Airwest Airlines of Vancouver imported this Cessna 180J, C-FAWH, in 1984 for charter services. It's seen here at the Airwest's old wooden dock in the Coal Harbour area of Vancouver Harbour. In the 1980s, C-FAWH was privately-owned and based in Prince George, BC until exported to the USA in November 1986.

Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT) acquired the Grumman G-21A Goose (ex-Bu84806 and N62899) in April 1967 to support its water bomber operations using a pair of four-engine Martin Mars flying boats. Goose C-FVFS served with FIFT until 2000 and with its successor Flying Tankers Inc. until it was sold to Klaus Dieter Martin in Munich, Germany and ferried across the Atlantic in Nov. 2001 for use by European Seaplane Service in Croatia but was damaged when the gear collapsed in 2002. Registered to Victoria Aircraft Maintenance at CYYJ in Oct 2015 as C-FMXW. Cancelled/Exported in Nov. 2021.

This Cessna 180H was imported new to Canada in 1972 and was operated by in Newfoundland in the early 1980s (and perhaps earlier) until sold by Caribou Leasing Ltd to F B M Holdings Ltd in Terrace, British Columbia in May 1986. It was photographed wearing A Frame Logging Ltd. titles at the Seal Cove seaplane base in Prince Rupert, BC in January 26, 1987. It was last operated in Canada by Trans-Provincial in Prince Rupert before being cancelled from the CCAR in August 1994. Seal Cove was the town's main air gateway until the Digby Island airport opened in 1959.

Cessna A185F, C-FCDD, is photographed shortly after landing in Vancouver Harbour on April 5, 1977. Airspan Flight Charter Ltd. operated DHC-2 Beavers (C-GASF, CF-CDT, CF-GCY) and Cessna seaplanes between 1974-1978 in the Vancouver area from bases at YVR and a dock on Commissioner Street at the east end of Vancouver harbour. This Cessna was operated by W.B. Management Ltd. of Burnaby, BC between October 1980 and February 1998, when it was cancelled from the Canadian civil aircraft register. The Airspan name was then adapted by new helicopter company established in BC the early 1980s.

This Cessna A185F, C-GKNI, was imported to Canada in 1978 and operated by Tyee Airways Ltd., of Sechelt, BC from January 1990 to January 1993. It flew in the BC interior with Columbia River Shake & Shingle based out of Nakusp, then joined the fleet of Tyee's local rival Thunderbird Air (1987) Inc. in December 1987. Long-time Tyee Airways owner/pilot Al Campbell is standing next to the aircraft on the dock. In 2023, C-GKNI was still in commercial operation as part of the fleet of Amik Aviation Ltd. based at St. Andrews Airport, north of Winnipeg.

In 1979, bush pilot Bob Ambrose's Norcrown Air was operating this Cessna A185F, C-GHEP and Pilatus Turbo Porter CF-ZIZ on floats from a lake near Ross River, YT serving tourists, canoeists and exploration companies. One of his 1979 contracts was supporting Cominco's large regional mineral exploration in the MacKenzie Mountains. This Cessna was photographed at the old fur trading post at Pelly Lakes, 120 km east of Ross River, where Cominco has a seasonal base with a Bell Jet Ranger. C-GHEP was built in 1963 and imported to Canada in 1974. It was in cancelled from the CCAR in Apr 2019. This is the prototype Cessna A185F - hence the unusual c/n.

This Cessna A185E was imported to Canada in 1971 and was part of the fleet of Central Mountain Air Services in July 1983 when I flew in it from the floatplane base at Tyhee Lake to Fredrikson Lake to work on a mineral exploration project for Gerlie Gold. Our helicopter-accessible tent camp in the mountains was next to an old wooden prospectors cabin and much to my surprise the yard containing parts salvaged one the decades from the wreck of Junkers J.13, CF-ALX which crashed at nearby McConnell Lake on July 23, 1933; Most of CF-ALX was salvaged by WCAM in 1981. Now in the Technikmuseum Berlin.

After Bombardier acquired de Havilland Aircraft of Canada from Boeing in January 1992, the Montreal company moved quickly to increase activity at the factory at Downsview Airport in Toronto. Toronto gained responsibility to convert five of the 13 contracted Spanish Air Force Canadair CL-215s to P&WC PW123 turboprop power. This CL-215 was photographed in August 1992 shortly after its arrival at Downsview for conversion. The CL-215T used the same engine model as the Dash 8-300.

AIr Nova was founded in Halifax in 1986 as a code-sharing regional airline partner of Air Canada serving the Maritime provinces. In 2001, it merged with Air BC, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional Airlines to form Air Canada Jazz. This photo shows the iconic Montreal Dorval Airport passenger terminal and ATC tower. The airport terminal was significantly expanded in the past 30 years and Dorval airport renamed Montréal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

West Coast Air Grumman G-21A, CF-GEC, on the ramp at Vancouver Airport on June 15, 1977. One year later the aircraft struck an object and sank just off Powell River, BC on 14 August 1978, with no loss of life. This Goose served with the RCAF Western Air Command from Dec 1944 to Jan 1946 and was based at Vancouver from 1948 with BNP Airways (1948-1966) and the BC Hydro and Power Authority (1966-1968) then flew with Midwest Airlines in Winnipeg (1969-1972) before returning to Vancouver in 1973 to join the fleet of West Coast Air Services.

Douglas DC-3, CF-CRX joined the fleet of Harrison Airways in Oct. 1974 after a 28-year career with Canadian Pacific Airlines since July 1946. The DC-3 was repainted in this blue and white colour scheme in 1974-1975 and named "Tweedsmuir". Harrison flew DC-3s to Burns Lake & Dease Lake in support of a 663 km railway project linking Fort St. James to Dease Lake, but the railway was cancelled in April 1977 which hurt business. Futura Airlines bought the charter licences in 1979. The Harrison hangar was first built to flight test wartime RCAF aircraft overhauled by Boeing and Canadian Pacific.

