1950,Oct. 12 -- Canadian Pacific Airlines applied to the federal government's Air Transport Board to link its existing Edmonton-Lloydminster route with its Regina-Saskatoon-Prince Albert-North Battleford route. See, "Malone foresees airline extension," Leader-Post, Oct 12, 1950
1950, November: the RCAF announced it would open a flying training school at the Saskatoon airport. (See: History of Canadian Airports by Tom McGrath, page 210.)
1951 January: Mid-Continent Airlines, which served the American south and west from its base at Kansas City, Missouri, announced it had applied for a route to Regina from cities in North Dakota, notably Minot. At the time, the Regina Chamber of Commerce had noted that Mid-Continent had made a similar application in 1947 only to withdraw it before it was either approved or rejected by the Civil Aeronautics Board and Canada's Air Transport Board. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan was the only province without a scheduled air link to the US, the chamber noted. Before this proposal could mature, Mid-Continent was bought by the much larger carrier Braniff Airlines and no more was heard of the project. See: "US airline asks link with Regina," The Leader-Post, 3 January 1951, Page 3.
1952, Jan. 1: The RCAF’s 1 Advanced Flying School opened at RCAF Station Saskatoon with B-25 Mitchells. The first pilots arrived Feb. 4 and the first Beech C-45 Expeditors on April 16. See Best In The West historical addendum
August -- The RCAF announced that No. 2 Flying Training School, then at Gimli, Man., would move to the reactivated station at Moose Jaw in 1953. This move, dubbed "Operation Gimjaw", was accomplished in May, 1953. See Best In The West, pages 85-86. 2 FTS aircraft carried the code letters "XS".
1954, April 8 -- 6,000 feet over Moose Jaw, an RCAF Harvard from Moose Jaw's 2 FTS, flown by an RAF trainee pilot, collided in mid-air with a Trans-Canada Airlines North Star flying from Winnipeg to Calgary. The total death toll was 37: 31 passengers, the TCA crew of four, the Harvard's pilot and a woman in a house destroyed by falling wreckage.
A subsequent inquiry concluded, in the absence of other evidence, that the Harvard’s pilot, acting P/O Thomas Andrew Thorrat likely had been studying his map or filling out his logbook when he rammed the airliner. See Best In The West, pages 108-111. This semi-official history complained about "sensational" press reporting, but conceded Jan. 6, 1955 saw a "near-miss" between another Harvard and TCA North Star. Newspaper accounts of the 1954 crash noted a complaint by the head of the TCA pilots' union concerning RCAF aviators "buzzing" airliners. One result of the 1954 collision and the near-miss was the Department of Transport’s decision to move the "airway" along which airliners traveled well north of Moose Jaw, while RCAF training was focused south of the city.
Aug. 12, 1954 - A B-25 Mitchell from Saskatoon's 406 (Auxiliary) Squadron crashed during a night-time hailstorm near Simpson, roughly halfway between Regina and Saskatoon. All three crewmen aboard the bomber were killed: pilot S/L Neville Barson, co-pilot F/L Frank Klassen and radio operator F/O Victor Loewen. So fierce was the late evening hailstorm that many crops in the area were wiped out; there was speculation that the aircraft was hit by lightning. The downed Mitchell, which had been flying from Regina to Saskatoon, left a crater 20 feet deep. (Source: "Three RCAF officers die in bomber crash", The Leader-Post, Aug. 13, 1954.) All three officer left wives and children; Barson was an Australian who had trained during the Second World War at Saskatoon, married and returned there after the war.
January 6, 1955 -- A Saskatchewan Government Airways Avro Anson crashed and burned while landing at Buffalo Narrows, killing eight people, including pilot Stuart Millar and five children. It was the first fatal accident in the Crown corporation’s eight years of existence. A subsequent coroner’s inquest returned an "open verdict", though SGA personnel testified the most probable cause was a bird strike on the windshield, blinding the pilot and causing him to instinctively pull up when the aircraft was already at stalling speed. (Sources: "Eight die in SGA crash," The Leader-Post, Jan. 6, 1955 and "SGA crash jury returns open verdict", Leader-Post, March 12, 1955.)
1955 -- Floyd Glass, former general manager of Saskatchewan Government Airways, set up his own firm, Athabaska Airways -- which was still operating robustly 45 years later.
1955, Summer – The first reference to the use of a helicopter to help fight forest fires in northern Saskatchewan comes in the annual report of the provincial Department of Natural Resources, which said this machine “was used chiefly for transporting men and equipment to the fireline and to move crews on the fire line.” Instead of a chartered civilian one, “the machine used was an S-55 Sikorsky and was made available through the co-operation of the US Air Force.” Source: DNR annual report 1955-56, page 87.
