Royal Flying Corps Canada, aeroplane repair section at Camp Borden, Ontario, 1917
Image Credit: Library & Archives Canada
Ontario has a long history as a centre of elite aviation personnel training and innovation. When the First World War ended on November 11, 1918, Ontario was home to a sizeable wartime aviation industry.
In early 1917, Great Britain established the Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFCC) to train large numbers of Canadian air and ground crew and tradesmen to fight in Europe. Land was rapidly cleared for six new RFCC flying schools.
The Imperial Munitions Board established Canadian Aeroplanes Limited (CAL) in Toronto to build Curtiss JN-4 training aircraft to equip the new flying schools. CAL took over the Curtiss factory on Strachan Avenue. There, they built a large aircraft factory on Dufferin Street near Dupont Avenue which opened in May 1916 and boasted 21,831 sq m (235,000 sq ft) which was the largest factory space in Toronto.
By September 1917 there were more than 4,000 cadets and 1,000 staff at the RFCC bases, and aircraft production reached a peak of 350 in February 1918.
By the time the RFCC fell silent with the Armistice, more than 16,600 cadets had graduated (including 3135 pilots) and CAL had built components for the equivalent of 2,900 aircraft, including 30 twin-engine biplane Felixstowe F-5-F flying boats with a wing span of 31.62 m (103 ft 9 in) for the US Navy.
During a very busy 23 months RAF (Canada) and CAL introduced thousands of Canadian men and women to the aviation industry and flying for the first time.
-Kenneth Schwartz
Today, students from Centennial College, Toronto Metropolitan University, Queens University, McMaster University, York University and the University of Toronto are working on collaborative DAIR projects, developing skills, and helping to build an even stronger aerospace industry for Ontario and Canada.