Alberta Inventors and Inventions

A prominent aviator, airline and oil executive, academic and inventor, Jack Moar held influence in a number of different areas.

Born in 1905 at Maniwaki, Quebec, Moar shortly began to make his way west. He obtained his education in Saskatchewan, attending university in Saskatoon. In 1924, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, and it quickly became obvious that Moar had the makings of an excellent pilot. In addition to having a permanent commission, Moar was also allowed enough time off to earn a second degree, this one in mechanical engineering, from McGill University in Montreal.

Between 1924 and 1950, Moar was deeply involved in developing Canadian aviation. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force for seven years before accepting a position with Western Canadian Airways. When Western Canadian Airways established an airmail route, Moar was the first to fly the Lethbridge-eastbound run. Through a merger, Western Canadian Airways became Canadian Airways and Moar remained with the organization, serving as traffic manager from 1932–1934.

He continued on to help form Wings Ltd., an airfreight company headquartered in Winnipeg. In 1937, Moar and several other pilots came together to form Skylines Express Ltd., a company designed to offer air service to mining communities between Toronto and Winnipeg.

In 1938, Moar moved to Edmonton. During the Second World War, he was a major contributor to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The Department of Transport called upon his expertise in selecting airfields between Fort St. John, British Columbia

and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This would later become the Northwest Staging Route. In addition, Moar was the planning and production manager for Aircraft Repair Ltd., which shared the Edmonton City Airport with No. 2 Air Observer School for the duration of the war. Aircraft Repair Ltd. was responsible for maintaining Canada’s military aircraft during the Second World War.

Moar was also quite well known for attempting flights into inhabitable areas, even once to save a life—during the spring thaw at Cameron Bay on Great Bear Lake, he successfully flew through an area of ice so thick it needed to be blasted with dynamite to pick up a critically ill man.

In 1950, Moar left professional aviation behind and changed careers completely. He became an oil executive at Excelsior Refineries, located at Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. In 1962, Moar’s career shifted again as he was appointed divisional director of the Alberta Division of the Community Planning Association of Canada. He was recognized for his achievements in aviation in 1973, when he was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

Jack Moar held four patents in total. Of these, three were granted to him alone and one was shared with Wilfred Brintnell under the name of Aircraft Repair Ltd.

Jack Moar (1905-1978)