Former RCAF pilots inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame

August 17, 2018

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By John Chalmers

Four new Members were inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame at its annual dinner and ceremonies, held on June 7, 2018, in the Sunwest Aviation hangar at the Calgary International Airport. Their induction brings to 232 the total number of individuals who have been honoured for contributions to Canadian Aviation. The Royal Canadian Air Force was well represented at the gala event, and two former RCAF pilots were inducted as Members.

Pilot and military leader, General Paul Manson, O.C. CMM, CD, began his career with the RCAF and retired as Chief of the Defence Staff in 1989. In active retirement, he was instrumental in raising funds for building the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. In December 2017, in recognition of “his leadership and steadfast support,” the General Paul Manson Meeting Room was dedicated at the Canadian War Museum.

Test pilot Dr. John Maris, CD, began his career as a pilot with the RCAF. He left the air force holding the rank of major, to devote full time his company, Marinvent Corporation, which he serves as president and CEO. Among John’s many awards the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy in 2005.

The other two inductees in 2018 are the late Bush pilot, airline builder and entrepreneur, Mr. John Bogie, and Dr. Greg Powell, O.C., internationally recognized for his work as an emergency medicine physician, who was a co-founder of STARS – the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service.

Two additional aviators with RCAF backgrounds received special recognition at the 2018 gala event.

Robert “Bud” White, OMM, CD, who served 31 years in the RCAF, distinguished himself as a pilot with a record-setting high-altitude flight in 1967. During Max Ward’s 1940-1945 stint with the RCAF, he served as a flying instructor and, during his 45-year post-war career in aviation, he founded Wardair Canada. Both Bud and Max were inducted as Members of the Hall in 1974 and are our two living original members.

The guest speaker for the evening, astronaut Dr. Dave Williams, O.C, recently retired as president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario. Dave was inducted as a Member of the Hall in 2012.

INDUCTEES

John M. Bogie

Born into an aviation family in the United States, John Bogie has made his home in Canada since the early 1950s, following wartime service in the United States Navy. After starting work as a pilot in Canada, he quickly made a name for his charter and resource exploration work with Laurentian Air Services and Spartan Air Services, including the flight that identified the major iron deposit at Gagnon, Québec.

In 1952, complementing his flying, Bogie became, with Margaret Carson, a co-founder of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), serving as its first President and Chairman. He continued to serve as a supporter of COPA, seeing it grow from modest beginnings to a membership of about 17,000 today.

John served in most of COPA’s executive capacities and was made an Honorary Director and Life Member by COPA. He attended COPA events into his 90s. His COPA accomplishments include simplified medicals for pilots and aviation liability group insurance now used by commercial carriers.

John helped to create the Experimental Aircraft Association Canada, as well as a civilian pilot group for Search and Rescue as an adjunct to the military. Another entity he helped bring into being was the Canadian Business Aircraft Association (CBAA), first as an arm of COPA and later as a distinct entity. His Laurentian Air Services career ultimately took him to the position of owner and president. His many initiatives diversified the company’s operations and embraced the bilingual nature of the environment in which it operated.

A stroke of initiative saw him to acquire large consignment of ex-US Army Beavers, which were rebuilt and put onto the Canadian market. This constituted the largest single aircraft purchase of its kind in Canada, and made Laurentian the Canadian centre for Beaver activity. John Bogie continued to support Canadian aviation long after his retirement in 1992, enjoying the respect and affection of the aviation community.

Paul D. Manson, O.C., C.M, CD

General (retired) Paul Manson is one of the top-tier Canadian aviation personalities of his generation. His service in the military, with industry, and as a volunteer has been of the highest calibre. Manson’s spectacular 38-year RCAF/CF career culminated in his appointment as Chief of the Defence Staff from 1986 to 1989. As a fighter pilot, he commanded at every level of the RCAF, and he was instrumental as program manager of the New Fighter Aircraft Program in the selection of the CF-188 Hornet to replace Canada’s aging fleets of CF-101, CF-104 and CF-5 fighters in the 1980s.

After retiring, General Manson worked on the commercial side of aviation for several years, including service as president of Paramax, a large aerospace company. Subsequently, he held the position of chairman for Lockheed Martin Canada.

Perhaps of greater consequence was the challenge he then accepted: to serve as the volunteer full-time chairman of the “Passing the Torch” campaign, which raised more than $16 million in support of the Canadian War Museum and its quest to find and open a new facility in Ottawa after a tumultuous period in its history. He served on the museum’s parent board as a trustee and chaired the board’s committees devoted to the revitalized new museum.

Paul Manson’s success at marshalling support and ensuring the completion of this significant national facility in 2005 will stand as a testament to his accomplishment. Following that period of dedicated work, he was the chairman of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, and chairman of the board for Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame. He has also functioned as a commentator on defence and national security issues.

And, as a skilled musician, he played trombone in an Ottawa-based swing band in his spare time for 20 years.

General Manson is the recipient of honorary Doctorate of Military Science degrees from Royal Roads Military College and the Royal Military College. He was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002.

John Maris, Ph.D., Eng., CD

John M. Maris has had an exceptional 12-year career as an active Canadian Armed Forces operational pilot, test pilot, project manager and Canadian Space Agency team leader. For more than 20 years, he has flourished as an innovator in the creation of the electronic cockpit, and the development of technology and processes for systems and flight test certification, as well as the creation of industrial and aerospace research alliances.

He has worked in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. John has also played important roles in the industrial organization sector through his chairmanship of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. He has been recognized for his work by all major Canadian, UK and US aerospace agencies. His significant accomplishments included his leadership of the team developing aviation systems, engineering for the robotic arm deployed on the International Space Station, and conception of electronic charting and development of its underlying graphics library technology.

John has also been involved with flight test standardization courses for Bombardier C Series flight test personnel, and for flight optimization systems for NASA.

Dr. Maris is a published author on a wide range of aeronautics subjects, holds numerous worldwide patents, and serves on the boards of a range of academic and public sector agencies. In 2005, he received Canada’s oldest aeronautical prize, the prestigious Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy for his contributions to Canadian aerospace. In 2006 he was presented with an Aviation Week and Space Technology Laureate at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, the companion facility of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Dwight Gregory Powell, O.C., M.D., FRCPC

Dr. Greg Powell has had an exemplary and notable 40-year career of leadership and innovation in the fields of emergency medicine, aviation, medical education and research. He is an internationally recognized leader in air medical transportation, critical patient care, and emergency medical training and education. Dr. Powell is a co-founder of STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) and its supporting Foundation. He is Professor Emeritus for Emergency and Family Medicine at the University of Calgary.

An experienced pilot, Greg merged his aviation interest and medical education in the early 1970s, and those joint passions shaped his focus over the full extent of his career. His commitment to safety, innovation excellence in patient care, and the aeromedical delivery of that care are renowned. Those measures have saved countless lives in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia.

Under his leadership, programs were implemented for night vision goggles, wire strike kits, and the development of heliports throughout the service areas, along with specific GPS approaches for each of them. STARS has been a significant contributor to an international aviation safety network. Dr. Powell also served as President of the Association of Air Medical Services based in Washington DC.

In addition to his professional career, Dr. Powell has been deeply involved in volunteer work throughout Alberta and in the international aviation medical evacuation community. He was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2007.