This short flight from Regina, Saskatchewan to the small community of Liberty further north was the precursor of the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service. Now known as LIFEGUARD, it is the oldest non-military air ambulance service in the world. Given the vast scale of this Canadian province and its low population density, it was – and is – a vital medical air service.

The flight to Liberty was made in a Noorduyn Norseman (there are some in the library for both FS2004 and FSX) from Regina, where the service was originally based. It took place on 3 February 1946. By August that year the plane had made over 100 medical flights and the service began to expand; a Fairchild Husky was added in 1947 and two Cessnas (a 195 and a Crane) in 1948.

I routed north-west from Regina International to the lower reaches of Last Mountain Lake, turned west until I crossed Highway 2, then followed it north. Liberty is near the T junction with Highway 749, but this latter road does not show up in FSX. Visually you land due west of a characteristically-shaped western arm off the lake (at Henderson Beach). I chose to land on Highway 2 at N51 08 26 W105 27 00 but more properly these days you can land at the Imperial airfield a little further north.

This was by no means the first ‘mercy’ flight in the province. Many occurred in biplanes before the war. Charlie Skinner, a barnstormer flying a Swallow biplane, is credited with making the first of these on February 12, 1935. He flew east from Regina to Indian Head to pick up a doctor for delivery to Odessa, a short distance by road but completely blocked off by snowdrifts.

More on this fascinating aspect of flying in the Prairies can be found at http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/air_ambulance.html

See my other Flightsim blog entries by simply by clicking on the Aviation History & Flight Simulation link below.

Allan Jones

allanj12@gmail.com

http://moonscourse.blogspot.ca/