Superior Airways

[beech 18]

December 07, 2019

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

This photo was taken in late October 1973 as the sun was coming up at the
Severn Enterprise base in Sioux Lookout. A light dusting of snow that had fallen
overnight can be seen on the ramp, dock and the hill across the bay. There are
no aircraft tied to the main dock. Float season is coming to an end.

The aircraft is Cessna 180 CF-VSD. VSD was based out of Round Lake during the
summer of 1973. It had arrived in Sioux Lookout the evening before after departing
Round for change over from floats to skis.

Freeze up was well underway when VSD left Round Lake. Ice can be seen on the
floats and flying wires. This is the time of year that the water rudder pulleys and
cables on the floats were covered in grease to prevent the steering and rudder
retract cables from freezing. The aircraft elevator hinges were coated in grease
for the same reason.

VSD will be pulled up the ramp and slightly to the right and parked under the A-Frame.
The floats will be removed and skis will be installed for the winter. The Cessna 180
fleet would be back on the ice by the end of November or early December at the latest.

[beech 18]

January 07, 2020

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

This photo is from the Dave Welch collection and it is posted here with permission.

Beech 18 CF-HVF parked in the grass on floats at Calgary in June 1973.
Cameron Bay Air Service can be seen painted on the fuselage.

Severn Enterprise operated CF-HVF in the mid to later 1960’s. I believe this “may”
have been Mr. Wieben’s first Beech 18 on floats.

HVF was a C model Beech 18 that flew out of Sioux Lookout for a number of years.
Floats in the summer and straight skis in the winter. I remember seeing HVF flying
for Severn Enterprise, but it had left the fleet by the time I started working for the
company in the late 1960’s. HVF was replaced by Beech 18 CF-WYR in Sioux.

The Beech 18 register has HVF flying for a number of different companies after it was
sold. Cameron Bay Air Service was one of those companies it flew for. The last place
that I know HVF was seen at is Silver Falls, Manitoba. It was parked off the Silver Falls
Airstrip on wheels with both engines and both wings removed. Although the paint was
faded by years of sitting outside in the sun, HVF was still painted in exactly the same
paint scheme as it was when it flew for Severn Enterprise in the 1960’s. A bit weather
beaten, it still had the white top and the narrow black speed line down the fuselage.
The engine cells were still unpainted. All in all HVF still looked pretty good.

A footnote - Two Beech 18's that were operated at the same time as HVF and possibly
may have entered service with the company first are CF-PLU and CF-PRZ.
HVF had the name Severn Enterprise on the fuselage where as PLU and PRZ had the
name Superior Airways on the fuselage. Both of these aircraft flew on floats and skis.
Both companies were owned by Mr. Wieben.

[beech 18]

Feb 07, 2020

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

This photo is from the Ruud Leeuw collection and is posted here with permission.

Beech 18 mounted on a pole in Ear Falls, Ontario.

The “registration” painted on the aircraft is CF-EAR. This Beech is actually CF-ZQG
and was owned by Mr. Wieben at one time. CF-ZQG was purchased from the RCAF
in the fall of 1970 along with a number of other Beech 18 aircraft. Some of them
would enter service with the company. Others would be stored.

A group of men from Severn Enterprise in Sioux Lookout travelled out to Saskatoon
by train at the end of the 1970 float season. Once in Saskatoon a number of
Beech 18 aircraft that had been purchased by Mr. Wieben were prepared to be flown
back to Sioux Lookout and then on to Armstrong.

On this trip from Saskatoon there would be two Beech 18’s flown back to Sioux at the
same time. One was CF-ZQF and the other was CF-ZQG. The registrations CF-ZQF and
CF-ZQG was spray painted on the fuselages. From Saskatoon the Beech’s were flown
first to Sioux Lookout where they landed at the town airport. They were parked in
Sioux for a number of days. The date I think was into the second half of November.

