Superior Airways

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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

SteveT
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

July 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken at Sioux Lookout in July 1970. Early morning fog
hanging around in the bay before the day of flying got underway.

The two aircraft tied at what was called the sea wall are Cessna 180’s
CF-JQM and CF-LSN. JQM (red, white and black) was a Sioux Lookout based
aircraft. LSN was based in Big Trout Lake and was in Sioux for only a short
time.

Before the maintenance dock was built in the spring of 1972 most of the
aircraft maintenance in the summer was carried out at the sea wall.

The Beech 18 with the orange vertical stabs tied to the dock across from
LSN is CF-WYR. WYR flew out of Pickle Lake in the summer of 1970.

The red wings that can be seen in front of and to the left of WYR belong
to Beaver CF-GQU.

Two Cessna 180’s are tied at the dock between the two Beech 18’s. They
are CF-VGA and CF-VSD.

The Beech 18 in front of the Cessna 180’s is CF-YQB.
YQB flew out of Sioux Lookout.

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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

August 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

Beaver CF-MXR in Sioux Lookout at the Severn Enterprise base May 1971.

Changeover from skis to floats is underway. MXR was based in Pickle Lake
during the winter of 1970/71. It returned to Pickle Lake for the summer
after the floats were installed.

MXR had the blue speed line on the fuselage and engine cowling in the
early years. That speed line was later painted red.
Severn Enterprise Ltd. Sioux Lookout, Ontario was painted on both of the
cabin doors.

The rubber tracked Bombardier Muskeg used for everything at the base from
rolling the runway in the winter to moving aircraft to different locations on
the base can be seen between the A-Frame poles. The Bombardier was
purchased from a mining company and arrived at the base on a trailer in pretty
rough condition. It was completely rebuilt in the maintenance shop and
became an important and reliable piece of equipment for everyday use.

Right under the aft fuselage of MXR can be seen over at the Slate Falls Airways
base Cessna 185 CF-SZW still sitting on skis. Floats would go on that aircraft
shortly.

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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

September 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken at Abram Lake just south of Sioux Lookout in July 1971.

Beaver CF-ODD landing at Northumbrian Lodge to drop off a load of fisherman
that had been picked up at Northumbrian’s outpost camp on Wapesi Lake
about 35 miles northwest of Sioux Lookout.

ODD was an ex-Ontario Department of Lands and Forest aircraft.
The Lands and Forest operated this aircraft for many years before it was sold
to Superior Airways in the late 1960’s.

The Department of Lands and Forest summer float and winter ski base was
located on Abram Lake about half a mile down the shore line on the left side
of this photo. There is no doubt CF-ODD over the years made many flights in
and out of that base.

ODD in the photo is still painted in the yellow Lands and Forest colours.
The Beaver was based in Pickle Lake during the summer of 1971 and was doing
a trip for the company while it was in Sioux Lookout.

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Fa20
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Fa20 »

8)
beech 18 wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 8:13 am September 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken at Abram Lake just south of Sioux Lookout in July 1971.

Beaver CF-ODD landing at Northumbrian Lodge to drop off a load of fisherman
that had been picked up at Northumbrian’s outpost camp on Wapesi Lake
about 35 miles northwest of Sioux Lookout.

ODD was an ex-Ontario Department of Lands and Forest aircraft.
The Lands and Forest operated this aircraft for many years before it was sold
to Superior Airways in the late 1960’s.

The Department of Lands and Forest summer float and winter ski base was
located on Abram Lake about half a mile down the shore line on the left side
of this photo. There is no doubt CF-ODD over the years made many flights in
and out of that base.

ODD in the photo is still painted in the yellow Lands and Forest colours.
The Beaver was based in Pickle Lake during the summer of 1971 and was doing
a trip for the company while it was in Sioux Lookout.

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roundoff_error
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by roundoff_error »

Greetings. I found this thread while searching for info about a photo my grandfather had taken on one of his fishing trips to Canada. The plane in the picture is CF-KVU and was taken in early summer 1967, though I do not know the location. I thought I would share it with all of you. I do have some other aircraft from Albany Airways and White River Air Services, if anybody is interested.
CF-KVU
CF-KVU
Canada June 1967.jpg (1.8 MiB) Viewed 8953 times
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

roundoff_error

Very nice picture of Cessna 180 CF-KVU.
Haven’t seen many photos of KVU, but there
must be more out there somewhere.

The floats on KVU are Edo 2880 flat tops.

Your other photos of White River Air Service
and Albany Airways aircraft would be nice to
see as well.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

November 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

Cessna 180 CF-KVU was owned and operated by Superior Airways for
many years. Before its Superior Airways days the aircraft was flown by
Rainy Lake Airways.

An Accident report dated April 11, 1960 from its Rainy Lake Airways days
while flying on skis near the end of ski season.

The report is quite old and the hand writing has faded a bit over the years.


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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

December 07, 2022

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

A photo of Beaver C-FFHO taken at Kuby’s in Kenora April 2016.

