Captain Roy Maxwell is an intriguing figure in Canadian Aviation History.

Captain Roy Maxwell is an intriguing figure in Canadian Aviation History. His accomplishments are many. Some of these accomplishments are the stuff of which legends are made.

From: drgalway@hotmail.com To: leslie.balla094@sympatico.ca
Subject: Why Capt. Roy Maxwell should be in the CAHF
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 13:53:13 +0000

OUTLINE OF APPLICATION FOR INDUCTION INTO THE CAHF

In September, 1920 Maxwell completed the first volume carriage of air mail in the country by a commercial carrier when he carried 100 lbs. of mail into Moose Factory aboard the H-Boat.

The year 1922 is especially memorable for Ontarian's. Maxwell and Herve St. Martin made the first winter flight to James Bay, flying an Avro 504K in February.

That summer, the Ontario government hired the men and aircraft of Laurentide Air Services, which had been formed out of the original air service of the St. Maurice Forest Protective Association.

The large government contract provided flying work in connection with detailed mapping showing lakes, waterways and forest types. In 1923, Laurentide was awarded all flying required by the provincial government, not only for continued mapping but for transportation of firefighting personnel, and for forestry patrol.

They surveyed 20,000 square miles of country as far west as Lake of the Woods, and north as far as James Bay. Twelve aircraft were used. And over that season, 400 forest fires were spotted and reported. The Ontario Government was convinced of the wisdom of utilizing aircraft to the point it felt it would be advantageous to own and operate its own aviation service.

The new government flying service attracted many of the best pilots and engineers from Laurentide Air Service, including Roy Maxwell, who would become the first director.

Re: Ontario Provincial Air Service
Source:(1998-2012 Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, 70 Pim St., Sault Ste Marie, Canada)

If any single enterprise, in the years immediately following the war, could be called the cradle of bush flying, that title would perhaps have to go to the Ontario Provincial Air Service. It was through their ranks, often as fledgling pilots, that passed a high-spirited group of young men who went on to become legends in the annals of Canadian aviation.

In October 1926 Roy Maxwell wrote de Havilland requesting information on the Moth and although the company expressed doubts about the suitability of the Moth for Bush operations Maxwell went to England in the spring of 1927 to evaluate it for himself.

Despite the fact that the float equipped plane provided for testing did not have water rudders Maxwell was impressed with its performance and placed an order. The first Ontario Provincial Air Service Moths - G-CAOU, 'OV, 'OW, and 'OX arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in July 1927 and went into immediate service in Sioux Lookout, Remi Lake, Sudbury and Bisco respectively.

These planes, assembled in the de Havilland's first wooden hangar in Mount Dennis, were fitted with Fairey metal airscrews and alternative float and ski undercarriages. The first Moth to arrive in Canada, however, was G-CAHK "The Spirit of the Valley of the Moon" on board the icebreaker Stanley operated by the Department of Marine Fisheries.