Both ZQF and ZQG were then flown to Armstrong and landed at the airport where
Superior Airways had hangars. Once in Armstrong ZQF and ZQG were pulled into the
hangar and the engines were removed from both aircraft. They were then pushed
outside and parked.

Other than flying from Saskatoon to Sioux lookout to Armstrong CF-ZQF and CF-ZQG never
flew again for the company. They remained in storage at the airport in Armstrong.
How CF-ZQG got to Ear Falls and the deal made to have it mounted on the pole is not known.

[NWONT]

I can offer this. In Sept 1939 Junkers CF-AQV crashed near Ear Falls. About 1970 a local resident dragged the remains out of the bush. The Western Canada Aircraft museum wanted it so the Beech 18 CF-ZQG was traded for it.

CF-AQV.jpg (60.25 KiB) Viewed 19113 times

[NWONT]

Junkers CF-AQV at Ear Falls shortly before the trade.

[beech 18]

March 07, 2020

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

This photo was taken at Pickle Lake on April 4, 1977. It was given to me by a
good friend and posted here with permission.

A bit of damage to Cessna 180 CF-IWD after a landing incident near the end of
ski season.

The left main ski came off its axel when the aircraft touched down on the ice.
According to the story as the aircraft began to nose over, full power was applied and
the control column was pulled back. The propeller contacted the ice damaging the
blades. The aft end of the fuselage buckled when the tail of the aircraft came down
hard on the ice. The tail ski stinger was also damaged. The main gear legs were okay.

Because of the damage to the fuselage, CF-IWD was patched up enough to fly it to
Thunder Bay for repair. The aft fuselage was braced on both the inside and the outside
with support beams attached to the aircraft skin. The engine crankshaft was checked for
runout and a replacement propeller was installed. The aircraft was then flown to
Thunder Bay by Mr. Wieben himself and repairs were carried out in the company hangar.

In the photo, damage can be seen to the aft fuselage ahead of the horizontal stab.
The damage to the tail ski stinger can also be seen. Propeller damage is not visible in this
photo.

[beech 18]

April 07, 2020

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

This photo was taken at Pickle Lake on April 4, 1977. It was given to me by a
good friend and posted here with permission.

A second photo of Cessna 180 CF-IWD after its landing incident on the ice.
The left main ski is being worked on. The bent propeller and the buckled aft
section of the fuselage can be seen in this photo. Also the broken tail stinger.

Under the left wing near the shore line can be seen a Patricia Air Transport
(Pat Air) Otter.

[beech 18]

May 07, 2020

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

These photos are from the Ruud Leeuw collection and are posted here with permission.

A good friend came across the attached photos of Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise
Beech 18 CF-ZQH and sent them to me.

The aircraft had been pulled up on the shore of the lake it ditched in after having engine
problems while on a flight from Ft. Hope to Thunder Bay on July 28, 1978.

It appears in the photos what could have been salvaged was taken and the remainder of the
aircraft was left behind on the shoreline.

There's a photo of ZQH and what it looked like before the accident posted July 07, 2019 on
page 12 in this thread.

The accident notification report for ZQH was posted September 07, 2019 also on page 12 of this thread.

[Perogy]

Excellent recap Kurt.

[beech 18]

Perogy
Sent you a PM.

[beech 18]

June 07, 2020

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

The attached photo is from Dave Brooks and was taken at Pickle Lake.
Dave worked for Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise in both Pickle Lake and
Thunder Bay during the summer of 1975.

The two aircraft tied at the dock are Otter CF-GBX and Beech 18 CF-YQB.
It looks like a calm day on the water with very little wind if any.

Otter CF-GBX was purchased by Mr. Wieben after being badly damaged by a
fuselage fire. The damage to GBX occurred while it was flying for Hudson Bay
Air Transport Limited in Northern Manitoba.

GBX was rebuilt in the Superior Airways hangar in Thunder Bay and when completed
joined the fleet flying on floats and straight skis year round. The Otter was mainly
based in Pickle Lake, but flew out of all the bases at one time or another. Armstrong,
Nakina, Sioux Lookout, Wiebenville, being some of those bases.

