Beyond the Sunset by George Fuller:
In keeping with MAM’s mandate to preserve Quebec’s aviation heritage we are proud to introduce this section of our website. We will be progressively publishing selections of articles and presentations by the noted Quebec aviation historian, George Alexander Fuller. George’s efforts in researching and publishing on the early days of aviation have preserved important aspects of our history that would otherwise have been lost forever.
George was born in Sherbrooke in 1927, the son of a WWI Royal Flying Corps veteran. Aviation has dominated his life ranging from Air Cadets and the RCAF Auxiliary, to summer jobs at Canadian Vickers and Avro Canada. He has written articles and presented papers for the Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) and for other notable international organizations. George was a Director of the Society and a founding member of the Montreal Chapter where he has given over a hundred short monthly talks under the title “Downwind”.
George has been an honorary member and advisor to MAM since its founding as the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre in 1998.
I thank George for permitting MAM to share his work with aviation enthusiasts and for allowing us to become a repository where it can be preserved and made available to researchers. I invite you to sample some of the fascinating recounting of Quebec and Canada’s aviation history that George A Fuller has preserved for posterity.
- John Lawson, President
Beyond the Sunset: #1
In the fall of 1917 it was decided to transfer Canadian pilot training to American airfields in Texas.
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Beyond the Sunset: #2
In 1936, enthusiasts had something new to contemplate; an airplane that they might be able to build at home.
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Beyond the Sunset: #3
Winged Victory” by Victor M. Yeates was published in 1934. It was based on the his experiences with 46 Squadron.
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Beyond the Sunset: #4
George Alexander Fuller was born in Sherbrooke, Québec in 1927, the son of Lieut. G.S.B. Fuller, a pilot and veteran of the First World War.
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Beyond the Sunset: #5
Count Henry de la Vaulx, arrived at Saint-Hubert airport on 15 April I930.
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Beyond the Sunset: #6
21 November 2000 will be the 217th anniversary of the world's first manned balloon flight.
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Beyond the Sunset: #7
The second Fairchild FC-2 monoplane acquired by the Canadian Department of National Defence was flown from New York to Rockcliffe airport, Ottawa in October, 1927.
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Beyond the Sunset: #8
The DC-3 was preceded in airline service by the 14 passenger DC-2. It was first delivered to Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) in May, 1934.
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About George Fuller:
George Alexander Fuller was born in Sherbrooke, Québec in 1927, the son of Lieut. G.S.B. Fuller, a veteran of the Royal Flying Corps, First World War, and Sadie Rose Mennie, a registered nurse.After attending Sherbrooke High School and completing his Senior Matriculation at Bishop‘s University in Lennoxville, Québec, he earned a B.Sc. degree from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in Montréal.
George grew up with more than the average interest in aviation. He carried on the family tradition during the Second World War by joining the Air Cadets, and took summer jobs at Canadian Vickers and Avro Canada. He served in the RCAF Auxiliary from 1952 to 1958 after his career took him into business with the Noranda organization in 1951.
Since then his enthusiasm for aviation has been directed towards researching the neglected early history of flight in Canada from the time of the first balloon ascensions while enjoying every opportunity to fly and, in his words, “to look down on this wonderful country.” All of his work has been informed by his interest in how geography and the railroads in particular have contributed to the development of aviation in Canada. With John Griffin and Ken Molson, George co-authored the frequently cited book 125 years of Canadian aeronautics: A chronology, 1840-1965, published in 1983 by the Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS).
He has contributed numerous articles to the CAHS Journal, is a former director of the Society, and was a founding member of the Montréal Chapter. George has presented papers at annual conventions of both the CAHS and the U.S.-based Northeast Aero Historians. Closer to home, he has given well over a hundred short monthly talks to the CAHS Montréal Chapter under the title “Downwind.”
George has been an honorary member and advisor to the Montréal Aviation Museum since 1998 when it was founded as the Canadian Aviation Heritage Centre. He is a former member of Fondation Aérovision Québec, and served on the selection committee for the Panthéon de l’Air et de l’Espace (Québec Aviation Hall of Fame) from 2001 to 2010.
Widely recognized as an eminent historian of early Québec aviation, George is often consulted by fellow experts, and draws on more than 60 years’ experience to advise and encourage a younger generation of aviation history researchers.