Thurston "Rusty" Blakey (December 12, 1911 – October 11, 1986) was a pioneering Canadian aviator and

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 ...

Biography

The

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

born Thurston Blakely (December 12, 1911) grew up in Bruce Mines with an aunt and uncle after being orphaned in childhood. He went to work in 1935 for

Austin Airways Austin Airways was a passenger airline and freight carrier based in Timmins, Ontario, and one of the oldest in Canada. Code Information *ICAO Code: *IATA Code: AAW *Call Sign: History Established as Capreol and Austin Air Services was one of ...

, a charter service and flyings school at Ramsey Lake, becoming a licensed pilot in March 1938. Commonly known as "Rusty", Blakey flew for almost 50 years, with over 30,000 hours in single-engine aircraft, without mechanical aid. Over a third of those hours were logged in Austin Airway's

Noorduyn Norseman The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable. Intr ...

, CF-BSC. He continued piloting until October 10, 1986, the day before he died. An aerial photographer whose work included medical evacuation flights and deliveries—not only miners and their equipment, but also supplies and mail to the

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

—Blakey is particularly notable for his role in

aerial firefighting Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial sil ...

. In 1948, he became the first pilot to drop

dry ice Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily ...

, which would become a major technique in

wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated ...

Honours and legacy

Blakey was honored multiple times before and after his death. In 1985, he became a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1986, he was bestowed an Honorary Life Membership in the

Canadian Owners and Pilots Association The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) (french: Association canadienne des pilotes et propriétaires d'aéronefs) is a federally registered not-for-profit association that provides information and advocacy services for Canadian pilot ...

(C.O.P.A.). In 1992, he was inducted into

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...

. In his honour, a monument was erected at

Science North Science North is an interactive science museum in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The science centre, which is Northern Ontario's most popular tourist attraction, consists of two snowflake-shaped buildings on the southwestern shore of Ramsey La ...

, Ramsey Lake, by the Rusty Blakey Heritage Aviation Group. It is the site of an annual Rusty Blakey Air Show.

References

* Oswald, Mary, ''They Led the Way'', Wetaskiwin: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999.

External links

Hall of Fame site
1911 births 1986 deaths Canadian aviators People from The Blue Mountains, Ontario {{aviation-bio-stub