A fitting tribute to a local aviation pioneer is firmly grounded in the lobby of the Charlottetown Airport.
The Carl F. Burke M.B.E. Memorial display was officially dedicated in a ceremony Thursday.
The main section of the display presents photographs and text relating to the use of Charlottetown Airport by the RAF/RCAF as a training base, as well as Burke and his development of Maritime Central Airways.
Andy Anderson, president of the Carl F. Burke M.B.E. Chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, says the society saw a need to properly showcase Burke's contributions.
"We thought there is nothing around that really lets people know who he was," he said. "As he was local and created Maritime Central Airways, Newfoundland Airways and Nordair … he was quite an important person here."
The $16,000 project took two years to complete with funds raised through a number of sources including the Airport Authority and the provincial government. Anderson is thrilled with the display, which contains artifacts from the P.E.I. Museum and several new artifacts from the P.E.I. Regiment Museum.
"The whole display, it's quite nice, I think," he said. "It's well done. I think we did a good representation for him (Burke)."
In the military portion, shoulder flashes are displayed showing the various countries that had personnel train here. The military also ties in with Maritime Central Airways in that initially the airline had no uniform, however, as most of the pilots were ex-RCAF they utilized the summer khaki uniform by removing all military insignia, replacing it with MCA buttons and identities.
Burke is highlighted in various photographs, backgrounds and text.
The Charlottetown native was instrumental in developing regional air carriers as well as having major government contracts in the north. This led to his induction into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 1981. Anderson says he hopes to see the display expanded over time.
Flying high:
Here are some highlights in the life of local aviation pioneer Carl F. Burke:
- Took position on May 10, 1939, as pilot with Canadian Airways at Moncton.
- Created Maritime Central Airways, making inaugural flight from Saint John to Charlottetown on Dec. 7, 1941. The following year, Summerside and Moncton were added to the licence.
- Burke borrowed a ski-equipped fleet aircraft in early 1943 to rescue the crew of an Avro Anson that crashed on the ice in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
- In 1952, Burke and Fred Briggs created Nordair and continued to add to Maritime Central Airways until it was sold to Eastern Provincial in 1963. In 1967, majority shares in Nordair were sold to a Montreal group but Burke remained a director and executive board member.
- Certified on 23 types of aircraft and having logged close to 11,000 hours, Burke died in Boston on Sept. 7, 1976.
- Burke was elected to the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 1981.
