Alberta's Aviation Heritage

It was July of 1918 when the first mail was shipped by airplane in Alberta.

Airmail had only been delivered one before in Canada…on a flight just three weeks earlier between Toronto and Montreal.

Now all eyes were on the west.

On her exhibition visit to Alberta that summer, the great American stunt pilot Katherine Stinson announced to everyone’s delight she would fly the mail between Calgary and Edmonton.

Upon hearing the news people quickly wrote letters to send to loved ones in Edmonton.

Then just after lunch on July 9, 1918, Katherine Stinson put on a heavy coat, pocketed her lucky horseshoe, and loaded the bag of letters into her plane.

At precisely 1:03 pm, she took off from a hill outside Calgary.

Mechanical trouble forced her plane down a few miles into the trip. But as historian Pat Myers notes, the monumental flight was back in the air by early evening.

She took 259 letters from Calgary to Edmonton. It took her a little more than two hours to complete the flight. It was in 1918 in early July and it caused a great deal of excitement. Long distance flights were not common really, certainly not here. It was carried along the telegraph line, tapping out her progress. It was part of the exhibition waiting for her to land on a huge white arrow that they’d marked on the race track.

She landed to great cheers, a huge reception, speeches, then she was whisked off to the hotel MacDonald for a rest.

It was a glorious finish to Katherine’s daredevil flights in Alberta.

But with her pioneering spirit, she proved mail could be delivered by air, even though Albertans had to wait more than a decade before the post office established a regular airmail service on the prairies.

On the Heritage Trail
I’m Cheryl Croucher.



	Katherine Stinson flies first airmail in western Canada It was July of 1918 when the first mail was shipped by airplane in Alberta. Airmail had only been delivered one before in Canada…on a flight just three weeks earlier between Toronto and Montreal. Now all eyes were on the west. On her exhibition visit to Alberta that summer, the great American stunt pilot Katherine Stinson announced to everyone’s delight she would fly the mail between Calgary and Edmonton. Upon hearing the news people quickly wrote letters to send to loved ones in Edmonton. Then just after lunch on July 9, 1918, Katherine Stinson put on a heavy coat, pocketed her lucky horseshoe, and loaded the bag of letters into her plane. At precisely 1:03 pm, she took off from a hill outside Calgary. Mechanical trouble forced her plane down a few miles into the trip. But as historian Pat Myers notes, the monumental flight was back in the air by early evening. She took 259 letters from Calgary to Edmonton. It took her a little more than two hours to complete the flight. It was in 1918 in early July and it caused a great deal of excitement. Long distance flights were not common really, certainly not here. It was carried along the telegraph line, tapping out her progress. It was part of the exhibition waiting for her to land on a huge white arrow that they’d marked on the race track. She landed to great cheers, a huge reception, speeches, then she was whisked off to the hotel MacDonald for a rest. It was a glorious finish to Katherine’s daredevil flights in Alberta. But with her pioneering spirit, she proved mail could be delivered by air, even though Albertans had to wait more than a decade before the post office established a regular airmail service on the prairies. On the Heritage Trail I’m Cheryl Croucher.