GBX was with the company for many years. In 1979 the Otter was sold to Central Air
Transport in Sioux Lookout. Central Air Transport operated out of the former
Hooker Air Service base in the bay in Sioux. In 1980 while operating on floats GBX was
written off in an accident while taking off at Carling Lake north of Sioux Lookout.

In the late 1960's Otter CF-GBX was featured on a Superior Airways / Severn Enterprise
postcard taking off on floats.

Beech 18 CF-YQB parked in front of GBX in the photo was a Sioux Lookout based
aircraft until September 1974. After that date the aircraft from the Sioux Lookout
base were moved to other bases that Mr. Wieben operated.

[Perogy]

[beech 18]

July 07, 2020

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

The attached photo is from Dave Brooks and was taken in Pickle Lake in the
summer of 1975.

Beaver CF-ODD and Cessna 180 CF-VGA tied to the dock on what looks by the
wind sock as a windy day. VGA appears to be having an inspection or at least
engine work being done.

A little bit of everything is on the dock. Outboard motors, fish tubs, propane tanks,
a few 10 gallon fuel drums, and what looks like a Beech 18 boat rack just in front of
the Beaver on the dock.

I’m not sure what month this photo was taken, but the leaves on the trees are still
green so it would be before early September. There probably were not very many
photos taken with VGA in them after Dave took this photo as Cessna 180 CF-VGA was
written off after going into the trees on Oct 13, 1975.

An observation about VGA. Although it can’t be read in the photo, the name
Severn Enterprise in white letters can be seen on the Cessna fuselage if you look
between the wing strut and tail of ODD. At one time Sioux Lookout, Ontario was
painted on the fuselage below the company name, but looks like it had been removed
after the sale of the Sioux base.

[Blakey]

Beech 18,

Did you run out of pictures? I look forward to your post each month.

Blakey

[beech 18]

Blakey

Have been away from my computer for the past week.
Many photos still in the album.
I am back dating the posting to Aug 07.

[beech 18]

Aug 07, 2020

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

This photo was taken by Dave Brooks in May 1975 when he was working for
Superior Airways in Thunder Bay. This is another photo with a lot in it.
It looks like a busy time of year getting some of the aircraft ready for float season.

The Cessna 150 on the left side of the photo I believe is CF-VXY. I never saw VXY
myself, but the other two Cessna 150’s at the Lakehead Flying School which was owned
by Mr. Wieben were CF-WIW and CF-XWU and they were either a different colour or
painted in a different paint scheme.

Right behind the Cessna 150 tail against the hangar there looks like couple of DC-3 propellers.

The Beech 18 is either CF-YDV, CF-YQB or CF-ZQR with the floats removed and having an
engine replaced. I enlarged the photo and I lean towards YDV or ZQR because it looks like
the horizontal stab is painted red. YQB’s stab was polished metal, but it’s to hard to
actually say it’s not painted. I know it’s not ZMR which operated out of Thunder Bay on
wheels as ZMR had left the fleet by May 1975. It also is not WYR as there are no extended
wing tips installed.

There is a red coloured aircraft right behind the Beech 18, but I don’t know what aircraft
that is.

The Baron behind the Beech 18 could very well belong to Mr. Wieben. I never saw the
companies Baron myself. There is a twin engine Cessna behind the Baron and I don’t know
who owned or operated that aircraft.

The DC-3 in the background is also difficult to identify. It was painted in the RCAF paint scheme.
Dave Brooks was working on that DC-3 when the photo was taken.

The Cessna 180 on the far right of the photo is CF-VGA. White cowl top with an orange colour
wrapping around the front lower cowl. VGA would have gone to Thunder Bay after ski season.

The Superior Airways hangar in Thunder Bay was where aircraft were overhauled or rebuilt
after an accident.