1955 -- a new airport terminal building was built and opened in Saskatoon. In the same year, the City of Saskatoon declined a federal invitation to take over operation of the airport. In the same year, though, Regina accepted a similar offer.
1955 - Sept. 5. - At a Labour Day gathering at the Estevan Airport, 32 people decided to create a Saskatchewan chapter of the National Flying Farmers. The officers elected were Abe Berdy of Estevan (president), Art Smalley of Windthorst (1st VP), Mrs. Ana Cederholm of Oxbow (2nd VP), Jim Sheridan of Rosetown (3rd VP) and Stan Slotsve of Torquay (secretary).
The idea had came about in an unusual way: Kenneth Butler, a senor official of the National Flying Farmers in the U.S., had used his light aircraft to take a fishing trip in northern Saskatchewan in July 1955. While stopping for fuel at Estevan on his return, he struck up a conversation with local aviators and "planted" the idea of forming a chapter, noting an Alberta group of Flying Farmers had been started the previous February. Source: The Sky Is The Limit -- A 25-Year History of the Saskatchewan Flying Farmers, page 6. The U.S.-based National Flying Farmers changed its name to International Flying Farmers in 1961.
1955, Sept. 28 - Federal Transport Minister George Marler visited Regina to announce that money for construction of a new airport terminal building at Regina airport had been included in the current year's budget, allowing a start on planning and work to be made in 1956. Budgeted for the project was $750,000. At that time, the federal government had only recently relinquished control over the administration and maintenance of the airport to the City of Regina's Municipal Airport Board. Soource: The Leader-Post, Sept. 28, 1955, Page 1.
1956 Jan. 23 -- Saskatoon’s 1 AFS takes on the instrument flying training role. See Best In The West historical addendum
1957 -- Canadian Pacific Airlines swapped routes with upstart Pacific Western Airlines. In return for giving CPA its Kitimat-Terrace run, PWA received CPA’s DEW Line resupply operations, plus its Edmonton-Lloydminster-North Battleford-Prince Albert-Saskatoon-Moose Jaw-Regina service, using a DC-3. See Peter Pigott’s book Wing Walkers: A History of Canadian Airlines International, Page 205.
1957, April 6 -- Dr. E.A. McCusker, Liberal candidate for Regina in the upcoming federal election and also a pioneer member of the municipal air board (which oversaw the Regina airport) announced that work would start soon on a new $800,000 terminal building at the airport. The work would be undertaken in three stages, tenders being called for foundations and footings in May, for steel work in June and for the superstructure in August. The building was to be constructed as a winter project in an attempt to provide off-season employment for construction workers. Source: The Leader-Post, Monday, April 8, 1957 page 3
1957, October -- Canadian Pacific Airlines, having handed over its money-losing Edmonton-Regina route to Pacific Western Airlines under a package of route and service rationalizations, applied to return to Saskatchewan’s two largest cities via a package of new transcontinental services using DC-6Bs. Although other routes were granted, these Saskatchewan ones were not. (See page Wing Walkers, Pages 210-217 and Wings Over The West, Page 137-138)
1958, December 8 -- B-25 Mitchell trainers retired from Saskatoon's 1 AFS. See Best In The West historical addendum
1959, July 1 -- The RCAF's Central Flying School moved from Trenton to Saskatoon, joining 1 AFS and 406 Squadron there.
Meanwhile, the service's Flying Instructor School headquarters moved from Saskatoon to RCAF Station Moose Jaw. See Best In The West, page 119 and, especially, its historical addendum.
1959, Dec. 4 -- An earlyt morning fire destroyed the huge wartime “double hangar” that contained Leo McKenna’s firm, Canadian Aircraft Co. Ltd., plus some stored vehicles and aircraft was on fire. McKenna said his aircraft firm lost 13 aircraft plus 3 trucks, a tractor, two automobiles, aircraft tools and parts, all commercial records, office equipment including an unknown amount of cash and cheques as well his personal effects — for he lived in a suite in the hanger, as did one of his employees. He estimated his losses at $750,000, adding that none of the aircraft was insured. (Also lost in the blaze were three privately owned aircraft and an RCMP DHC-2 Beaver, 25 automobiles owned by a dealership, four minibuses owned by a church, and other owners’ property. The hangar itself was owned by the federal Department of Transport and leased to the city’s municipal airport board. McKenna was able to reopen his firm within about a week with a single leased Cessna 180. Leader-Post, November 10, 1959. For his quick reopening, see “Burned out firm is back in business”, Leader-Post, November 13, 1959, page 3.