Cherry Red Airline

Cherry Red Airline Limited
Operating bases North Battleford from 1930
Fleet size 2
Destinations Various mines and rural destinations in Saskatchewan

Cherry Red Airline, also known as the Cherry Air Service, was the first airline in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.[1] It was founded by Norman Cherry and H. Holroyde in 1928.[2][3] Cherry noticed an unmet demand for transportation services by mines in Saskatchewan, especially Consolidated Mining and Smelting, and decided to create an airline to meet that need. He hired pilot Alva Malone and partnered with H. Holroyde. The airline had a fleet consisting of two airplanes: a two-seat Pheasant biplane and a six passenger Buhl Airsedan.[3] To earn extra revenue, Cherry decided to issue stamps starting at $0.10 for carrying airmail, making the airline the first airmail provider in Prince Albert.[4] Existing stamps issued by the company are sought after by collectors.[5][6] The great depression brought about the end of the airline as mine traffic dried up.[3] by 1932, the company had failed.[1] The Buhl Airsedan had previously been lost in an accident with no fatalities. The Pheasant biplane was sold and, in 1932, it crash landed, rendering it inoperable. The plane languished in storage until the Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum acquired it in 1950. Volunteers worked from 1960 to 1964 to restore it, and it has been in the museum's permanent collection ever since. It is the oldest surviving airplane in Saskatchewan.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Saskatchewan Aviation Chronology 1920-29". CAHS Regina Chapter. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Education. Northern Division; Pahkisimon Nuyeả́h Library System (1992). Wings Beyond Road's End: Airplanes Over Saskatchewan's North. Focus Publishing, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-919781-75-7.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Cherry Red Airline". FTLComm. August 26, 2001.
  4. ↑ Ronald Edward George Davies (1964). The world's airlines. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Camille Allaz (1 March 2005). History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century. Google Consultant. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-9548896-0-9. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Philatelic Literature Review. 1981. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Grosse, Noelle (1999). "Artifact Articles: Red Pheasant (Pioneer recalls Pheasant)". Western Development Museum. Retrieved 15 March 2013.