[Perogy]

Re: your Post March 11, 2012.
CF-VBW. Apparently I was the last "Spoiler pilot" on CF-VBW. Ferry Flight CYQT - CYXL June 13, 1971. Aircraft changed over to floats. Obtained float rating after training with Murray Haines, Tony Belluz and John Anderson. Log book certified by Don Wieben July 1971. Graduated to Cessna 180 CF-JQM August 21,1971with Type Check by Al Gillispie. Flew CF-VBW CF-JQM and 1 trip in CF-VGA to the end of float season with CF-JQM November 3, 1971. Arrived in Sioux Lookout with 399.0 hours flight time. Finished float season with 552.0 hours. It was fun. The 2 speed prop on CF-VBW was a classic. Push in for fine pitch for takeoff, pull out for course pitch in cruise.

[beech 18]

September 07, 2020

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

Photo of Cessna 180 CF-VSD at Sioux Lookout in August 1971.

VSD on the ramp for float repair. This is the spot where all the float repair
work was carried out on the aircraft in Sioux. The maintenance shop was
about 50 feet in front of the ramp.

VSD also had engine work carried out at the same time as the float repair as
some oil streaks can be seen on the engine cowl indicating a bit of oil leakage.
In the summer of 1971 VSD was based in Round Lake.

The large size of the Pee Kay 3500 floats is evident in this photo.

Behind VSD can be seen Beaver CF-GQU tied to the dock on the east side of the
base. If you look closely the tail cone and elevators have been removed.
GQU was in the process of being repainted and the entire job was carried out at
the dock it’s tied to. The aircraft when the painting was completed looked
very nice. A photo of GQU being paint was posted on Aug 07, 2017 in this thread.

[beech 18]

October 07, 2020

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

Attached photos of Cessna 180 C-FJDH were taken at Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba
on October 24, 2019. I’m not sure how long the Cessna was parked there or
when it had arrived at the airport.

Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s Cessna 180 CF-JDH was owned by Mr. Wieben.
The aircraft flew for Superior Airways on floats and skis for many years.

The aircraft at one time was painted in the standard 1956 Cessna 180 paint
scheme with a light brown fuselage with a narrow red and black stripe down
its length with light brown wings.

In 1974 JDH showed up in Sioux Lookout painted in the Superior Airways /
Severn Enterprise red and white paint scheme, but with a gold stripe instead
of the standard black stripe down the fuselage. A photo of CF-JDH tied to the
dock in Sioux Lookout with the red and white fuselage with a gold stripe was
posted on October 07, 2013 in this thread.

JDH has had a few modes since it flew for Mr. Wieben. Drooping wing tips and
fences have been installed on the wings. It now also has a flashing beacon on
the vertical stab.

Ski bungee and check cable brackets can be seen mounted on the fuselage.
Those could possibly be the same brackets that were used years ago as they look the same.

It was nice to see JDH still flying. It looks like it has been kept in very nice condition.

[beech 18]

November 07, 2020

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

This photo is from the Ed Coates Collection and is posted here with permission.

Superior Airways Bellanca Senior Skyrocket CF-DCE. The date the photo was taken
is not known other than sometime in the 1950’s.

The information in this posting has been collected from various sources such as
the Historic CCAR Project. Friends have helped me locate information as well.
I have tried to list the information correctly, but if mistakes are noticed please
correct them. This is not the complete history of this aircraft.

From what has been found Bellanca CF-DCE first appears in Dec 1945.
Northwest Industries Ltd.

The aircraft was involved in an accident on Dec 23, 1948 when it broke through thin ice after
landing at Chorus Lake, Ontario. May have been operated by Skyways Explorations Ltd.
Could not locate an accident report.

CF-DCE was sold by the insurance company to Superior Airways on March 07, 1949

In 1955 CF-DCE received a new fuselage and became a Bellanca 31-55B. The aircraft
serial number may have been changed at that time as DCE was recorded as serial #3
and then later as serial #32.

