SUBMITTED PHOTO -- A series of four bush aircraft stamps issued by Canada Post.
In November, 1979, Canada Post issued the first series of four stamps commemorating aircraft in Canada. A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honour or commemorate a place, event, person or object. Commemorative stamps are usually printed in limited quantities and sold for a much shorter time than definitive stamps for general usage.
Canada Post issued four sets of four commemorative stamps, each in the aircraft theme, between 1979 and 1982. The set pictured portrays four of the bush aircraft flown primarily in Canada’s northern areas by our legendary and intrepid “bush pilots.”
The aircraft had to be practical and dependable for they ranged far beyond the reach of immediate human aid. Two of the aircraft pictured, the Fairchild FC-2W1 and the Fokker Super Universal were of foreign design. The Noorduyn Norseman, first flown in 1937 and the de Havilland Beaver, which took to the air in 1947, were aircraft of pure Canadian design. The Norseman is still being used in several countries and the Beaver can be found almost anywhere on the planet to this day.
I have commented before how the hobby of stamp collecting interacts with my life in unexpected ways. When I first saw the Bush Aircraft issue, I thought of how fortunate I had been to either pilot or fly in three out of the four aircraft pictured. I have flown in these planes equipped with floats to a good number of lakes in Northern Manitoba.
I look back on an occasion when a friend of mine and I flew into a tiny and to-us-unnamed lake to do a bit of fishing. I remember my friend commenting that we could very well be some of the first non-Indigenous people to visit this lake. A short time later we came across a seven-foot-tall stone and brass cairn honouring the work of Ducks Unlimited in the area. We had a good laugh about it.
The aircraft series have a prominent spot in my collection and always bring back fond memories when I view them.
To share some of your own memories why not visit a meeting of the Coin and Stamp Club at Victory Lutheran Church on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
Dennis Vickery. Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin and Stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collection email medhatcsc@live.com