DeHavilland Beaver CF-FHO was an aircraft that was rebuilt by Mr. Wieben in
his hangar at Thunder Bay (Ft. William) in the 1960’s. FHO flew for
Superior Airways year round on floats and skis from bases at Armstrong, Nakina,
Pickle Lake and Wiebenville.

The aircraft was operated by the company until at least the late 1970’s.
FHO was one of the few original Beavers that never had port hole windows aft
of the cabin doors.

FHO was brought from Superior Airways by Central Air Transport in the very late
1970’s or early 1980’s. The aircraft was later stripped of its Superior Airways red,
white and black paint scheme and repainted yellow with a black and white speed line.
FHO did a fair bit of flying for Central Air Transport in Sioux Lookout. In the following
years FHO continued flying in Northwestern Ontario.

In November 2015 I stopped at Kuby’s in Kenora and saw FHO parked in the
yard on floats. Considering at least 35 years had past since its Superior Airways flying
days, FHO looked pretty good. It was still painted in what looked like the Central Air
Transport yellow, but now it had a red and white speed line.

April 2016 I retuned to Kuby’s to check out what was happening. When I arrived FHO
was in the process of being pulled out of the spot where it had spent the winter and
was towed out in front of the hangar. Some fellows from Minnesota were looking over
the aircraft as they were either interested in buying it or had already purchased it.
The engine was ground run while I was there. The next I heard about FHO was it was
sold to a company in Minnesota and became N218RD.


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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

January 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

The attached photo was taken by Ian White and is posted here with permission.

A very nice photo of Rusty Meyers Flying Service Beaver CF-OBY on the ice in
Pickle Lake at the Severn Enterprise base in the winter of 1971.

This Beaver was flying out of the Severn Enterprise base from January 15th to
March 02. CF-OBY was an ex Ontario Department of Lands and Forests aircraft
before it was brought by Rusty Meyers in Ft. Frances.

The engine tent on the Beaver is standard equipment on all the aircraft that operated
on skis. When the lower section of the engine tent was unwrapped it would drop right
down to the ice. If overnighting at locations with no electrical power to plug in the
engine heater or if no Herman Nelson was available approx. an hour each morning was
spent kneeling or sitting under the engine tent with a blow pot heating the engine so
it would warm up enough to start. Blow pots were a standard piece of equipment in
every aircraft flying on skis. They were used a lot.

In the photo there are two of Mr. Wieben’s Beech 18’s on skis. On the left is CF-WYR.
WYR had the orange dayglow paint on the wing tips and tail for a number of years before
being painted red. WYR operated on straight skis every winter.

On the right is Beech 18 CF-PLU. A Herman Nelson Heater is in front of it. A number of
weeks after this photo was taken PLU was involved in an accident at Round Lake.
Issues with the right main ski bungee and check cable system allowed the forward end of
the main ski to drop down in flight. The main ski was torn off during the landing on the
ice damaging the right wheel well, the upper nacelle and the right propeller. The Beech
was repaired on the ice at Round Lake and flown back to Pickle Lake about two weeks later.




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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

Feb 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

These photos were taken by Andy Fyon and are posted here with permission.
The photos were taken at Wiebenville in the spring of 1977.

DC-3 CF-TTZ went off the Wiebenville airstrip into the trees while taking
off in March 1974. The damaged aircraft was eventually pulled out of the
bush and placed in the north east corner of “the ramp” where day to day
operations were carried out.

On the right side of the photos there can been seen a wing from DC-3 CF-BKZ.
BKZ was a DC-3 that was damaged after going off the Wiebenville airstrip in
October 1973.

Both DC-3 aircraft were write offs and never flew again. Over the years many
parts came off of these aircraft to keep the other DC-3’s in the fleet flying.


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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

March 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken by Andy Fyon and is posted here with permission.
The photo was taken in the spring of 1977 at Wiebenville.

In the photo of DC-3 CF-TTZ a large section of the aircraft nose can be
seen removed or cut away. A maintenance crew from Barney Lamm’s
Ontario Central Airlines (OCA) arrived in Wiebenville and removed that
section from TTZ. Parts and sections of it were needed to repair one of
OCA’s DC-3’s that was damaged in a landing accident after going onto
its nose.

The nose section removal by the OCA crew occurred after i had left the
company. I heard about this from a friend who was with OCA when this
was done.


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Plus Guy
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Plus Guy »

I'd like to talk to beech 18 regarding Superior Airways DC-3 CF-AUQ. Looking for more information on this particular aircraft that crashed Dec 6 1972. My father was on the plane at the time. Thanks.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

Plus Guy this is some information about DC-3 CF-AUQ.

DC-3 CF-AUG was registered to Severn Enterprise / Superior Airways in January 1970.
The aircraft was operated on wheels and wheel skis and flew out of Thunder Bay,
Pickle Lake, Armstrong, and Wiebenville for the company. I only recall AUQ
flying into Sioux Lookout one time and that was in the summer or early fall in 1970
where it overnighted at the town airport. It may have been in Sioux more than that,
but I’m not aware of it.

AUQ when with the company was painted in the RCAF lightning bolt paint scheme with
the two company names on the fuselage. Superior Airways Limited and right above
that was Severn Enterprise Limited. Both names in large letters.

