Alberta's Aviation Heritage

Tom Blakely was a Calgary real estate man with love of flying.

In 1914, he poured his saving into the purchase of a Curtiss biplane. The plane had been wrecked during an exhibition flight in Saskatchewan.

Filled with the enthusiasm of youth, Blakely figured he could rebuild the plane. And he called on Frank Ellis for help.

Together, they hauled the plane to a field near Calgary.

And as historian Pat Myers notes it was dream come true for two young men seduced by the romance of flying.

These fellows caped out in the field, they worked incessantly on their plane were late for their regular jobs, and it’s kind of a nice story about a love of aviation.

In fact, Frank Ellis was fired three times from his job from being late, but, he was always hired back.

The summers of 1914 and 1915 were pure magic for the young men.

Blakley and Ellis carefully repaired the wings and undercarriage of the Curtiss biplane. They overhauled the motor and attached new wheels.

Finally, they got the plane airborne in the summer of 1914. And they took many happy flights around Calgary.

But that came to an end one day in 1915 when Frank Elllis was landing the West Wind, as they called it.

The sun had weakened the plane’s canvas and it tore. Not long after, a wind storm ripped the plane from it’s stakes, rolling it across the prairie.

The propeller and motor were all the young men could salvage.

As historian Pat Myers explains, the adventures of Blakely and Ellis marked the passing of an fanciful era.

By World War One, there were laws which restricted civilian flying in Canada in wartime.

It was used in France, it had many technological improvements because of the war and people became used to reading about airplanes, and started to see the airplane as a transportation works horse rather then a fantastic, uh, machine.

As for the young men, only Frank Ellis followed his dream of flying. And he wrote many books about aviation in Canada.



	Early Flight In Alberta (Part 3), Tom Blakely and Frank Ellis Tom Blakely was a Calgary real estate man with love of flying. In 1914, he poured his saving into the purchase of a Curtiss biplane. The plane had been wrecked during an exhibition flight in Saskatchewan. Filled with the enthusiasm of youth, Blakely figured he could rebuild the plane. And he called on Frank Ellis for help. Together, they hauled the plane to a field near Calgary. And as historian Pat Myers notes it was dream come true for two young men seduced by the romance of flying. These fellows caped out in the field, they worked incessantly on their plane were late for their regular jobs, and it’s kind of a nice story about a love of aviation. In fact, Frank Ellis was fired three times from his job from being late, but, he was always hired back. The summers of 1914 and 1915 were pure magic for the young men. Blakley and Ellis carefully repaired the wings and undercarriage of the Curtiss biplane. They overhauled the motor and attached new wheels. Finally, they got the plane airborne in the summer of 1914. And they took many happy flights around Calgary. But that came to an end one day in 1915 when Frank Elllis was landing the West Wind, as they called it. The sun had weakened the plane’s canvas and it tore. Not long after, a wind storm ripped the plane from it’s stakes, rolling it across the prairie. The propeller and motor were all the young men could salvage. As historian Pat Myers explains, the adventures of Blakely and Ellis marked the passing of an fanciful era. By World War One, there were laws which restricted civilian flying in Canada in wartime. It was used in France, it had many technological improvements because of the war and people became used to reading about airplanes, and started to see the airplane as a transportation works horse rather then a fantastic, uh, machine. As for the young men, only Frank Ellis followed his dream of flying. And he wrote many books about aviation in Canada.