Ronald John Baker

Ronald John Baker, B.Sc., was born in Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan, on March 28, 1912. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science-Engineering degree in 1934 from the University of Saskatchewan. While attending university he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant with the Canadian Officers Training Corps.

A strong interest in radios from his early teens led to summer employment with the Province of Saskatchewan, installing radios at sites in the northern bush areas. When he became engineer in charge, it was required that he be flown from one location to another, so he left school for one year to take flight instruction at the Regina Flying School. He received his Private Pilot's Licence in November 1932, and Commercial Air Pilot Certificate one month later.

In 1936, Baker earned his Air Engineer Certificate. For two years he flew from site to site with Saskatchewan Air Service but eventually the flying was contracted to the mason & Campbell Aviation Company (M&C). M&C's desire to set up a radio station made Baker the perfect candidate to join M&C as a pilot and air engineer. Most of the flights out of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, were forestry surveys south of the Churchill River. In the winter the company transported fish from the northern lakes to the larger centres.

RJ Baker in front of a/c. Winter 1937

Early in 1939 Baker flew a Fox Moth to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and applied for a position with Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA). He began working for them as a First Officer on June 15, 1939. A number of his early flights were from Winnipeg to Vancouver with Herb Seagrim.

Baker was promoted to Captain with TCA in 1941. While flying with TCA he realized that the engines could be operated more efficiently, and that the time between overhauls could be extended. His new cruise control procedures were adopted immediately. In 1943, when TCA undertook the operation of the Canadian Government Trans Atlantic Service (CGTAS) using converted Lancaster bombers, the full fuel tank range was the only technical information available. Baker and two young engineers were assigned the task of working out all of the data for fuel flow, rate of climb, cruise control, etc. Unfortunately, not even a change of engines, from American Packard-built Rolls Royce Merlins to British-built Rolls Royce engines, could make the Lancastrian venture successful.

Following the CGTAS exercise, Baker was sent to Canadair in Montreal to assist with the design of the cockpit and the conversion of the military C-47's to DC-3's. The small group who worked under his direction in Winnipeg wrote all the descriptive materials for the aircraft, and developed all normal and emergency operating procedures. The preparation of these manuals was approved by the Department of Transport (DOT) and signed by the Engineering and Flight Operations Department.

In 1945 Canadair was preparing to modify the Douglas-built transport C-54/DC-4. This model would be called C-54/DC-4M or 'North Star', and would have the more powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engines. It would also be pressurized in order to overfly the weather. Baker was one of the group of pilots who set up the instrument panel on a wooden mock-up of a North Star and was on the flight test program in 1946 with Canadair Chief Test Pilot Al Lilly. For pioneering technical changes and testing aircraft in California, U.S.A., prior to acceptance by the Canadian government, Baker was awarded the U.S. Air Medal.

Captain Ron Baker, recalled a demonstration flight of the North Star to California: "As we checked in with various stations along the route, there were numerous remarks about our speed, as the North Star was so much faster than most transports."

Baker, along with several pilots from DOT's Flight Operations Headquarters, attended the ground course for the Lockheed Super Constellation, and later made trips to California to test and accept several of these aircraft for TCA.  As new aircraft were added to the TCA fleet, he would test and accept each plane and ferry it to Montreal. These included Vickers Viscounts and Vanguards, DC-8's and DC-9's.

During his career, he was required to fly regularly scheduled flights while he was involved in testing and returning aircraft that had been damaged in operations. Before his retirement, Baker was very involved with the development of the auto approach-and-land features of the Boeing 747 and Lockheed 1011 aircraft.

Throughout his career, Baker maintained his interest in radios, and flew his own Cessna on floats for pleasure. In 1941 he was elected to serve as secretary to the fledgling Canadian Air Line Pilots Association (CALPA). He was an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers 7 Committee, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI), and Professional Engineers Association of Quebec.

After his retirement from Air Canada in March of 1972, Baker acquired an analog simulator for small aircraft and taught instrument flying procedures. He was a member and later advisor to the Accident Review Board. He passed away at Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on March 24, 1990.

Ronald John Baker was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1994 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.

On the honour of his retirement, March 31, 1972.