Imperial Oil had discovered a new source of oil at Fort Norman
in the Northwest Territories, but the isolation of the site
demanded that they travel 1,891 kilometres following the
Mackenzie River from where the railroad ended in the town of
Peace River. This trip would take weeks each way on ground and
through the wilderness. Charles E. Taylor,
who was the Manager of Western Development for the company at
the time, saw an
extraordinary opportunity for the use of aircraft. By flying to
the area, the
trip could be completed in just hours.
To carry out the flights to the north, Taylor had Imperial
Oil purchase two Junkers, which were all-metal, cockpit-enclosed
monoplanes. The two aircraft were named the Vic and the
Two Edmonton pilots, George Gorman and Wop May, were hired and
sent to New York to bring the aircraft back for the trip north.
The first of the two Junkers arrived on 5 January 1921.
At this time, very little was known about the risks
associated with flying into the wilderness, especially during
the harsh conditions of winter. The effort by Imperial Oil was a
first and would act as an experiment. Near the end of February a
group set off, carrying seven men that included dominion land
and Imperial Oil surveyors and geologists. In three hours they
arrived in Peace River.
It was clear that the aircraft would need various caches of
oil and fuel to make the flight north and back. To ensure this,
the pilots decided to follow a route of Hudson Bay Company trading
posts, where these supplies were available. The trading posts had fuel
and oil for boats used on rivers and lakes in the north. They also established their own cache of fuel and oil at Upper
Hay River, making the necessary trips with the Junkers. The
flight to Fort Norman would mark the first time that ski-equipped
aircraft flew into the north.
On 24 March 1921 everything was ready for Gorman and
Fullerton to start on their way to Fort Norman. They were faced
with heavy cloud and deteriorating conditions so they changed
their plans and landed at Fort Vermilion, where a blizzard kept
them grounded for two days. They were able to continue their
flight on 27 March when they made it to Hay River and then on to
Great Slave Lake.
Once they made it to Fort Simpson, they realized both Junkers
had been damaged. The Vic had suffered the least damage, requiring
only a new
propeller. This was assembled by a local woodworker using
boards, glue, moose leather, and hooves. The repairs were
complete by late April, too late to fly to Fort Norman because
there would not be enough snow to land safely with their skis.
When they arrived at Peace River, they noticed that there was
not enough snow for the skis there either, so they dropped a note at the
aerodrome telling the caretaker that they would land at Little
Bear Lake. They also asked for fuel and wheels to be brought to
them. They waited until late May when they received a set of
pontoons and fuel to fly out of Little Bear Lake on their way to
Fort Norman, where they repaired the Rene. They returned with
both Junkers to Peace River in late August, but when the Rene
landed on the water it struck an object that damaged one
pontoon, partly sinking the aircraft. The plane eventually
drifted to safety on a small island.