat that was crossing the lake. Another memorable thing was that we had no helmets, so our hair just became tangled in knots. We were probably flying at about 80 mph. I remember that the mechanic was particularly friendly. The pilot didn't say much, but the mechanic was a nice fellow. He's at the edge of the photo. Not too many kids went up in airplanes in those days."

[As dictated to Wanda in November, 1986. Years later, James researched the plane's history. It had been built in Montreal in 1930. Its owners in 1937 were W.J. McDonough, Toronto; Brockton Ltd., Winnipeg; McDonald Bros., Winnipeg. In 1938 it was owned by L.J. Waite, Big River, Saskatchewan. It crashed and was withdrawn from use after it was severely damaged in a forced landing on Dore Lake, Saskatchewan. In December 1939, it could not pass the test for a Certificate of Airworthiness.]

 Chris' note: After Dad (John Gilmour) graduated from forestry school and was working from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he often had occasion to go timber cruising near Dore Lake, site of the forced landing for this Fairchild. 

Was it this early flight that sparked their interest in planes? Both John and James had the "airplane bug" - both took flying lessons, held pilots' licences (Jim was a co-owner of a plane, too, but that's a different post), and maintained a lifelong knowledge of and interest in aviation. Tom Henry (their cousin Annabelle's son) also has the "flying bug". Genetics? You decide.