Air Transportation

​The first plane landing in Red Lake was by the Ontario
Provincial Air Service (OPAS). The Ontario government
formed the OPAS in 1924 to patrol for forest fires. The OPAS had old HS2L flying boats, also known as H-boats, which were initially used in World War I. The planes were modified to carry passengers and equipment to fight fires. In 1924, Romeo Vachon, a well-known pilot, landed in Red Lake while on patrol for the OPAS. Not much is known about this, as he only landed in the area and there was no town at that time.

​​In the summer of 1925, Lorne Howey, Ray Howey, George
McNeely and W.F. Morgan discovered gold in Red Lake.
After finding gold, Lorne Howey and George McNeely
enlisted Jack Hammell, a mining promoter, to raise funds to explore the Howey claims further. Hammell wanted the
exploration to start before winter set in. At the beginning of October, Hammell chartered 5 planes from the OPAS to carry in 7 men, 1 woman and 13607.8 kg (15 tonnes) of
equipment and supplies to Red Lake. The charter cost was $1.50 per mile (1 mile = 1.60934 km, 93¢ per km). The
planes could carry between 181- 272 kg (400-600 lbs). The
planes flew from Minaki to Red Lake which was 120 km (75 miles) rather than the base in Sioux Lookout, which was 177 km (110 miles) from Red Lake. The contract was completed by the end of October and was one of the first air freighting contracts in Canada.

In Hudson, Jack Elliot, Bill Hodgins, Harold Farrington & Howard Watt,  JN4 'Jenny' ski-equipped airplane, March 1926

Bob Starratt and De Havilland
​Puss Moth - ​1929

The first commercial flight set off on March 3, 1926. The first flight Jack Elliot flew one plane, and Harold Farrington flew the second plane. The flight was $1 per pound, which included the passenger's weight and any supplies. The first passengers were J.C Rogers, a mining engineer and Jack Adair, a mine promoter. They were chosen as the first passengers as they had been to Red Lake before and the pilots hoped they would recognize landmarks. There were no real maps at that time to use when flying to Red Lake. Unfortunately, the passengers were not able to recognize anything, as their first trip had been by dog sled. However, the pilots were able to see the route as the trail of dog teams was visible from the plane.

​These early flights did not follow a schedule as the planes
would not start in cold weather. On frigid nights, the pilots and air engineers would take turns starting the planes and letting them run for 10 minutes every hour, ensuring the planes would start in the morning. If the plane did not start during the night, the passenger flights would be postponed until the afternoon. Harold Farrington and Al Cheesman designed a portable hangar which could hold a kerosene stove and a blow torch pot to heat crankcase oil and radiator coolant. This allowed the engines to start reliably in winter. The pilots and passengers were bundled up in their warmest clothes as the first planes had open cockpits. On March 4 1926, Farrington flew in a reporter, William J. Scott, who wrote about the gold rush and his flight to Red Lake. Scott
stated he wore a mackinaw coat, balaclava cap, thick pants, many pairs of socks, moccasins, a big coonskin coat and a flying helmet with goggles.

Starratt Airways based out of Hudson. Bob Starratt and Horace Young,
​ Date UNKNOWN 

 A.H. Farrington getting
into cockpit G-SASD - 1928

The Howey discovery was kept as quiet as possible, but by
the end of 1925, prospectors started to race to Red Lake to
find gold and striking it rich. In January 1926, many of the
newspapers were publishing articles about the Red Lake
gold rush. Harold Farrington, a pilot, was one of the many
people to read these articles. Farrington was working for J.V. Elliot Limited an air service owned by Jack Elliot of
Hamilton. Farrington talked to Elliot about setting up an air service to take prospectors to Red Lake. Farrington went to northern Ontario to find the best place for a base before the two Curtiss JN4, also known as a “Jenny”, were shipped. The planes had to be disassembled to fit on the train to Sioux Lookout. Farrington decided that Hudson was the best location. Once the planes arrived in Sioux Lookout, they were reassembled and inspected. A tail ski was attached, but it was too small, so Farrington designed a wider ski and contracted the Elliott Brothers of Sioux Lookout to build it. The Elliott brothers mainly built boats,
canoes, paddles, toboggans, sleighs and snowshoes. After
the success of the ski, Elliott Brothers soon had clients from all across North America ordering airplane skis.

​Red Lake, Lands & Forests H.S. Flying Boat, 1920s

Ida Pike beside Fokker Universal - 1929

Crew of a government charter
having a shore lunch, 1931

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Air Services

G-CAIV FLEW IN FIRST AIR MAIL, 1926

First Western Canada Airways
office at Gold Pines, 1927

​The air services mainly flew in passengers, supplies and
airmail. The first planes were not able to carry heavy
supplies as storage and the payload (allowable weight) was limited.

​However, as plane designs improved, more items were shipped by plane. Many of these air services had bases in Hudson but expanded to Sioux Lookout, Kenora and Winnipeg, where regular flights were scheduled.By the mid-1930s, the planes had closed cockpits and could carry more supplies and passengers. The cost of shipping and passenger flights was lowered so that air transportation was affordable to the average person. The flights were only a few dollars more than the boat passage. For the difference of a few dollars, the passenger could arrive in Red Lake within an hour from Hudson and one and a half hours from Winnipeg. Some of the airlines would even let people fly in on credit and paid the airline the cost of the flight after they found a job in Red Lake.

