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The NStar ChronicleProject North Star Association of Canada Volume 8| Issue 3| October 2012
Project Manager’s Annual Progress Report
– September 2012
Bruce Gemmill
During the last three months we have continuedworking on our two top priorities – Engine #3 andthe interior of the North Star. Since our last report,engine #3 has been completely disassembled and thecylinder block cleaned and clear-coated. Much workwas done on the interior of the aircraft while it wasoutside for the summer. As usual, our volunteerworkforce was reduced as people took much neededholidays and enjoyed the summer.
Engines and QEC
The restoration of engine #3 is progressing very well.Since removal this spring, the engine has been com-pletely stripped of all accessories, pipes and hoses,and the engine completely disassembled. The block,cylinders and pistons have been cleaned and workhas begun to reassemble this engine. Due to the re-duction in available volunteers, no work has beendone on the engine frame. The spinner from pro-
peller 2 was stripped and repainted to repair damagefrom the weather while the aircraft was outside. Theearlier type of paint did not stand up to the elements.We hope the new paint will survive better.
Richard Lodge and Garry Dupont, Merlin CylinderHead
Contents of this volume:
Project Manager’s Annual Progress Report –September 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
North Star Anniversay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Notes from the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Retired Airline Pilots of Canada (RAPCAN) . . 52nd Project North Star Invitational Golf Tour-
nament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Creating Facebook and Twitter accounts . . . . 7Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Board Members’ Contact Information . . . . . 8
PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
Nr 3 Engine
The third engine was removed in early May, andalready much of the disassembly of the engine hasbeen done. Again, we are hopeful that this enginecan be completed even faster than the last. It is sig-nificant that we are now more than halfway throughthe restoration of all engines (and propellers) for ourNorth Star. This is a testament to the dedication andexpertise of our engine shop crew.
Cockpit and crew area
The cockpit is now considered complete, althoughsome items, such as seats and work tables for thenavigator and radio positions have not been in-stalled. These could be placed in the aircraft, but itwould severely restrict the space available for tours,and we feel it benefits the project to show off the com-pleted work to as many people as we can. Tours ofthe aircraft have proven to be very popular.
The crew lounge, just aft of the cockpit, wasstripped of all equipment, including heater ducts,water tank and pipes in the ceiling, then strippedand masked for painting. This included removingthe doors to the main wiring panels and replacingone of the hinges. The wall in the galley was also re-moved and replaced and several areas of corrosionwere repaired. The galley itself was removed lastyear, and is in need of a total restoration involvinga lot of sheet metal work to repair corrosion damage.
North Star Toilet
The forward washroom was also stripped of fur-nishings and the flooring removed. The door wasremoved earlier and has been completely refinished.The crew lounge and washroom were painted in theoriginal colour scheme, and work is now underwayto restore the equipment items removed, so they canbe re-installed over the winter. The under-floor has
sustained corrosion damage and this will need to berepaired before the new flooring can be installed.
Across from the washroom is a small compart-ment which used to house the auxiliary power unitor APU. This was used for ground starting the air-craft, but was removed some time during the servicelife of the North Star. The compartment was con-verted to a coat and baggage stowage area, but stillcontained a power inverter in a large wall cabinetthat had to be removed so the compartment could bestripped and painted. The cabinet was refurbishedand has been riveted back in place. The power in-verter has been disassembled, cleaned and painted,and will soon be re-installed in the cabinet.
Fuselage
The forward belly compartment was painted thissummer; the floor panels will be restored in the shopand re-installed. This area is almost complete. Themid belly compartment was stripped of floor pan-els and other items, then cleaned and prepared forpainting. This compartment was painted silver andis now ready for the floor panels and miscellaneoushardware to be installed. The floor and wall panelswill be cleaned and painted and the hatch will be re-stored this winter in the shop.
The trial to construct de-icing boots from stripsof vulcanized rubber has been successful. Work cannow begin to build the new set of ’boots’.
Planned Restoration Work–2012-
2013
This fall we will continue work on engine #3 andbegin the restoration of the engine frame and allthe engine ancillaries, such as the auxiliary gearboxand electrical equipment. We will also restore allthe equipment and furnishings removed from thecrew area, forward washroom, APU compartmentand belly stowage. These are a lot of items to workon, so the shop will be very busy this winter.
We also hope to tackle several large projects, suchas rebuilding the galley and restoring the main cabinheater ducts. We would also like to restore the maincargo doors, as these are prone to leaking when theaircraft is outside.
