Thomas Payne Fox

Thomas Payne (Tommy) Fox was born December 24, 1909, in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he attended school. He started his own trucking business and operated a wood and coal supply company. He learned to fly in Vancouver, receiving his Private Pilot's Licence in 1930. The following year he constructed a Pietenpol Air Camper from plans published in a home mechanics magazine, and flew it for several years. It was considered to be one of the first successful 'homebuilts' to be constructed and flown in western Canada.

In 1939 Fox joined Canadian Airways Limited which operated No. 2 Air Observer School in Edmonton for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). In 1940 he became Assistant Operations Manager, responsible for the supervision and training of pilots. Three and a half years later, he joined No. 45 Group, Royal Air Force Transport Command (RAFTC) as an aircraft ferry pilot. He completed 30 trans-Atlantic crossings, delivering Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, mostly to the Middle East and India.

At the end of the war, Fox returned to Canada and formed Associated Airways Limited at Edmonton, Alberta, with his partner, David C. Dyck. They had two aircraft, a de Havilland Dragonfly and a Tiger Moth. Fox obtained his Air Engineer's Licence and was Associated Airway's sole aircraft mechanic. In the first few years of operation, the company provided passenger flights, charter flights, and flight instruction, and started a regular flight service to northern Alberta communities.

In January 1947, one of Associated Airway's pilots damaged a wing of an Anson aircraft on a flight to fort Chipewyan, 360 miles (580 km) north of Edmonton. When Fox arrived at the site anxious to recover one of his company's major assets, he saw that nine feet (2.6m) was broken off one wing. He knew that to save it he would have to fly it out, or it would sink into the lake at spring thaw. After draping a tarpaulin shelter over the undamaged wing top to provide some shelter from the -500F temperature, he set to work to equalize the wing balance by cutting nine feet off that wing. He then patched both wing tips with materials he brought with him. He was able to get the plane airborne and could maintain altitude by keeping the throttles wide open. Near Fort McMurray, Fox was forced to land due to a frozen cross-feed fuel line which prevented him from using the fuel from another tank. For three nights, in extremely cold temperatures, he huddled inside his plane until fuel was flown in from Edmonton. He was able to fly to Fort McMurray, switch from skis to wheels and then fly to Edmonton safely. However, the authorities took a dim view of Fox's innovations, and demanded both his pilot's and mechanic's licences. Both were returned to him from Ottawa the following week.

During the search for oil in Alberta in 1950, Fox saw the potential value of the helicopter to the exploration and surveying phases of the oil industry. Associated Helicopters Limited was formed as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and a Bell 47-D1 was purchased and put into immediate service in the Lesser Slave Lake area in northern Alberta. Additional helicopters were acquired and used in the transport of survey crews and equipment into otherwise inaccessible regions.

In 1951 he purchased Territories Air Services Limited and Yellowknife Airways Limited in the Northwest Territories from Matt Berry. By the end of the year Associated Airways had charter bases at Edmonton and Peace River in Alberta, and Fort Smith, Hay River, and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

Fox made a major move in 1952 and bought his first Bristol Freighter, using it to transport heavy equipment into remote mining and oil drilling sites. In 1955 Associated Airways was designated the prime contractor to supply the western Arctic section of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. Four Avro Yorks were acquired to undertake the massive airlift of men and materials to the Arctic radar construction sites.

Fox joined the Air Industries and Transport Association (AITA) in 1947 and distinguished himself there with his consummate diplomacy. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1949, and after serving as Western Vice-President for a number of years, was elected President in 1954. In an unprecedented move, he was re-elected for the 1955 term and under his leadership, the Association played a major role in ensuring that air transport requirements for the construction of the DEW Line would be handled by Canadian civilian operators. The Association's successful efforts in obtaining this agreement added many millions of dollars to the industry at a critical time in its development.

As the company's fleet of aircraft grew, Aero Engineering was acquired as a subsidiary in Edmonton to undertake major overhauls of engines, propellers and airframes, and to perform similar work for other aircraft owners.

In 1956 Associated Airways was sold to Pacific Western Airlines (PWA), and as a director and vice-chairman of the new Board of Directors of PWA, Fox played a leading role in the acquisition of jet aircraft for that company. Fox sold Associated Helicopters to Neonex Group in 1969, but remained with the company as Chairman of the Board until his retirement in 1971.

Fox was a director of the International Northwest Aviation Council (INAC) for a number of years and was elected Vice-President in 1950. He served as chairman of the Aviation Committee of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. He was a Life Member of the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) and the Edmonton Flying Club, of which he was a long-time director. For many years he provided leadership for several community-minded associations and societies in Edmonton. Fox died in Edmonton on September 14, 1995.

Thomas Payne (Tommy) Fox was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1984 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.