AUQ was the first DC-3 that Mr. Wieben operated and it flew for the company for nearly
three years before being written off near Randal Lake, Quebec December 6, 1972.
Brief accident report is attached. I did not know the crew flying the aircraft when the
accident occurred.

Some history I found on AUQ before flying for Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise
is as follows and this was found on line in a DC-3 directory:

KK143 Dakota C.3 c/n 26726, RAF, to Superior Airways; status destroyed

c/n 26726 (renumbered due duplication after initial assigned c/n 15281) ,
delivered to USAAF as 43-49465 on 25Nov44,
transferred to RAF 31Dec44 as KK143,
assigned to 1 HGSU 12Jan45,
to 436 Sqdn 07Oct45,
to 435 Sqdn 17Mar46,
to Canada 17Apr46,
RCAF Mossbank (Dak 4MF) 20Jul46, NWAC Ft.Nelson 01Feb50,
ADC 121 CR Ft.Sea Island on 10Jul51, continued with MAC 103 RO Greenwood 02Apr59,
101 KU Dartmouth 17Sep59,
ADC North Bay 17Jul62,
CFS Gimli 22Feb63,
CFS Winnipeg 20Jul64,
1005 TSD Saskatoon 28Nov67,
was bought by Severn Enterprises Ltd, of Thunder Bay, Ont. on 31 Jan 70 and was
reregistered CF-AUQ for Superior Airways Ltd but crashed on 06Dec72, 12 miles
from Randall Lake,PQ.

I also googled RCAF Dakota KK143 Ruudleeuw and that came up with a link
Propliners Diving Attactions – Ruud Leeuw.
That lead to a page titled A mystery DC-3 in Vernon, B.C. where information and
photos were found about CF-AUQ when it was with the RCAF.

This is the only information I have and the only information I’ve found on DC-3 CF-AUQ.


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Last edited by beech 18 on Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

April 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken by Andy Fyon and is posted here with permission.
The photo was taken in the spring of 1977 at Wiebenville.

Welcoming sign to Wiebenville.

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NWONT
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by NWONT »

CF-AUQ on the back bay at Big Trout Lake about 1971.
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leyo01
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by leyo01 »

Superior Airways is a Canadian airline that provides charter and cargo services to remote locations in Northern Ontario. The airline was founded in 1953 and has since grown to become a trusted provider of air transportation services in the region. Superior Airways operates a fleet of aircraft that are specially designed to operate in challenging environments, such as on water or in remote areas with limited infrastructure. The airline's services are particularly important for communities that are not easily accessible by road or other means of transportation. Superior Airways is committed to providing safe, reliable, and efficient air transportation services to its customers, and is dedicated to supporting the economic development of the communities it serves.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

May 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken on the ice at the Severn Enterprise base in Sioux Lookout
in February 1971.

From January to April in 1971 Austin Airways operated Anson CF-HQZ off the
ice runway in the bay in Sioux Lookout. The Anson was flying for INCO doing
mineral survey. The flights were done early each morning and late in the
evening each day.

Severn Enterprise maintained the ice runway in Sioux and kept it in perfect
condition for the wheel equipped Anson.

Austin Airways had their own maintenance personal taking care of their aircraft, but they
were supported 100% by the Severn Enterprise maintenance department when required.
The Austin personnel also had full use of Severn Enterprise's maintenance shop and
equipment.

In the photo Anson CF-HQZ is on the left with the red stripe on the fuselage. It’s being
prepared for a late afternoon departure. The Herman Nelson Heater can be seen off the
right wing. The Anson on the right of the photo with the left engine running is CF-JAW.
JAW was in Sioux for about a week flying with HQZ.

On the belly of both HQZ and JAW you can see a yellow piece of equipment used for mineral
survey. The “Bird” was lowered by a cable during flight by the INCO personnel flying in
the Anson.

Behind the right wing of CF-JAW is Severn Enterprise’s Cessna 180 CF-VGA. To the left of
the A-Frame can be seen Slate Falls Airways Beech 18 CF-CSN parked for the winter on floats.


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Trunorth
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by Trunorth »

leyo01 wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 10:30 pm Superior Airways is a Canadian airline that provides charter and cargo services to remote locations in Northern Ontario. The airline was founded in 1953 and has since grown to become a trusted provider of air transportation services in the region. Superior Airways operates a fleet of aircraft that are specially designed to operate in challenging environments, such as on water or in remote areas with limited infrastructure. The airline's services are particularly important for communities that are not easily accessible by road or other means of transportation. Superior Airways is committed to providing safe, reliable, and efficient air transportation services to its customers, and is dedicated to supporting the economic development of the communities it serves.
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beech 18
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Re: Superior Airways

Post by beech 18 »

June 07, 2023

Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise operation from late 1960’s to 1974.

This photo was taken in the bay at Sioux Lookout in March 1971.

Austin Airways Anson CF-HQZ on the Severn Enterprise maintained ice
runway taking off out of the bay heading west. Snow is blowing up behind
the aircraft as it begins rolling to do its late afternoon flight for INCO.

This was taken straight out from the Severn Enterprise base.

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