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CAHF inductees are selected for their contributions to Canada’s development through their integral roles in the nation’s aviation history. This year’s inductees will join the ranks of the 220 esteemed men and women inducted since the Hall’s formation in 1973.
“Our 2016 inductees come from backgrounds that span the width of Canada’s unique aviation industry. Aviation has brought Canadians together as a country, unlike any other form of transport. Our new inductees reflect that cohesion through their pioneering activities and spirit.”
The 2016 inductees:
Frederick James Carmichael, C.M.:
Fred Carmichael was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010. CAHF Photo
Fred Carmichael has spent over 60 years in Northern aviation, in the course of which his accomplishments as an aviation entrepreneur, search and rescue pilot, mentor for aspiring aboriginal youth, pioneer aboriginal commercial pilot and contributor to community life in the Northwest Territories have made him a legend.
In 1955, he was the first aboriginal person in the North to get a pilot’s license. He has worked as a commercial pilot and started up two of his own aviation companies, Reindeer Air Service and Antler Aviation. He has been recognized widely for his accomplishments both locally and throughout the country. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010.
Kathleen Carol Fox:
Kathy Fox had an outstanding career in the air traffic control community, transitioning on to Canada’s Transportation Safety Board of which she was appointed chair in 2014. CAHF Photo
Kathy Fox has dedicated her entire life to the aviation community in Canada both through her personal activities in the flight instruction, sport aviation and sport parachuting fields but also in her professional capacities in the promotion and advancement of flight safety.
In this latter role, she has had an outstanding career in the air traffic control community, transitioning on to Canada’s Transportation Safety Board of which she was appointed chair in 2014. During all of this time she has continued to play an active role in the general aviation world promoting flight safety and assisting with the training and examination of aspiring aviators at all levels.
William Ross Lennox:
Ross Lennox was recognized officially by many organizations for his thousands of hours of incident free flying, his promotion of safety and his outstanding work as a search and rescue pilot. CAHF Photo
Ross Lennox was involved in aviation in Canada for over six decades, retiring as chief test pilot and head of flight operations for Pratt & Whitney Canada with over 23,000 hours flown during which he was responsible for several remarkable accomplishments.
From his beginnings in the wartime RCAF culminating in duties as a Dakota pilot in Europe, he moved on to nearly 20 years in the Canadian North, during which time he operated helicopters in support of the DEW Line project. In 1963 he joined United Aircraft of Canada and shortly thereafter flew the first-ever unescorted helicopter transit of the North Atlantic.
Other significant accomplishments included test flying every one of the RCN’s order of Sikorsky Sea Kings and all subsequent development work on this aircraft, completing the testing of the PT6 engine, and serving as lead test pilot for the PW100, JT15D and PT-6-50 engines. He was recognized officially by many organizations for his thousands of hours of incident free flying, his promotion of safety and his outstanding work as a search and rescue pilot. Lennox died in November 2013.
Beverley Strahan Shenstone:
Bev Shenstone was the first Canadian to be awarded a graduate degree in aeronautics from a Canadian university. CAHF Photo
He broke new ground as the first Canadian to be awarded a graduate degree in aeronautics from a Canadian university. His graduate studies on stability of the Vedette flying boat were of great use to the RCAF. He was part of the team which created the specification which led to the Canadair North Star.
He was technical director for BOAC, involved in feasibility work concerning bringing SST aircraft into commercial service.
Privately, he was instrumental in the growth of institutions focused on non-powered, and especially man-powered flight both in Canada and the U.K.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Soaring Council of Canada, the introduction of rules for licensing pilots, registering sailplanes and training standards plus the development of a family of gliders in conjunction with Waclaw Czerwinski.
He was similarly involved with British soaring organizations and in the establishment of a series of prizes for accomplishments in man powered flight. During this period he was the only Canadian to become the president of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Shenstone died in 1979.
Belt of Orion Award for Excellence: Royal Canadian Naval Air Branch (1945-1968):
The RCN’s Air Branch was a distinct organization that made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of aviation in Canada. CAHF Photo
The need for this became clear with the onset of the Cold War and the need for Canadian embarked aviation resources to counter Soviet conventional and then nuclear submarine threats in the Atlantic.
From modest beginnings, the small RCN Air Branch developed a highly respected level of operational capability, both from the three carriers it employed during its lifetime but also for its ability to innovate to overcome resource constraints in the face of operational necessities.
Such innovation was evidenced by the pioneer work to operate anti-submarine helicopters from small surface warships, including the groundbreaking adoption of a haul-down system to permit landing on small decks. This occurred far in advance of the adoption of such systems by the RCN’s larger NATO allies.
The RCN’s Air Branch was a distinct organization that made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of aviation in Canada.
