George William Grant McConachie (24 April 1909 – 29 June 1965) was a Canadian

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

and businessman who became CEO of

Canadian Pacific Airlines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

(CPA). He was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, and grew up in Calder, Alberta. He developed an interest in aviation as a teen and obtained a pilot's license at age 20. Within a few years, he was running his own small fleet of

bush aircraft A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon rai ...

including

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

and

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

planes. His company delivered mail, freight, and supplies in the remote areas of the provinces of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and into the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and Northwest Territories. His knowledge of the North led to aerial exploration work on the

Canol Road The Canol Road was part of the Canol Project and was built to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, to Whitehorse, Yukon, during World War II. The pipeline no longer exists, but the long Yukon portion of the road ...

project and a contract with the United States government to do aerial charting for the Alaska Highway. McConachie sold his Yukon Southern Air Transport to

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

in 1941. Created through the acquisition of a number of similar small airlines, the new airline appointed him its general manager. In 1947, the board of directors elected him CPA's president and he embarked on an expansion that made the company the second largest carrier in Canada and the dominant airline of the Canadian West. In 1949, McConachie obtained landing rights at the Tokyo and Hong Kong airports that opened the door to CPA's highly successful transpacific service to Australia, Asia and the South Pacific. Under McConachie, the airline would expand with

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...

s to Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands and south into Mexico and South America. McConachie died June 29, 1965 while on a business trip to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. In 1972, author Ronald A. Keith published his biography under the title ''Bush Pilot with a Briefcase''.

Honours

In 1945, McConachie was awarded the McKee Trophy for his pioneering contribution to Canadian aviation. In 1973, he was inducted posthumously into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame and following its formation in 1979, the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

. Named in his honour, "''

Grant McConachie Way Grant McConachie Way is a three-to-six lane expressway in Richmond and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named for aviator Grant McConachie, it is the primary access road into Vancouver International Airport on Sea Island. It is also one of ...

''" in

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adja ...

is the access artery into

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...

, home base for Canadian Pacific Air Lines. Through the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

and the Air Cadet League of Canada, the "''810 Grant McConachie Air Cadets''" was formed in 1971. McConachie Peak is also named for him. The McConachie neighbourhood, in Edmonton, Alberta, is also named for him as part of the Pilot Sound residential area.

References

* Keith, Ronald A. ''Bush Pilot With A Briefcase; The Happy-Go-Lucky Story of Grant McConachie''. (1972 - Doubleday, Toronto & New York)
Alberta Online Encyclopedia – Alberta's Aviation Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:McConachie, Grant 1909 births 1965 deaths Aviation history of Canada Aviation pioneers Bush pilots Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees Canadian aviators Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Hamilton, Ontario