John Hardisty Reilly

John Hardisty (Jack) Reilly was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on March 1, 1921, and was educated there. He became an 'airport kid' who ran errands and refuelled aircraft for many of the airmen who have since been named to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.

Reilly began flying in Edmonton in 1938, then joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in June 1940 and completed his flying training at No. 6 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) Dunnville, Ontario. He completed the flying instructor's course and served as a flying instructor and flight commander at No. 9 SFTS Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and Centralia, Ontario. In September 1943, he was posted back to Summerside for the General Reconnaissance Course where he received his Navigator's Certificate. He was assigned pilot duties on Canso and Catalina flying boats on operational patrols on Canada's west coast and Alaska. Prior to being posted overseas, he carried out instructional duties at No. 3 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Patricia Bay, British Columbia. Until the end of World War II, he captained Coastal Command Sunderland flying boats on anti-submarine patrols from bases in northern Scotland and Ireland.

His exceptional flying abilities led to a posting with No. 426 RCAF Transport Squadron at Bedfordshire, England as captain of a modified B-24 Liberator Bomber on VIP flights to India. Before retiring from the service as a Flight Lieutenant in 1946, he had completed the most advanced military flight instructor's course available, the senior administration course, and earned the most senior military pilot's licence.

Until 1949 he was associated with Leavens Brothers Air Service at Toronto, Ontario, as Chief Pilot of the largest flying school in Canada at that time, and as Chief Pilot and administrator of their provincial forest spraying contract.

In 1949 he joined Kenting Aviation of Toronto, which recognized his broad vision of aerial management. They accepted his ideas for high altitude photographic surveys using World War II aircraft and operating at stratospheric heights. He was named Chief Pilot in 1951, and personally flew these demanding flights, using modified Mosquito fighters, a Sea Hornet and Boeing B-17's. His duties carried him to many countries, and he was required to remain qualified on several types of heavy twin and four-engine aircraft at the same time.

In 1956 he joined Canadian Aircraft Renters Ltd. at Toronto and their subsidiary, Southern Provincial Airlines, as Superintendent of Operations over their Toronto, New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago charter routes, as well as their services in the Arctic.

Reilly was hired in 1959 as Chief Pilot for Peter Bawden Drilling of Calgary, Alberta. He was widely recognized for his extensive knowledge of aircraft operations over unmapped and inhospitable terrain under punishing weather conditions, and for extended periods of time. He was joined by his wife, 'Molly' Reilly as co-captain of a Douglas DC-3. They flew to most of the major oil fields in western and northern Canada, and throughout the United States. During his 14 years of service, he and his pilots flew 1,800,000 accident-free miles from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada's northernmost islands. Aircraft under his control blazed new frontiers in the north, often without benefit of radio communication or navigational aids and during extended periods of darkness.

From 1973 to 1981, Reilly was engaged in various corporate aviation operations. In 1981 he joined Transport Canada as a Civil Aviation Inspector, and for assistance he provided to No.  431 Air Demonstration Squadron he was made an Honorary Snowbird. He flew more than 30,000 hours as captain-in-command of 70 different types of aircraft, without a fatality in any operation under his command. After retiring in 1989, he devoted himself to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, which is the home of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. He died at Wetaskiwin, Alberta on September 2, 2003. On August 4, 2004, the Snowbirds No. 431 Demonstration Squadron performed an aerobatic show at Wetaskiwin, Alberta dedicated in tribute to Honorary Snowbird Jack Reilly.

"Captain Jack", as he was known to his friends, applied his skills as an aviation manager and pilot for a period of 59 years, and at age 78 still maintained an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with a Class 1 Instrument Rating

John Hardisty (Jack) Reilly was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.