We have also launched an appeal for donationsso we can build troop seats to put in the main cabin.These seats were an important part of the equipmentin the North Star, but were removed before the air-craft came to the museum. PNSAC has decided tofund the materials and our volunteers will build theseats. When finished, they will be donated to the mu-
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PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
seum for display inside the North Star when restora-tion is complete.
Next spring we expect to begin restoring the main
cabin. This will require removal of the wood cargofloor for a thorough cleaning and inspection. We ex-pect to find some corrosion damage that will requirerepair.
PNSAC
North Star Anniversay
Bill Upton, Canadair Historian, CASM Volunteer
August 2012 marked the 65th anniversary of theroll-out of Canadair North Star C-54GM serial num-ber 122, bearing Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)registration 17515 from the Main Plant facilities atCanadair Limited in Montreal.
In this aerial view of the Canadair facilities on Au-gust 1, 1947, numerous C-54GM North Stars des-tined for the RCAF can be seen behind the MainPlant. Tarpaulins on the nacelles cover the enginemounting bulkheads on all of the aircraft. North Star17515 can be seen as the third aircraft from the left onthe tarmac with a tarpaulin around its rear fuselage.Against the building, the second aircraft from the leftis sister ship 17514, later to become civil registeredas CF-SVP-X serving many years with the NationalAeronautical Establishment in Ottawa, and being thelast flying North Star aircraft. (Canadair via Bill Up-ton Collection)
The first known photographs of RCAF 17515were taken by Canadair photographers on August 1,2, and 4, 1947, during a routine plant aerial photosession and typical ground-based photo shoots forrecord keeping and historical purposes. Five un-painted RCAF C-54GM North Star aircraft can beseen parked against the Main Plant with six otherslined along the outer tarmac, the only markings seen
on each aircraft are their RCAF registrations and theearly blue/red post-war Type 1 roundels. All arewithout their signature Rolls-Royce engines, due toa severe backlog in deliveries of the Merlins from theUnited Kingdom.
Looking north behind the Main Plant facilities, NorthStar aircraft parked along the tarmac comprised,seen from L-R: 1751?, 17511, 17515, 17516, 1751?, and17517 in this ground-level photo recorded on August2, 1947. (Canadair via Bill Upton Collection)
In order not to impede the unrelenting aircraftproduction line, the engineless North Star aircrafthad been unceremoniously rolled out behind theMain Plant until such time as engines were madeavailable, whereupon the individual aircraft werebrought back in to the final line to have the powerplants installed. A subsequent series of ground andflight tests would be made toward final acceptanceand delivery of each aircraft to the RCAF.
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PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
With a protective tarpaulin draped over the cock-pit and another wrapped around the rear cargo doorarea, shiny C-54GM RCAF 17515 is seen on the tar-mac, closest to the camera, in this photograph takenon August 4, 1947. (Canadair via Bill Upton Collec-tion)
Per the official RCAF record cards for this aircraft,North Star 17515 was finally completed by CanadairLimited on 15 March 1948. At that time it hadbeen taken-on-strength and delivered to No. 9 (T)Group, 426 "Thunderbird" Squadron at Dorval, Que-bec, to replace North Star 17502. On April 1, 1948, itwas first recorded as being transferred to RCAF AirTransport Command.
In another seven months we can look forward tothe next significant anniversary, 65 years since thefirst flight of the last surviving North Star.
PNSAC
Notes from the President
Richard Lodge
As I write this piece sitting on a flight from the UK toCanada, I am contemplating what we have achievedin the eight years of PNSAC operations. I have spentten days combining a family event in the UK with anostalgic visit to some volunteer-operated preservedrailways in Wales and the South of England. Thesepreserved railways continue to go from strength tostrength and achieve things which would not havebeen contemplated a few years ago.
As an added bonus, the preserved Avro Vulcan Vbomber flew over where I was staying one afternoon.That this plane is actually flying is another exampleof determination and dedication by a group of vol-unteers. Avro Vulcan youTube video
PNSAC is a young organization and as such hasmuch to learn from the preservation and restorationmovements in the UK and elsewhere in Canada. Wemust continue to have a "can do" attitude in every-thing we attempt to do whilst at the same time avoid-ing putting our energies into something which onlyhas a marginal chance of success.
In 2012 we have achieved some significant firsts
while continuing to make good progress on the planerestoration as described elsewhere in the Newsletterin the Project Manager’s Progress Report.
In addition to the very successful June trip to theHamilton Air show organized by Bill Tate, we havevery recently made an appeal for donations frommembers to fund the provision of troop seats in therestored plane. The appeal has been most successfuland has reached our target of $4,000 in less than amonth.
We now have over 100 members and the successof the Troop Seat Appeal is a good example of howwe can do things as a stronger group which we prob-ably would not have attempted to do previously.
