Routine Flight

This documentary short takes you on a tour of Trans-Canada Airlines’ maintenance shops in Winnipeg before taking off for a trial flight on the British-built Vickers Viscount airplane, the first propeller-turbine airliner.
Directed by Gordon Burwash & Grant McLean - 1955
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[@GaryMcLeanoakville]

Jim McLean. My dad. He was only 29 years old in this film, with an enormous responsibility for fleet safety. I love watching this film. It's been a blessing for my children to get to see their grandfather in action. He died in 1986, when they were still small children. George Pitlick, the Superintendent of Maintenance and Overhaul was our neighbour. He was a wonderful man.

[@maxsmodels]

They seemed like true professionals who took pride in their work.

[@GaryMcLeanoakville]

That generation developed the concept of progressive maintenance that is used all over the world to keep airplanes "new".

[@farche2]

I admire their gentlemanly manners.

[@StephenStarkman]

Such a fitting memory for you. Just wonderful.

[@bobbypaluga4346]

Thank you for your insights, I’m enjoying this very well done video

[@fernanties]

I can’t believe the captain casually shutdown 2 engines on the same side with the FO in the back and a news crew in the cockpit. That’s hilarious. It was definitely a different era.

[@graemewilliams1308]

The Rolls Royce Dart engine on the Viscount was the first licence endorsement I gained. A great & reliable engine.

[@moggridge1]

Very good! Liston McIlhagga wins the award for the best reporter's name, ever! 👍😊

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Trans-Canada Airlines can claim to be the first airline to begin scheduled jet-turbine (via a turbo-prop) service to the United States starting in 1955 by using the Vickers Viscount. Incidentally, TCA's last passenger flight using a Canadair North Star was on April 30, 1961 from Sydney (Nova Scotia) to Montreal. Thanks, NFB, for sharing this historic film regarding Canada's earlier days of commercial aviation.

[@jeffwalker5842]

Sad to know that the historic hangar pictured in this film, which served as the home of the Western Canada Aviation Museum for so many years, is being torn down.

[@trnka2351]

My Grandfather Frank Borkowski was a maintenance man for TCA - Air Canada from 1942 to 1972. “Props to jets” He used to say!

[@crushingvanessa3277]

At 27:38 the instrument panel looked like it was going to fall out on landing. Nice to see so much Winnipeg in this. I knew a guy named Tony who worked at TCA, started out in maintenance on the Viscount. He later become director of restoration at the WCAM, now the Royal Air Museum. The Viscount was his pride and joy.

[@GivathBrenner]

Awesome...I only wish that Trans Canada or Air Canada today was STILL a Crown Corporation. Owned by the Government of Canada and for Canadians.

[@farche2]

Now it's a public corporation, owned by citizens of canada directly.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

I flew in numerous propeller driven airplanes when I was a kid. The last time was in 1960 on a dc 6 when I was 8. It was a real adventure, watching the props rotate during startup. The flight attendants (called stewardesses in those days) handed out little packs of chiclets to chew to facilitate ear popping, and food was served on cafeteria trays laid on a pillow placed on your lap. They were so noisy though; you had to shout to talk to the person next to you, particularly during take off.

[@billd.8336]

Back in March of 1964 I had two rides on Viscounts as part of a trip to a job interview. Two more rides during the trip were on two large Douglas airplanes planes with piston engines which certainly did vibrate and were noisy and would certainly generate complaints today. One belched a fireball from an engine on startup but that apparently was not a problem. The Viscounts in comparison were smooth and quiet and would be quite satisfactory today.

[@GS250Premiun]

My first flight as a child was in the Vickers Viscount, in the late Fifties. Later, I dreamt of flying on the Vanguard, but that was not to be...

[@prinecash]

Thanks for posting. Great video of the early days of Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) and Winnipeg facilities at the time.

[@chriswalford4161]

What a fabulous film! Pride, not hype.

[@maxsmodels]

I love these old archival films.

[@mikaylajweighill]

I remember thhe old Viscount on the south side of YVR , it has been lovely to see it as a new aircraft

[@dh5381]

Why is the Airspeed Indicator on the Right of the Capt's instrument panel, and Altitude on the Left??

[@johnandersonjjr]

Very interesting film .Nice to have this stuff in retrospect

[@Mark_Ocain]

As a kid back in the late 60's I remember travelling in the Viscount in club seating with the family...awesome ride. I also remember the sweet scream of 4 RR Darts in unison...the nose was insane yet divine LOL

[@garyreid9842]

How thoroughly professional and polte everyone was.then . TV shows today are so dumbed down on comparison.

[@crab453]

Definitely a different time. **cuts two engines** Awesome

[@brucebertrammcleroth4037]

Wonderfull powerfull quiet aircraft. I was a passenger many times in the earlh 1980's in Rhodesia. That was before the cowardly shooting down of two passenger Viscounts utilizing SAM's, by the black liberation terrorists in 1978 and 1979. In the first case there were no survivors. In the latter case, all but 8 of the survivors were butchered by the perpetrators.

[@triplanelover]

yeah, how bout an outside loop capt

[@RayhanAhmed-qr3vz]

Looks like a pair of bus drivers

[@tsachinaarizona]

comment

[@MrShobar]

The Viscount was not "turbojet". Turboprop.

[@dennisleslie8962]

Roger on that. Such casual ignorance of one's subject matter is despicable.

[@MrShobar]

By the 1980's, the Viscounts were mostly handed over to charter operators. They spent their last years ferrying rock bands to various appearances.

[@Vektorer]

True enough. I worked Barry Manilow’s & Ray Charles’s Viscounts in the early 80s. My father loved the Viscount and flew aboard Capital’s/United’s fleet routinely when I was a kid.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Back in the summer of 1988 I witnessed a Viscount 800 being flow into Kansas City downtown airport. It turns out it was to be used later by rock star, "Sting." I had two shots left in my 35mm camera and used one as the Viscount was landing and the other looking up at the front entry door after the aircraft was shut down.

[@babaji1947]

I have always wondered why TCA never bought the Comet.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Probably because of the poor safety record of the early comets. Canadian Pacific Airlines had one that disintegrated shortly after takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan in 1953. The later comets were safe, but not as fuel efficient as the US airliners such as the dc 8 and the 707.

[@johnandrews3568]

@@heronimousbrapson863 The early ones had square windows that would pop when stressed, IIRC and that's why airline window have been round or oval ever since.

[@joepatroni8777]

10:48 Still in use in 2016!!

[@Justwantahover]

Well jet-props are.

[@lesliesmith9155]

Good old school engineering boys in brown overalls soft ware iii hons him when he's in merlin tear down an rebuild

[@dennisleslie8962]

The Viscount was NOT a "turbojet" aircraft. It was a TURBOPROP. Repair your ignorance.

[@AvionJordan]

This is 90 years old chill out😂😂😂

[@givemepizzaorgivemedeath3983]

this is fantastic.