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other Fokker. When Stevenson finally got back to base after three days of slogging through snowdrifts, the first thing he saw was the plane he had left back at the lake, now sitting on the landing strip. He truly thought he had been out in the bush too long.
    On a subsequent takeoff, Stevenson ripped his undercarriage, but the only place where repairs could be made was at a train depot 135 miles (218 kilometres) away. He piled the broken parts onto a railway handcar, and with Cheesman pumping one handle and Stevenson the other, they seesawed their way there and back.
    Balchen had his adventures, too. Caught in a blizzard near Eskimo Point, Manitoba, as the sun was setting, he decided to land on snow-covered tundra and wait out the storm. He was rocked to sleep by strong winds pummelling his plane but was roused in the early morning darkness by a peculiar bumping motion. Trying to focus through the dim light and blowing snow, he could just make out a big whiteshape. A polar bear was butt to butt with the back end of his plane, using the horizontal stabilizer as a scratching post. Balchen decided to let the itchy bear be; however, before taking off into a clear sky the next morning, he made a careful inspection of the aircraft’s tail section.
    In spite of such contretemps, by April 22 eight tons of equipment and 14 workers had been delivered to Port Churchill. Balchen noted that on their last takeoff from Cache Lake, there was so much water on the melting ice that the ski-fitted Fokkers resembled seaplanes.
    The 1927 Churchill airlift for the Hudson Bay Railway was the first of its kind in Canada, and probably the world. It was successful at a time when aviation and northern flying were far from mature, and when communication and navigation aids were primitive at best. It’s therefore a tribute to the determination and skill of all concerned. The Department of National Defence said: “The decision during 1927 as to the selection of Fort [Port] Churchill as the ocean terminus of the Hudson Bay Railway was made possible by these flights. There has been no more brilliant operation in the history of commercial flying.” The completion of this project established the usefulness of aircraft in remote areas, not only in mining and geologic surveys, but also in servicing distant communities. Equally important, it established WCA as a pioneer in northern aviation.
    Following the successful Churchill Operation, WCA founder Doc Oaks moved on to other accomplishments,launching Northern Aerial Mineral Exploration Ltd. to fly mining engineers and prospectors into remote locations from Hudson Bay to the Rockies to sample Precambrian rocks that yielded gold, silver, nickel, zinc and copper. He established fuel depots across northern Canada so flights could go farther in greater safety. To ease winter engine start-ups, he and Cheesman developed small heated tents called “nose hangers” that fit over engines and allowed work to be done without frostbitten fingers. In January 1929, WCA established a regular air service along the Mackenzie River to Fort McMurray.
    In 1927, Oaks became the first recipient of the McKee Trophy for achievement in aviation. Known as the Oscar of Canadian aviation, the McKee Trophy (Trans-Canada McKee Trophy) is the oldest aviation award in Canada. It is given annually to a Canadian whose achievements have been “most outstanding in promoting aviation in Canada.” It was donated by Captain J. Dalzell McKee, an American pilot who completed the first seaplane flight across Canada from Montreal to Vancouver in a Douglas MO-2B in 1926, accompanied by Squadron Leader Earl Godfrey of the RCAF.
    Oaks was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, which is located in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, in 1974, with the following commendation: “The professional daring of his aerial expeditions into uncharted regions led others of his breed to colonize the unknown north and bring outstanding