In the next year or two we will have some signif-icant challenges to overcome both in the complexityand size of the items to be restored and also in deal-ing with some of the less glamorous work such aspolishing the outside of the plane.
In meeting these challenges we must work withthe Museum to plan the work well in advance andalso continue to say "we can do it" even thoughthe tasks may seem, at the outset, to be dauntingor beyond our resources. The accomplishments ofother preserved aircraft and railway organizationsare good examples for us to follow.
PNSAC
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PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
Retired Airline Pilots of Canada
(RAPCAN)
Bill Tate
Last fall at a monthly RAPCAN Capital Chapter lun-cheon at the RCAF Mess on Gloucester St. in Ottawa,Captain Jim Strang, retired A-340 Captain advisedme the Annual General Meeting for RAPCAN wouldbe held in Ottawa in September 2012. During ourconversation, Jim asked me if Project North Star As-sociation of Canada could assist the Ottawa Chapterof RAPCAN in making sure all would have a goodtime.
Not only did the association’s members want tovisit the North Star, they also wanted to visit theDC-9 and some wanted to have a close-up view ofthe F-86 in the storage hangar. The majority of peo-ple received their command promotion on the DC-9 and some of them started their early jet experi-ence many years ago on the F-86 Sabres. These visitswere quickly approved, along with the booking ofthe Bush Theatre with the assistance of Mr. StephenQuick, Director General of the CASM.
There were some logistical hurdles to overcome:RAPCAN had no idea how many people would becoming to Ottawa. Based on previous annual gen-eral meeting history, from a low of 30 to a high of300, a figure of 125 was suggested for planning pur-poses. For the PNSAC planning, how many peoplewould want to come to the CASM and see the NorthStar versus the Vintage Wings of Canada Air Showwhich was running concurrently? As we got closerto the date the visit to the North Star was chosen by71 people. There were several former North Star pi-lots from Trans Canada Airlines who added interest-ing insights into the aircraft currently being restoredby PNSAC.
The day started with Richard Lodge welcomingthe group in the Bush Theatre with an additionalwelcome by Stephen Quick. Next followed a Power-point presentation highlighting the work to date fol-lowed by a 50/50 draw. Having some insight of thepilot psyche and knowing there would be a two hourbeer call at the RCAF Mess before dinner I made anoff the cuff suggestion. That suggestion was: "Ratherthan accept the cash and have fifty of your closestfriends hit you up for free beers at the Mess, bet-ter to make a cash donation of the winnings back toPNSAC". It was most appreciated that the winnerdid just that, and it made Mr. Paul Labranche, ourguardian of the vault very happy as well.
DC-9 and friends
Our own Mike Irvin made sure that the DC-9 wasshown in the best possible way. After the tours of theNorth Star, DC-9, engine shop and restoration area,eight former F-86 pilots were allowed a close andpersonal view of their former aircraft. It was amaz-ing to watch as over fifty years of time evaporated ontheir faces when they went up the step ladder to seetheir old airplane. Much to the relief of Jim Strang,the tours were finished in time to allow for a visita-tion of the CASM exhibits and still make beer call.
Rolf Geiger in the Machine Shop
In conversation with various members of RAP-CAN they all expressed that this was an incrediblydetailed restoration with a discipline that has far ex-ceeded anything else that they have seen. A well de-served salute for those who work on the North Starand for the ambassadors of PNSAC who gave theirtime to show what we have done on the restorationof this iconic aircraft.
PNSAC
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PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
2nd Project North Star Invitational Golf
Tournament
PNSAC members, volunteers and guests gathered atLoch March Golf and Country Club on August 15,2012, for the 2nd Project North Star Invitational GolfTournament. Unfortunately, the Wyndham Cham-pionship starting in Greensboro the next day pre-vented all of the PGA Tour’s major stars from par-
of the premier events of the golf season.
The weather was exceptional and the Loch Marchcourse, in spite of the unusually dry season, wasspectacular. It isn’t hard to understand why the clubwas again chosen to host the event.
Most participants met for breakfast in the club’sdining room, an opportunity to meet new membersand their guests and to renew acquaintances. A fewchose to take advantage of the excellent practice fa-
cilities, hoping not to spoil a good walk.The first of our four groups teed off shortly af-
ter 10:00 am., and we were back in the clubhouse bymid-afternoon for a late lunch, a pint or two and theusual disclaimers. Tom Glaser won the prize for be-ing closest to the pin, and his playing partner PeterTrobridge had the longest drive. It was therefore nosurprise that Tom and Peter walked away with the"cup" for low score of the day, albeit by a mere stroke.Highest score was indeed high, that team having re-portedly lost more balls than were misplaced repair-ing one of the actuators on No. 2 Engine.
