''Routine Flight'' is a 1955 Canadian short documentary film produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) as part of the '' On The Spot'' series made specifically for television. The documentary, directed by Gordon Burwash, involved an account of a visit to a

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGreg ...

(TCA) maintenance centre while it is involved in transitioning to a new type of airliner. ''Routine Flight'' is based on first-person interviews of the staff at the maintenance centre and flight crew on a test flight.Allan, Blaine
"CBC Television Series, 1952–1982."
''Queen's Film and Media'' ( Queen's University). Retrieved: 20 January 2016.

Synopsis

In 1955,

Winnipeg Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh ...

is one of the main bases of Trans-Canada Air Lines, housing the airline's largest maintenance centre. One of the main functions of the base is to overhaul piston and jet engines in an engine shop as part of a complex system of operational and maintenance routines that underline the safe operation of each TCA aircraft. The TCA Canadair North Star airliner has its

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...

piston engines overhauled in Winnipeg on a regular schedule. Engine parts are tested, and depending on damage that is detected, may be repaired or replaced. An engine test bay is also available to ensure the engines are ready to go back onto the North Stars. With the TCA purchase of the British-built

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

-powered airliner, the Winnipeg base is also in the midst of introducing jet engine technology for its engineering staff and technicians. TCA is the first North American carrier to use turboprop aircraft and air crews are also working up procedures to introduce the new airliner. The first Viscount is carrying out orientation flights for ground and air crews and the ''On the Spot'' crew are invited to come aboard on a test flight.

Cast

* Liston McIlhagga, Reporter * George Pitlick, Superintendent of Maintenance and Overhaul, Winnipeg TCA Base * Jim McLean, Winnipeg TCA Base Maintenance * Nelson Harvey, Winnipeg Airport Air Traffic Controller * Captain Hobson, pilot instructor (left hand seat) * Captain Tom Payton, pilot instructor (In passenger cabin) * Captain Rene Giguere, pilot manager/instructor (right seat)

Production

The ''On The Spot'' series debuted in 1953, with the 39 episodes, initially 15 minutes in length. For the second season, NFB produced 30-minute episodes. ''Routine Flight'' was typical of the longer ''On The Spot'' series.Burwash, Gordon and McLean, Grant
"Routine Flight" (Documentary film).
''

, 1955.'' Retrieved: 26 January 2016. Each segment was produced with a three-person crew: a director, cameraman and on-screen host, usually Fred Davis who acted as the interviewer and narrator, although other journalists were involved.Ohayon, Albert
"On the Spot: The NFB in the early days of television."
''

'', 14 April 2010. Retrieved: 26 January 2016.

Reception

''Routine Flight'' was shown on NFB's ''On the Spot'' series, originated by

Bernard Devlin Bernard Devlin, (December 15, 1824 – February 7, 1880) was an Irish-born lawyer, counsel to the Abraham Lincoln administration of the United States Government during the most northerly engagement of the United States Civil War, Quebec-b ...

, the first series made specifically for television by the National Film Board of Canada. The series aired on CBC Television for two seasons from 1953 to 1954. Drawing on the experiences of the earlier wartime ''

Canada Carries On ''Canada Carries On'' (French: ''En avant Canada'') was a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada which ran from 1940 to 1959. The series was initially created as morale-boosting propaganda films during the Second World War. Wit ...

'' and concurrent ''

The World in Action ''The World in Action'' (aka ''World in Action'') was a monthly series of propaganda films from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), created to boost morale and show the Allied war effort during the Second World War. The series was inspired ...

'' documentary series, each ''On the Spot'' episode reported on a different aspect of life in Canada. The series underwent a number of challenges with time slots frequently changed, episodes playing as late as 11:45 pm on Monday nights before going to Sundays at 4:30 pm. The second season aired on Sundays at 10 pm. ''On the Spot'' was cancelled after the 26 episodes of the second season, with ''Routine Flight'' one of the last episodes, and listed as a 1955 production.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. .

External links

Complete list of ''On the Spot'' episodes

Watch ''Routine Flight''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Routine Flight 1955 films 1955 documentary films Canadian aviation films 1950s short documentary films Documentary films about aviation English-language Canadian films Films shot in Winnipeg National Film Board of Canada documentaries Documentary films about Canada Trans-Canada Air Lines 1950s English-language films 1950s Canadian films Canadian black-and-white films