noticed that Max had Polaris Air Charter written on the side
of the Fox Moth, but under the revised regulations, a charter
licence should not have been issued to a one-man operation.
To overcome this, Max went into partnership with George
Pigeon; thus, Yellowknife Airways was born.
The partnership worked well in the beginning, with Max
borrowing a further $5,000 to put down on a Bellanca Skyrocket
but it soon started to crumble. Continuing as a hired pilot,
in 1949 Max travelled to Lethbridge, Alberta to work on a
construction site with the intention of saving money as fast as
he could, to start again.
In 1952, having repaid all his debts, Max now set his sights
on a new company – Wardair. For a second time, he travelled
to DHC; on this occasion his purchase was a $96,
DHC-3 Otter (CF-GBY). It was to be a further ten months
though before the ATB granted him an operator’s licence
on June 6, 1953 – signifying the start of the largest charter
airline in Canada.
Enter Wardair
Wardair steadily expanded and DHC products featured
prominently throughout these years. By 1956 Max had built up
a well-respected business and had a payroll of 13 staff.
Wardair’s first ‘Heavy’ arrived in 1957 in the shape of Bristol
Freighter CF-TFX from Trans-Canada Airlines. The main
wheels on the Freighter (and those that followed) were replaced
with those from C-130s, to double its footprint for operation on
unprepared airstrips.
A further four (former RCAF) machines were acquired in
1967 and these did a lot to open up the inhospitable Canadian
North, landing on frozen lakes and un-prepared landing strips
in support of developing mines, supplying materials and much
needed equipment; they were capable of lifting six tons of freight
or 44 passengers.
The summers of 1959 and 1960 saw Wardair using a former
RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat on northern freight
operations; CF-BXO was previously RCAF-920 and now
resides in the RAF Museum at Hendon.
With Wardair’s northern operations continuing to expand,
Douglas DC-6 CF-CZZ was added on a lease-purchase from
Canadian Pacific. This was put to work in the late winter and
spring of 1961-1962. Days are longest at this time of year,
with the ice also at its thickest, making it a good timeframe for
DC-6 operations.
A dilemma now arose, as the DC-6 would sit idle for much
of the summer and Max pondered a decision which would later
prove Wardair’s success.
The idle DC-6 was converted to a 91-seat passenger layout
with the intention of flying charters to England, Denmark
and Norway. Nine flights with an 87% load factor were
not good enough though, as the company lost money to the
tune of $370,000 and the aircraft was soon repossessed by
Canadian Pacific.Max and Marjory
Ward pose for the
cameras on May 10,
1989, just a week after
the end of the Wardair
story.O • Wardair’s
first ‘Heavy’ arrived
in 1957 in the shape
of Bristol Freighter
CF-TFX. It is seen
here visiting a copper
mine in 1968.In 1952, having repaid
all his debts, Max
travelled to DHC
again to start an
airline f leet. On this
occasion his purchase
was a DHC-3 Otter
and Wardair would go
on to operate f ive of the
rug ged bush planes.8 AIRLINER Classics 2018
THE one-man outfit was
the true ‘Spirit of Flying’ ,
transporting prospectors from
dawn to dusk.