Frederick Alexander McCully Moore

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, on November 26, 1928, Frederick Alexander McCully Moore was the only son of parents, Alex and Bennie, followed by six sisters: Cynthia, Sylvia, Marsha, Martha, Pamela and Alexis. Raised in Trail, British Columbia, Fred's first service in uniform was as an air cadet. Following high school graduation in 1947, Fred was selected for entry into the first Air Force class at Royal Roads Military College in Victoria.

Graduating from Royal Roads in 1949, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on May 1, 1949 and was selected for pilot training on Harvard and Expediter aircraft. In April 1950 he earned his wings upon graduation at No. 1 Flying Training School at RCAF Station Centralia and was commissioned with the rank of Pilot Officer. His first posting was to the RCAF's Winter Experimental Establishment in Edmonton, where he flew the famed P-51 Mustang.

At 23, in 1952 he was the youngest person to be accepted into the United States Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and graduated as a Qualified Test Pilot. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant, Fred returned to Canada and was assigned the responsibility for flight testing and acceptance of aircraft for the RCAF, together with the challenges facing the industry converting to jet aircraft. In 1953 he was transferred to Canadair in Montreal to take command of the RCAF Central Experimental and Proving Establishment (CEPE) unit with a staff of three to eight pilots for flight testing and acceptance of the Canadair T-33 Silver Star and the F-86 Sabre aircraft.

In 1954 Fred was called to assist in development of F-86 simulators and given responsibility for their acceptance. Also in 1954 he was transferred to Avro and de Havilland in Toronto with the same responsibilities as at Canadair, with a staff of five to 12 aircrew for flight testing of the Avro CF-100, as well as the Vampire, Chipmunk and Otter aircraft at de Havilland. This included assessing changes involved in development of the CF-100 types and flight testing of the aircraft's advanced weapons fire control system. Fred had a pivotal role in ensuring that 3,164 aircraft and 25 simulators met RCAF specifications. From 1955 to 1958, he was in charge of accepting 18 different types from eight Canadian aircraft companies and flew 564 acceptance test flights himself.

In 1955 Fred was transferred to CEPE headquarters in Ottawa to assume the new role of Officer Commanding Aircraft Acceptance and Factory Development, with a staff of 19 officers. In 1955 he was also assigned to Canadian Aviation Electronics Ltd. (CAE) in Montreal for RCAF assistance to CAE in developing simulators for CF-100 aircraft. The RCAF led the way in developing and employing flight simulators. In 1952, Redifon in the U.K. was contracted to produce F-86 flight simulators.

However, the prototype was unacceptable, and Fred Moore was assigned to assist Redifon in producing a satisfactory F-86 Sabre simulator in 1954. In 1952, CAE was contracted to produce flight simulators for the CF-100, but in September 1955 their prototype was a failure, so Fred was assigned that project as well. Over the next 17 months he had a decisive role in developing a virtually new simulator. CAE's new CF-100 simulator was a high performance flight and tactics trainer. Its success transformed the RCAF's training policies into employing simulators that were safer, more efficient, completely realistic and versatile - and CAE survived.

In September 1958, at Air Force Headquarters in Ottawa, Fred Moore became the RCAF Design Authority Project Officer for flight simulators. He was responsible for preparing design objectives, specifications for new simulators and acting as the design authority for contractors. As such, he produced the "blueprint" for the outstanding CF-104/F-104 simulator for the RCAF and the German, Netherlands, Belgium, and Italian air forces.

From September 1962 until graduation in July 1963, Fred attended RCAF Staff College in Toronto, in a course for officers being considered for promotion. On October 9, 1963 he took his release from the RCAF, leaving with the rank of Squadron Leader, accepting a position with Northwest Industries (NWI) in Edmonton, Alberta. The company had been acquired by CAE and was involved in the repair and overhaul of RCAF aircraft. His new responsibilities were to spearhead the company's diversification into industrial products, and later into civil aviation. By 1968 he was Vice-President of Marketing and Contracts, with responsibility for civilian aircraft sales and service, including a full-line Cessna dealership.

A new opportunity arose in September 1970, when Fred moved to Richmond B.C. as Marketing Manager of Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. (OHL) to expand the company's air services across Canada and into world markets.

In 1972 he was promoted to Vice President Marketing and by 1981 had seen revenues increase tenfold.

In 1981 he was promoted to Senior Vice President with responsibility for development of new business, joint ventures, partnerships, and the drafting and execution of all major contracts. Fred was responsible for the company's growth in the international offshore oil support market.

In 1981 he was solely responsible for OHL, along with a U.K. firm, to be the first to establish civil air services in China, in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of China. By then, OHL operated across Canada and in 12 foreign countries.

OHL flew the first civil helicopter across the Atlantic and was first in operating helicopters under Instrument Flight Rules. The company flew helicopters across the Arctic in winter, and routinely ferried helicopters from Canada to and from India, Thailand and China, via Europe.

In 1987 the company was sold to become part of the new Canadian Helicopters Corporation, later CHC Helicopter Corporation (CHC) with Moore remaining as Senior Vice-President. At that time, CHC operated 256 helicopters, the largest charter air carrier in Canada and the second largest fleet of civil helicopters in the world.

In January 1991 Fred retired from CHC, remaining in aviation with his own small consulting business until 2000. In a career of half a century as a senior RCAF officer and as a senior executive in the aviation industry, Fred Moore was well respected in Canadian and international aviation fraternities in both fixed wing and rotary wing industries. He and his wife, Michaeline, were married on April 4, 1959. They live in Delta, British Columbia, and have four sons - Alien, Michael, David and Roderick - and five grandchildren.

With his military experience, Fred has flown more than 50 types of aircraft including historic aircraft such as the B-29 bomber, the B-47 Mitchell bomber, the Lancaster bomber and the Canadian Avro C102 Jetliner. As well, he has flown the Royal Canadian Navy's anti-submarine Tracker and jetBanshee, and the CF-104 Starfighter. Fred was a precision pilot and continues to fly private at every opportunity.

Fred Moore was inducted as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame on May 30, 2014 at a ceremony held in Calgary, Alberta.