By Gary Watson | June 11, 2018 Estimated reading time 7 minutes, 32 seconds.
On June 7, 2018, at the Sunwest Aviation hangar complex at Calgary International Airport, Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) hosted a gala dinner and its 45th induction, which saw the addition of four new members.
They join 228 existing members since awards began in 1973. Also attending the dinner were 12 previous inductees including Max Ward and retired Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Col Bud White, who were both inducted in 1973.
This year’s inductees are an eclectic cross-section of Canada’s and diverse unique aviation history. They include a bush pilot entrepreneur, a fighter pilot, a test pilot inventor and a medical doctor.
These four inductees epitomize the variety of expertise in the Canadian aviation community.
John Munroe Bogie
John Bogie moved to Canada in 1947 and joined Laurentian Air Services as a pilot.
In 1968, he purchased the company and spent the next four decades expanding its capabilities in both charter and resource exploration. He also purchased 64 surplus de Havilland Canada DH-C2 Beaver aircraft from the United States Army, shipped them to Canada, had them refurbished, and chartered or sold them to other operators.
At the same time Bogie was a co-founder of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) where he was instrumental in creating a simplified medical for pilots and aviation liability group insurance for individual pilots and commercial operators.
Bogie also helped create the Canadian Business Aircraft Association (CBAA) and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) a civilian pilot search and rescue organization.
Due to his failing health he was inducted into the CAHF in a ceremony in Ottawa on Feb. 10, 2018, and passed away April 5, 2018.
Gen Paul David Manson O.C. CMM, CD
Paul Manson joined the RCAF in 1951 to become a fighter pilot.
After completing studies at the Royal Military College (RMC), where he had graduated as the top cadet, Manson was posted to Number 3 Flying Training School, Claresholm, Alta., for initial flight training on Harvard aircaft.
After graduating, he flew the T-33, F-86 Sabre, CF-100, CF-101, CF-5 and the CF-104, which he describes as his favourite fighter aircraft.
Manson was the program manager for the new fighter program (NFP), which was tasked to replace the aging fleet of CF-104 and CF-101 fighters.
The decision to purchase the CF-188 Hornet resulted in the purchase of 138 aircraft with deliveries starting in 1982. Manson finished his military career as the Chief of the Defence Staff from 1986 to 1989.
After his time in the RCAF, Manson served as president of Paramax, an engineering and software development corporation, and then served as chairman of Lockheed Martin Canada.
Manson then took on the volunteer chairmanship of the “Passing the Torch” campaign, raising $16.5 million in support of the new Canadian War Museum.
He has served as chairman on many aerospace and military organizations and is a well-known commentator on defence and security issues.
Dr. John M. Maris
Dr. John Maris started his Canadian aviation career serving 12 years in the RCAF as an operational pilot flying as commander of a CP-140 Aurora.
He is a test pilot, certified in Canada, the United States and Europe with a pilot’s licence showing he is certified to fly Boeing 747s and everything else.
Maris was the program manager for the MSS Control Equipment (MCE), i.e. the workstations that control the SSRMS, commonly known as the Canadarm2–the larger more advanced arm used on the International Space Station. “If the Canadarm2 was the crane, he was the crane cab guy.”
In 1983 he was a direct entry into the Canadian Forces and at the same time married; he and his wife, Julie, formed Marinvent, a private company conducting advanced aerospace research and development.
The company has developed and patented several of its own products, including the development and standardization of the software for electronic flight bags; an advanced airflow performance monitor that provides flight crew and avionics systems with real time airfoil performance and flight test standardization courses for the Bombardier C Series; and flight organization systems for NASA.
Marinvent’s U.S. joint venture, Advanced Aerospace Solutions, LLC, was recognized by NASA with the 2014 Small Business Sub-contractor of the Year Award.
Dr. Dwight Gregory Powell O.C.
When Dr. Greg Powell was head of Trauma Services at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, he found that half the deaths due to trauma could have been prevented if the patients had quicker access to critical care.
Combining his trauma specialties with his aviation interests, in 1985 he founded the not-for-profit organization known as Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) in Calgary.
Starting with a single BK117 helicopter and borrowed medical staff and equipment from hospitals, STARS became a service that provides a high level of patient care from the moment they were lifted into a helicopter until the time it touched down on a hospital’s helipad.
Under his leadership, the fleet expanded to northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. As helicopter equipment was improved, safety enhancements were also improved with the addition of wire strike kits, night vision goggles and the development of Transport Canada-certified heliports within their operational areas.
STARS also created GPS approaches into many of these heliports. Currently its fleet consists of nine BK 117 helicopters and three larger Leonardo AW139 helicopters operating from six bases in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Powell is also involved in volunteer work in Alberta and has been active in the international evacuation community and served as president of the Association of Air Medical Services based in Washington, D.C.
Guest Speaker
Dafydd Rhys Williams, a medical doctor, former astronaut and CAHF inductee, was the event’s guest speaker.
He spoke about his experiences in space, the future of space exploration, and Canada’s role in Mars missions where Canadarm3 might be developed for use on the planet.