While flying for Superior Airways a ski broke off on landing at Ft. Hope, Ontario on
March 13, 1956. No accident report could be found on this incident.

DCE was operated by Severn Enterprise for one year on June 01, 1959. Mr. Wieben
also owned Severn Enterprise.

The aircraft was involved in an accident during a landing on Feb 25, 1964 at Watershed
Lake, Ontario. No details of any damage or type of damage to the aircraft can be found.

The Bellanca may have been painted in different colours over the years when Superior
Airways operated it. A photo of it found on the internet taken in 1958 tied to the dock at
MacKenzie Lake, Ontario looks like it has a red fuselage and yellow wings.
Another photo of CF-DCE was seen many years ago and at that time the aircraft had a yellow
fuselage with a red stripe and yellow wings.

After being with the company for sixteen years on Feb 26, 1965 Superior Airways sold CF-DCE
to Baie Comeau Air Services in Quebec. It was sold again on May 18, 1969 to Selkirk Air Service
in Manitoba. Later on it flew for a few other companies in Hay River, NWT and in Saskatchewan.
CF-DCE was sold on July 04, 1972 to an American company and went to the U.S.

AvCanada member skyrocket posted two very good photos in this thread on Dec 11, 2012 and
also on Dec 14, 2012 of CF-DCE with information about the aircraft when it was flying with
Baie Comeau Air Service.

[fonzy]

July 07, 2016

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

Attached photo is from Neil Aird's website.
Photographer information is on the photo border.

DeHavilland Beaver CF-ORC is a Beaver that I never saw operated. I have tried to
find information about this aircraft but no one seems to remember it.

The photo was taken Nov 04, 1967 in Toronto. The aircraft has Superior Airways Ltd.
Ft. William. Ont. painted on the fuselage.

There are a few things about the aircraft that are different from the rest of Mr. Wieben's
Beavers. There is no bottom cowl air intake scoop in the photo. It has the air intake
scoop on the right upper cowling. All the rest of the Beavers in the fleet had the air
intake at the bottom of the lower cowl.

The paint scheme is a bit different from the normal red, white, and black colours.
It's missing the narrow black lines that are above and below the larger black stripe.
Because these additional black lines are missing, this aircraft "might not" have been
painted in the Superior Airways hangar. Aircraft that were painted in the Superior
Airways hangar always had all the required paint scheme details when finished.

Because the photo was taken in November in Toronto it would have to have been taken
after float season.

Haha ! Cool thread i was just poking around the came accross ORC and relazised i sat in her 2 weeks ago , shes alive and well in Saskatchewan

[beech 18]

December 07, 2020

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

This photo is from the Ed Coates Collection and is posted here with permission.

Superior Airways Cessna Crane CF-BTL. The photo was taken sometime between
1946 and 1950.

CF-BTL was purchase from the Royal Canadian Air Force by Superior Airways in 1945.
It was next operated by Pays Plat Outfitters in Rossport, Ontario. In late 1949 or
very early 1950 the aircraft was withdrawn from service and reduced to spares due
to reported deterioration of the wings. There is a photo of CF-BTL taken at
Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1947 in the Canadian Aviation Historical Society 1967 winter
journal on page 117.

Superior Airways operated a number of other Cessna Cranes.

CF-BLP was purchased from the Royal Canadian Air Force by Superior Airways in 1945.
On April 28, 1948 both propellers were damaged in an landing incident at
Armstrong, Ontario. It flew for Pays Plat Outfitters and then Nickel Belt Airways in
Sudbury, Ontario. In 1952 it was destroyed by fire in Newfoundland.

CF-BRK was purchased from the Royal Canadian Air Force by Superior Airways.
It later flew for Leavens Bros. Air Service. On July 11, 1958 it was written off in an
accident during a spraying run in Quebec. In Larry Milberry’s book
Air Transport in Canada Vol #2 on page 474 there is a photo of CF-BRK parked at
Toronto Island on May 16, 1957.