The first air services and airlines were created for freighting and passengers, primarily catering to the mines. In the 1940s, some air services were formed for tourism businesses, while others formed through other industries such as commercial fishing. The number of companies is so numerous in this area that it is difficult to follow each one. Some of the companies lasted only a year, while others last longer or were incorporated into other airlines. Newer air services have formed more recently. Air transportation continues to be important to the area and one of the main ways of shipping freight to Ontario’s northern communities.

While the pilots would fly with air engineers, most pilots
were very knowledgeable about their planes and were able to repair them. Flying could be hazardous in the 1920s. There were no radios on the aircraft, so if the pilot was in trouble, lost or crashed, he needed to be able to repair his plane and survive until he could fly out or someone rescued him. The reporter William Scott also commented that on board were several sandwiches and snowshoes in case of a forced landing. Examples of other issues that could arise include losing a ski during takeoff, landing incorrectly or a tear in the canvas of the wings. The plane would need to be fixed or reinforced to get back into the air.

Early pilots carried extra fuel as remote areas did not have
fuel and they needed to have enough for the return trip. J.V. Elliot Ltd. was extremely busy flying passengers between Hudson and Red Lake. In Hudson, there were often lineups of 10 to 15 people waiting to fly to Red Lake. Some of these trips were round trips, while others were only one way. By March 15, 1926, the fare to Red Lake was lowered to $100 per passenger and 50¢ per pound (1 pound = 0.453592 kilograms, $1.10 per kg). With the success of J.V. Elliot Ltd., other air services started to form. All these early air services would compete for passengers, but they would always set this aside if another pilot were in trouble or if they found someone in distress on the trail. People could get injured on the trail or in Red Lake and need help or medical attention. The pilots would fly anyone in distress or injured without charging them. These flights were known as mercy flights and saved many lives in such an isolated area.

Elliot Air Service, passage
ticket stub, 1920’s​

Outside Western Canada Airways
operations office, 1927

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Red Lake Airports

planes at dock, Date UNKNOWN 

Gold Pines, Imperial Airways, 1929

The Ontario Government recognized the severity of Red
Lake’s isolation and announced that a year-round airport with a landing strip would be built in the area. In 1946 construction of an airport began on the Martin-McNeeley property in Cochenour. A 1219 x 46-metre (4000 x 150-foot) gravel runway was built, and a Quonset shed was installed.On May 29, 1947, the airport opened and daily services by Canadian Pacific Airlines commenced to Winnipeg. Even though larger passenger and freight planes could now land in Red Lake, it was not until 1949 that Cochenour was connected to the other communities.

The Red Lake Airport was a private airport until 1959 when the Department of Transport took over. The Department of Transport installed lighting and provided financial support. The Red Lake Airport opened a new terminal in June 1971, with provincial and federal representatives present. In 1993, the runway was extended to 1524 x 46 metres (5001 x 150 feet).

​The Township of Golden took over the operation of the
Airport in 1996. In 1998, the townships amalgamated to
form the Municipality of Red Lake, which took over
operations. The Municipality continues to operate the airport today.

Crusher at Airport, 1949

Airport, 1965

Red Lake’s first airport was Howey Bay. Planes outfitted
with skis landed on the ice during the winter months. In
summer, planes were fitted with pontoons, also known as
floats, and would land on the open water. The pilots needed to be certified for each type of landing. Harold Farrington flew in passengers in March and April of 1926 but then had to go to Toronto to get certified to fly planes with floats. While not an airport in the modern sense, all the air services used Howey Bay as their base of operations, their tents lining the shores.

In 1936, Howey Bay was the busiest airport in the world. In 1937, Red Lake had 50 percent more freight shipped to it than any other airport in the world. Red Lake was indeed a busy place where planes landing was an every day occurrence.
​
Boaters on Red Lake needed to be aware in the summer
and avoid the plane landing area. In winter, snow was
cleared to make a runway takeoff and landing. Unfortunately, planes could not land during break-up and
freeze-up when the ice is not strong enough to bear the
weight of the aircraft. This left the Red Lake area wholly
isolated from the outside world.

AIRPORT
​CANADA PACIFIC AIR LINES, Date UNKNOWN 

 First Airport Runway, Date Unkown

A new modern terminal was built next to the terminal and opened in October 2011. Former Mayor Duncan Wilson lobbied to name the terminal after J.E.J. (Ed) Fahlgren. Falgren was very influential in both Red Lake’s mining industry and making advancements in the community. On June 22, 2012, the Airport Terminal was officially named the J.E.J. Fahlgren Terminal.
​
The Airport continually improves its infrastructure through federal funding from Transport Canada’s Airport Capital Assistance Program (ACAP). In 2019, the Airport received $10 million from ACAP to improve the main runway and taxiways. The work commenced the summer of 2019. The main runway was pulverized, the ground restructured and resurfaced. The parking apron was also expanded, making it safer for passengers to board and deboard planes. Other improvements included replacing a 1000 feet of lights along the runway, resurfacing the taxiways and replacing runway signs with L.E.D. lights.

​Even with a modern airport in Cochenour, the waters of
Howey Bay continue to act as a second airport during the
summers. The roar of floatplanes taking off and landing on the Bay is the song of summer for visitors and residences of Red Lake.