Set Description:
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MEMMOTT COLLECTION Aviation Series
By Clay
Each coin in this series has a worldwide mintage of 50,000.
1990The Avro Lancaster - In the1940s, production of the Lancaster was one of Canada's great technical contributions to Allied efforts in World War II. This extraordinary aircraft became famous as the most successful heavy night bomber deployed over Europe. After the war, Lancasters served the Royal Canadian Air Force in maritime reconnaissance roles as flying laboratories and made a major contribution to the aerial mapping of Canada through photo survey work.
The de Havilland Gipsy Moth - Originally from Great Britain, the de Havilland Moth, a light two-seat aircraft, became the standard equipment of most flying clubs of the world in the 1920's. Its success soon led to the establishment of de Havilland subsidiaries in Canada and Australia. In the early thirties, the Moth aircraft, renowned for its long distance performance and reliability became a familiar sight across Canada as a Flying Club aircraft, and was subsequently used for varied purposes such as training R.C.A.F. pilots, bush flying, as well as exploration and pleasure flights. The Fairchild 71C - Designed in 1932 mainly for civil use, the Canadian-built Fairchild 71C was a seven-seat utility monoplane developed from the famous Fairchild FC-2. The Fairchild 71C model featured folding wings and an undercarriage that could be quickly changed over from wheels to skis or floats. This aircraft served mainly as freighter in Northern Canada and was occasionally used for photographic surveys, as well as for technical training by the R.C.A.F during World War II. The Curtiss HS-2L - Used by the military during World War I, the Curtiss HS-2L later became an important bush aircraft in Canada. The country's first bush flying operation began in June 1919 when survey flights were conducted from Lac-a-la-Tortue, Quebec. The first Canadian civil Curtiss HS-2L, named La Vigilance, was delivered there by pilot Stuart Graham, acting navigator Madge Graham and engineer Walter Kahre who had flown from the former United States Naval Air Station at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. They covered 1,038 kilometres in three days, which was the longest cross-country flight made in Canada up to that time.The Fleet 80 Canuck Aircraft manufacturers began to focus on peacetime markets at the end of the Second World War. In 1945, Fleet Aircraft Ltd of Fort Erie, Ontario, purchased the prototype and rights of the Noury N-75 designed by J. Omer (Bob) Noury. Fleet renamed the aircraft the Fleet 80 Canuck, and 225 were built. The side-by-side seating of the Canuck proved to be ideally suited for training pilots. The Canuck also served a number of transport roles in northern parts of Canada. There are still eighty-four of these durable airplanes on record with the Canadian civil registry.The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck - Determined to eliminate reliance on foreign manufactured aircraft, the RCAF commissioned Avro Canada to design and build the Avro Canada CF-100. A fledgling company, Avro attracted experienced Canadian aviation personel employed during the Second World War. The Avro CF-100 Canuck became a major Canadian aviation success.The Canadair F-86 Sabre: The Golden Hawks - Innovative and talented, the expertise of the Canadian aviation industry continued to excite the imagination. The technology of the Canadair F-86 Sabre was world reknown. The Sabre became one of the top military aircraft in Europe during the 1950's. Chosen to fulfill Canada's fighter aircraft commitment to NATO, a team of Sabres went on to become famous as the Golden Hawks. Painted gold with a red and white hawk emblazoned on each side, the Golden Hawks thrilled audiences with their aerobatic maneuvers. De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter - The single-engined Otter, with its superb short-take-off-and landing (STOL) characteristics, dominated the bush plane market in mid-century; however, when fitted with floats, it had a limited payload. In the late 1950's, de Havilland developed a powerful propeller turbine to replace the piston engine, and worked with the military to refine its STOL technology. These developments resulted in a new, twin-prop aircraft that would equal the STOL performance of its predecessor while surpassing its speed and load-carrying capacity. The superbly versatile bush plane that resulted made its first test flight on May 20, 1965 and has sold all over the world since then. Helping to open up remote areas and recognized as one of the finest commuter aircraft anywhere, the DHC-6 has also proven its usefulness for military purposes.
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