Bell 206B, C-GKMO, was acquired by Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT) based at Sproat Lake in Port Alberni, BC for aerial firefighting in June 1978. FIFT was owned by six of the largest timber companies in BC and operated two Martin JMR 3 Mars flying boats, CF-LYL (pictured) and CF-LYK, to protect valuable timber leases on the BC coast. The Mars only flew during the fire season but FIFT's helicopters operated year-round operated. In the 1980s, the FIFT fleet included Grumman G-21, C-FVFU, and three Bell 206L-1: C-GWFW, C-GWFH & C-GZFT. C-GKMO was cancelled in June 1994 after an accident.

This Ayres S2R-600 Thrush, C-GYXL-X, was one of the first agricultural aircraft mounted on floats for aerial firefighting. The system was designed by inventor Paul Hajduk of Terr-Mar Aviation in Vancouver, BC in the 1983-1985 period when the aircraft was registered to Meridian Grain and Golden West Aviation and later carried "Seathrush Air Tanker' markings. Hajduk then converted a S2R-T34 Turbo Thrush, N40101, of Custom Farm Service into an air tanker on amphibious floats in 1987, and a S-2R-T660 Turbo Thrush in 2000. (The first rival AT-802AF Fire Boss amphibian entered service in BC in 2003)

This privately-owned Bell 230 was photographed while refuelled at Corona airport. After Bell 222 production ended in Texas, the program was moved to Canada and the Model 230 born by replaced the original Lycoming LTS101-650C-3 engines with Rolls Royce (Allison) 250-C30G/2s. This aircraft was first flown as C-GLZA at Mirabel, Quebec in 1994, then exported to the USA as N230JP. As N4UV, it flew as an air ambulance with Mansfield Heliflight in Vermont and the University of Virginia Health System. Exported to Australia, it flew with RACQ CareFlight in Queensland as VH-XCW before imported as N230H.

Tier 1 Engineering, in collaboration with Lung Biotechnology, started developing a battery-electric retrofit of R44, N3115T, powered by a Yasa Motor in 2015. It hovered on Sep. 13, 2016 and made a five-minute cruise flight on Sep. 21, 2016 at Los Alamitos Army Airfield (KSLI). The motor was transferred to R44, N584AK, which flew on July 26, 2021 with a new 800 lb. battery. In Dec. 2021, magniX delivered a magni250 motor for installation in N3115T. It first flew on June 4, 2022. On Oct 29 it made the world's 1st electric-helicopter cross-country flight from Thermal (KTRM) to Palm Springs (KPSP)

DHC-2 Beaver CF-OSP has been flying on the west coast of British Columbia since at least 1970 when it was first registered to West Coast Air Services Ltd. (WCAS) at CYVR. In the early years it primarily flew charters to in support of the coastal logging industry and coastal communities. WCAS repainted C-FOSP in this attractive colour scheme between June 1975 and July 1976. In was photographed at the West Coast Air dock in Vancouver Harbour shortly before WCAS was merged into AirBC. It rejoined the Harbour Air fleet in January 2019 after six years with Inland Air Charter in Prince Rupert, BC.

Watson Lake Flying Services DHC-2 Beaver, CF-IBP, was photographed while visiting the Altin, BC waterfront in June 1980. The aircraft was delivered new to B.C. Air Lines in March 1955 and was acquired by Watson Lake Flying Services in Dec. 1967. It crashed 60 miles SW of Watson Lake, BC on Sep 22, 1996. 1 killed. wreck status unknown. The historic gold mining town Atlin is on the east side of Atlin Lake, 92 miles SE of Whitehorse Airport. In the 1920s is became an exotic tourist destination only accessible by boat and later bush plane until the first road was built to the Yukon in 1950-1951.

A total of 58 Bo 105LS A-3 "Super Lifter" helicopters were produced, with about 49 assembled by MBB Helicopter Canada/Eurocopter Canada in Fort Erie, ON over a 22-year period. Bo 105LS A3, msn 2022, was seen fully assembled on Oct 13, 1988 not long before its first flight as C-GCJT. It was the third of five Bo 105LS built in Fort Erie for the Peruvian National Police. It was briefly registered N2145V before delivery as PNP-116. The Peruvian Air Force also flew six Bo 105LS A-3s. The last Bo 105LS, C-GKWW (msn 2058), was sold by Eurocopter Canada to Dam Helicopters in Castlegar, BC in 2009.

In 1984, MBB Helicopters Canada partnered with the Governments of Canada and Ontario and Fleet Aerospace to establish a helicopter factory and engineering center in Fort Erie, Ontario. In addition to assembling the "Hot and High" Bo 105LS for export, MCL was contracted to test fly the new P&WC PW200 turboshaft in a Bo 105LS. This prototype Bo 105B-1, C-FMCL, msn X01, powered by two PW205s made its first flight on Oct. 8, 1988, followed by a public unveiling and demo flight on Oct 13, 1988. MBB later selected the PW200 family to power the Bo 108 research aircraft and the EC135/H135 light twin.

Westland bought WG30, N118WG, to HAI Heli-Expo 1985 in New Orleans to demonstrate it to potential customers. The WG30 was a passenger helicopter based on the Lynx military helicopter. This WG30 later entered service with Omniflight Airways operating scheduled helicopter passenger service for Pan Am between JFK Airport and the East 60th Street Heliport in Manhattan. WG30s flew passenger in the US in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. When Westland cancelled the WG30 program, many of the airframes were donated to the Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, including N118WG in Pam Am colours.