Loch March graciously offered free rounds of golfto our prize winners.
It was a great day, and PNSAC would like tothank Danielle Nadon and the staff of the LochMarch Golf and Country Club for helping makingit such. Our thanks also go to Bill Tate for puttingtogether another successful event on behalf of the as-sociation.
See you next year!PNSAC
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ticipating in what will undoubtedly become one
Ron Lemieux
PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
Creating Facebook and Twitter accounts
Drew Hodge
As you might know, Project North Star maintains aFacebook page and a Twitter account. If you’d like touse these social media technologies to keep in touchwith our activities and to follow the progress of ourrestoration project, this article provides a brief intro-duction and shows you where to find further infor-mation.
To read the PNSAC Facebook page and to receiveour updates by way of Twitter, you must have yourown Facebook and Twitter accounts. You don’t needboth accounts, of course – you can choose to fol-low PNSAC using only Twitter, for example. Quitefrequently however, a PNSAC posting on Twitter, a’tweet’, which is limited to 140 characters, might in-clude a link to our Facebook page where you’ll findmore detailed information and photos about the sub-ject of the tweet.
As long as you have an Internet connection andan email address, a computer, a tablet computer, ora modern smart phone, you can create Facebook andTwitter accounts to follow PNSAC.
The Facebook social networking service has attractedover a billion users since it started operating in 2004.When you register for a Facebook account, you createa personal profile and then add other Facebook usersas ’friends’. Depending on the security settings youmake in your account, you can exchange messagesand photos with your friends, and arrange to receivemessages when your friends update their Facebookpages.
To set up a Facebook account, visit Face-book.com and be prepared to provide details suchas your name, email address, and a password.The following link takes you to a free series of
videos that comprise an excellent tutorial abouthow to set up and maintain a Facebook account:http://www.gcflearnfree.org/facebook101 -
Facebook 101.
Twitter, launched in 2006, hasn’t been around aslong as Facebook, but it has over half a billion usersworldwide. Like Facebook, it’s also a social network-ing service, but rather than provide users with on-line pages to publish their photos and personal up-dates, Twitter is a microblogging application. Usersread messages from accounts they’ve chosen to ’fol-low’, and send text messages, read in turn by their’followers’, that can be anything up to 140 characterslong. Such messages are called ’tweets’.
As a registered user, you can read and sendtweets using the Twitter website, the short messageservice (SMS) system of your cell phone, or by way ofapplications (apps) on a smart phone, or tablet com-puter.
To learn more about Twitter, how to cre-ate an account, who to follow, and how totweet, watch the video tutorial at this link:http://www.gcflearnfree.org/twitter101 -
Twitter 101
Following PNSAC
When you’ve set up your Facebook and Twitter ac-counts, read the PNSAC Facebook page and followus on Twitter by clicking these icons:
PNSAC
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PNSAC Newsletter Vol. 8| Iss. 3| October 2012
Calendar of Events
November 24, 2012 Board of Directors’ MeetingDecember 1, 2012 Quarterly MeetingMarch 21, 2013 Board of Directors’ MeetingMarch 30, 2013 Quarterly MeetingJune 6, 2013 Board of Directors’ MeetingJune 15, 2013 Annual General MeetingJune 15, 2013 Board of Directors’ Meeting (post AGM)June 27, 2013 Board of Directors’ Meeting (first meeting of new Board)
Board Members’ Contact Information
PNSAC Executive
Richard LodgeDirector, President; Fund [email protected]
Bill TateDirector, Vice President; Special Events, Quarterly [email protected]
Bruce GemmillDirector, Project Manager; [email protected]
Garry DupontDirector, Deputy Project [email protected]
Bruce GrantDirector, NStar Chronicle [email protected]
Drew HodgeDirector, newsletter typesetting, website, social [email protected]
Phil [email protected]
Roger Button, BA. MA. LLB.Corporate [email protected]
Paul [email protected]
Newsletter
Editor: Bruce Grant
Typesetter: Drew Hodge
PNSAC Newsletter1 email address:[email protected] – Attention: EditorWeb site: www.projectnorthstar.caFacebook page: www.facebook.com/PNSACTwitter: @pnsaccomms
1This newsletter is typeset using LATEX. The style package used for the newsletter (PNSAC.sty) is a modification of GRASSnews.stybelonging to the Geographic Analysis Resources Support System (GRASS). The modification was made possible by kind permission ofthe Editor-in-Chief of GRASS-News.
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