Robert Parsons Engle

After attending the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, in 1943 Robert Parsons "Bob" Engle volunteered for active duty in the United States Naval Reserve (USNR) and was commissioned as Ensign, after serving as Petty Officer 1st Class. After the Second World War he left the navy as a Lieutenant in the USNR. He then attended Yale University, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

With training on a Piper J3 Cub, Bob earned a Private Pilot Licence, followed by a Commercial Licence and an instrument rating. In 1956, flying his Cessna 180 on floats, he landed in Yellowknife to explore commercial aviation opportunities in Canada and Alaska. Bob was born in Seattle, Washington on July 12, 1923; his flight to Yellowknife was the beginning of an adventure that would have lasting effects on aviation in northern Canada.

After settling in Yellowknife, Bob had his first job in the north, contracting his de Havilland Beaver to Wardair, flying for a McGill University expedition to the Arctic Archipelago in the summer of 1958. From 1958-60 for Wardair, he flew a single engine Otter and a twin-engine Bristol Freighter. By 1961 Bob had started his own one-pilot, one-airplane company, Northwest Territorial Airways (NWT Air) and continued as senior pilot throughout the airline's development.

Purchase of a de Havilland Otter led to bush charter operations in 1962, and in 1963 a Beech 18 equipped with wheels, skis and floats was acquired. Engle completed his Airline Transport Pilot's Licence at American Fliers in Fort Worth, Texas, where he trained on a Douglas DC-3. The purchase of NWT Air's first DC-3, equipped with skis and wheels, followed in 1967. After selling his bush flying operations, Bob built the first hangar at the Yellowknife airport. NWT Air became the first airline to base heavy transport aircraft at its new facilities. The hangar was large enough to accommodate the Lockheed Hercules that would be added to NWT Air's fleet 10 years later for worldwide and frontier cargo service.

In 1968 the airline began service to the central Arctic coast at Coppermine and to other communities with the DC-3. Service increased again with larger aircraft in1971 with purchase of two Douglas DC-6A aircraft. "The DC-6 was my favorite aircraft," says Bob. "It was stable for a VFR circling approach and short field airstrips common in the North, and had an extended range over the DC-3, and apressurized cabin." The DC-6s introduced scheduled services from Yellowknife to the Edmonton Municipal Airport.

Two years later, the first turboprop Lockheed Electra aircraft was acquired as Electras began to replace the DC-6s, and by 1976 Engle's operation was contracted to provide charter service for Dome Petroleum from Calgary and Edmonton to transport crew and cargo to the Beaufort Sea. In 1980 the airline inaugurated trans-Territorial scheduled  passenger and cargo service with Electras from Yellowknife, Rankin Inlet and Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit), complementing the scheduled network. Scheduled overnight priority cargo service with the Electra was introduced across Canada serving Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. Bob Engle saw his company grow in size and service with larger multi-engine aircraft, eventually including Boeing 737 jet aircraft. He was among the first to adapt and utilize large multi-engine aircraft in the North. During all this time, the company remained based in Yellowknife and focused on northern Canada. Don Yamkowy, former chair of the Northwest Territories Chamber of Commerce, has stated that Bob Engle is an aviation pioneer; "...who dedicated his life to northern aviation, with his constant desire for excellence in air transportation in Northern Canada."

David Ramsay, the Northwest Territories Minister of Justice, Industry, Tourism and Investment, has praise for Engle's contributions in the North, as a leader and innovator.

"Just one example of his pioneering approach was his introduction of the Lockheed L-382G Hercules aircraft into Northern Canadian flight operations. Mr. Engle launched cost-effective and affordable air cargo operations into isolated locations and changed the resupply of the north."

Expansion of aviation services in northern Canada did not come easily. It took Bob Engle 12 years to persuade the Air Transport Commission to allow his airline to fly regularly from Yellowknife to Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit and Winnipeg. It took another five years to obtain the right to fly on a schedule basis to Edmonton from Yellowknife.

However, Bob Engle's transport operations were not confined to air only. He founded Air Northwest for ground handling; Northwest International Aircraft Leasing; and Northwest International Airways, for business jet charters in western Canada. As well, he co-founded Northwest Transport Ltd. to provide highway transport and inter-modal truck and air cargo service from Edmonton throughout the Arctic in support of Hercules charter flights.

Bob was the first pilot of NWT Air and continued as its owner until the airline was sold to Air Canada in 1988. The Electras were replaced with Boeing 737-200 combination cargo/passenger aircraft certified for gravel strip operation. NWT Air then became the first scheduled service of Air Canada in the North, as an Air Canada connector. In 1990, Bob resigned as Chairman of the Board and CEO. In 1998, Air Canada sold the airline to First Air, operated by Bradley Air Services Ltd., which continues to serve most of the routes pioneered by Engle.

Bob Engle's involvement in the economy and development of the north went well beyond his business interests. He was the founding president and chairman of the Northern Air Transport Association, and was an honourary Life Member. He served as director for the N.W.T. in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and was a founding director and Honourary Life Member of the Yellowknife Rotary Club. In 1985 he was named Transportation Person of the Year for Northern Alberta and the North.

In 1990, Robert Engle was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. Other recognition for his contributions in aviation followed. Honoured again in 2000, Bob received the Pioneer in Aviation Award from the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg. In 2003 he was appointed Honourary Colonel to 440 Transport Squadron of the RCAF. In 2007, the City of Yellowknife designated a new industrial subdivision adjacent to the airport as Engle Business District, recognizing his 50 years of contribution to the community.

Seven years after first touching down in Yellowknife, Bob became a Canadian citizen in 1963 in Yellowknife at the court of Justice John Sissons, the first judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. Years later, as an honourary citizenship judge himself. Bob welcomed new Canadian Citizens, including employees of NWT Air. Bob and his wife Roxy, after living in Yellowknife for 50 years, relocated to West Vancouver, British Columbia - the Engle family includes Bob's three children James, Emma and Alex.

Bob died suddenly on September 19, 2014 at their home.

Bob Engle was inducted as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame at a Ceremony on May 30, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta. He died on September 19, 2014 at Vancouver, B.C.