People

Conawapa spring 1975

Helair

The proposed Conawapa generating station on the Nelson River was located approximately 18 miles downstream from the Limestone station. Midwest Helicopters was there with a Bell 206.

Thumbnail image for Dryden-18 finally winds down

Dryden-18 finally winds down

OMNR

By the time mid-August of 1974 rolled around, the bulk of the helicopter flying operations on Dryden-18 were winding down. Retrieval operations were in full swing, and those of us remaining were anxious to see the end of the operation and depart.

Thumbnail image for More fire than we bargained for

More fire than we bargained for

OMNR

The volatility of the aerial ignition chemicals we were handling shouldn’t be underestimated. Consequently, we tried to take what we thought was great care with the details. For the most part, our care and caution was rewarded without incident. However…

Thumbnail image for We need more fire!

We need more fire!

OMNR

We needed ping pong balls and potassium permanganate in massive quantities, much beyond the capabilities of the commercial supplier who couldn’t keep up with demand. If we were going to tackle aerial ignition on the scale that was required, a huge manufacturing capability was needed to supply all of the materials in their final form.

Thumbnail image for Viking Helicopters does it different

Viking Helicopters does it different

People

In the spring of 1973, Viking Helicopters took over Ontario Hydro line patrols in northwestern Ontario. Initially we had a running battle with Hydro over how we planned to do the patrols. As a money-making operation, we were unwilling to consider even for a minute the six- to eight-week schedule that Hydro used.

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