CF-BTN was another Cessna Crane operated by Mr. Wieben. CF-BTN had a bit of a rough life.
In March 1946 it was involved in a landing accident at Red Lake, Ontario. The right ski was
torn off when attempting to miss an area near a tractor train road. In March 1947 a section
of cowling came loose and contacted the propeller. The left wing tip was damaged during a
forced landing and the right main gear leg failed. The aircraft was again damaged on
March 11, 1955. The aircraft had trouble with the right engine and a forced landing was
carried out. Wing leading edges were damaged, but no other serious damage was recorded
at the time. In the book titled Aviation in Thunder Bay there is a photo of CF-BTN after it
was involved the accident.

The information in this posting has been collected from friends and various sources such as
the Historic CCAR Project, the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, the Air History web
sight and the book titles mentioned. If mistakes are noted please correct. This is not a
complete history of these aircraft.

[beech 18]

January 07, 2021

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

Photo taken of Otter CF-GBX on the ice in the bay at Sioux Lookout in March 1971.
This photo was taken after the Otter had flown into Sioux Lookout with a load
from Big Trout Lake. CF-GBX was the only Otter in Mr. Wieben’s fleet in 1971.
It flew year round on straight skis in the winter and floats in the summer.

A few things can be seen in this photo. Right behind the propeller a red shroud
can be seen wrapped around the engine gear case. This was a winter accessory
only used while operating on skis to help with engine temperatures.

In the photo the Otter has stopped a little short of the poles that it would normally
have parked on. The poles laying on the ice are just trees with the branches cut off.

Otter CF-GBX flew with Superior Airways until it was sold to Central Air Transport in 1979.
Central Air Transport operated in Sioux Lookout from the old Hooker Air Service base
which at one time was the old Transair base.

This photo was taken looking east into the bay. Under the right wing of GBX can be
seen a number of aircraft. The red Cessna 185 on Federal Wheel Skis is CF-YNS.
YNS was operated by Selco Exploration and flew out of the Severn Enterprise base all
year round.

Behind YNS are two aircraft parked at the original Slate Falls Airways base.
The white Piper PA-12 is CF-VTN and further into the bay is Cessna 180 CF-KJD.
Both of these aircraft flew skis in the winter and floats in the summer for Slate Falls Airways.

[beech 18]

February 07, 2021

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

This photo is from the Tim Martin Collection and is posted here with permission.

The photo of Superior Airways DC-3 CF-XXT was taken in Winnipeg on July 11, 1973.
This is the colour scheme the aircraft had during its six years of flying for the
company. White fuselage top, gold fuselage stripe, gold tail and polished lower
fuselage and wings. It was a nice looking aircraft.

This DC-3 was built in Oklahoma City in the mid 1940’s. It was flown by the R.C.A.F.
before being sold by crown assets. In late 1970 or early 1971 CF-XXT was purchased
by Mr. Wieben. It became the second DC-3 in the fleet, the first being CF-AUQ.

CF-XXT was fitted with wheel/skis for winter flying operations and flew mainly out of
Wiebenville hauling fuel and freight to the northern communities.

XXT was written off in April 1977 at Wunnummin Lake while taking off on the ice in
the late spring on skis.

[beech 18]

March 07, 2021

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

This photo is from the Tim Martin Collection and is posted here with permission.

DC-3 CF-TTZ parked at the Winnipeg International Airport on April 17, 1973.

Superior Airways was leasing this DC-3 from Alberta Northern in Calgary.
The company operated this aircraft out of Wiebenville. The DC-3 was written off
at Wiebenville after going into the trees while taking off with a load of freight
on March 5, 1974.

TTZ was pulled out of the trees and towed back to the ramp where it became a
parts source for the other DC-3's that were flying in the fleet.

About a year of so after the accident a large piece of the nose section on TTZ
was carefully removed by a maintenance crew from OCA (Ontario Central Airlines)
who used it to repair one of their own DC-3’s that was damaged when it went onto
its nose while landing on the ice.