A CH-113 Labrador Helicopter was presented to the Canada Aviation Museum in a ceremony to mark the retirement from active service of this illustrious fleet of search and rescue helicopters.
Labrador 11301, the first Labrador to enter service with the Canadian Forces and last to retire, It conducted a series of spirited fly-past of its new home and finally landed for the very last time . It will serve as a reminder to Canadians of the hundreds of lives saved and people rescued, often in near – impossible conditions.”
Since its introduction to service in the Canadian Forces, the Labrador has flown more than 20 000 missions and logged nearly 190 000 hours of flying time The Labrador fleet has been the workhorse of the Search and Rescue community for more than 40 years of faithful service and countless rescues. It will be retired, but never forgotten.
By: Glen_RCAF_Fan - 29th July 2004 at 01:42
The crew for the retirement ceremony display at CFB Trenton were Capt Mark Levesque (Aircraft Commander), Capt Livio Paronuzzi (Flight Officer), Sgt Kevin Gray (Flight Engineer), MWO Mike Maltais (SAR-Tech) and Sgt Mark Lessard (SAR-Tech).
I am not sure if this was also the final crew for this flight.. But the aircraft commander was.
By: British Canuck - 28th July 2004 at 19:35
They had invited the first Labrador Pilot ( I forget his name) to fly on the final flight and he was quite emotional at the end of his flight…
The old thumper is quiet now…
By: Glen_RCAF_Fan - 28th July 2004 at 18:11
I spoke with some members of the crew prior to their leaving CFB Trenton for the flight up that day… They indicated it would be a very emotional moment for them as they had all been on the type for many, many years…
By: John Boyle - 28th July 2004 at 17:12
A fitting tribute to an important task sometimes taken for granted.
I’d Love to see one over here at the Helicopter Museum at W-S-M…
OAW
Great idea. I’d love to see one preserved since the USMC will be flying theirs forever. Maybe Boeing coild pay the shipping to the UK….:)
By: Arm Waver - 28th July 2004 at 14:13
A fitting tribute to an important task sometimes taken for granted.
I’d Love to see one over here at the Helicopter Museum at W-S-M…
OAW
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July 28, 2004 at 12:48 pm