About Christopher Weicht
Chris Weicht,
the son of an R.A.F. officer and former journalist, was
born at London, England in 1935. He spent the war years in
several boarding schools and refugee homes after surviving
the bombing of his home in Coventry.
In 1948
Christopher immigrated to Vancouver, Canada with his
parents who eventually settled on forty acres in rural Port
Coquitlam, B.C. where his father found employment as the
editor of two Fraser Valley newspapers.
In 1949 he
joined an Air Cadet Squadron in New Westminster where he
rose through the ranks to Warrant Officer and in 1952 he
was presented his wings on completion of a flight training
scholarship. In 1953 he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. at Jericho
Beach, Vancouver and later served at R.C.A.F. Station
Comox.
In 1956 Chris was hired by Pacific Western Airlines and
served on D.E.W. Line operations in the Northwest
Territories where his first chief pilot was aviation
pioneer, Stan McMillan. Later he moved to multi-engine
operations under the tutelage of Sheldon Luck.
A vision problem caused Chris to temporarily leave aviation
in 1960 but he utilized this time to advance his education
and four years later the commerce graduate was hired in a
management position with an oil company in Vancouver.
The desire to return to aviation was strong but Department
of Transport medical staff was unrelenting. Chris was
advised to apply to the United States for an F.A.A.
licence. This application was successful and he immediately
obtained employment as a pilot with Cascade Aircraft of
Bellingham, Washington, flying on U.S. Forest Service
operations.
In 1967 he was successful in an appeal to reinstate his
Canadian medical and was hired by Caribou Air Charter as
base manager at Dawson Creek and Fort St. John on a
contract with the British Columbia Forest Service.
Chris Returned to the B.C. coast in 1971 as a pilot for Air
West Airlines and other charter airlines and in 1978 he
became Chief Pilot for a corporate aviation department.
In 1980 he became an instructor for an Air Cadet Squadron
at Abbotsford, B.C. and in 1982 he was promoted to Captain
and became the Commanding Officer. In 1983 he founded a
scholarship program that gave young people an opportunity
to experience the joy of flying. The Ultra Light Flight
Training Scholarship was awarded to 65 teenagers, many of
whom are now actively employed in aviation.
By 1984 an economic slowdown resulted in the closure of the
flight department that employed Chris and he was
subsequently hired as Chief Pilot and Operations Manager
for a First Nations airline based in Bella Bella and
Vancouver, B.C. This small airline grew from a single
deHavilland Beaver to both VFR and IFR operations utilizing
Beaver, Aztec, Navajo, Beech 99, and DC-3 aircraft.
In 1987 he joined ALC Airlift as Chief Pilot IFR operations
and flew charters throughout North America. During this
time, his son, Andrew Weicht, served with him as Co-pilot.
In the early 1990’s Chris returned to support the Air Cadet
movement serving for three summers at C.F.B. Penhold
Alberta as a tow plane officer pilot on the cadet glider
program.
At this time Chris became aware of plans to permanently
close the military base at Jericho Beach in Vancouver.
Chris contacted Colonel Crober, the Chief of Staff B.C.
District with respect to writing a history of the
long-standing military presence at Jericho Beach.
Captain Christopher Weicht was appointed a Special Projects
Officer and dispatched to Ottawa to carry out preliminary
research. He received substantial support from both Air
Command and Land Forces Western Region. In 1997
Jericho
Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations
was
published and was an instant success with over 5000 copies
in print. Subsequently Air Command honored Chris by
appointing him an Associate Air Force Historian.
In 1995, at age sixty, Chris allowed his instrument flight
licence to lapse but took a position in the Queen Charlotte
Islands, flying a deHavilland Beaver in support of logging
activities. He later moved to the central Vancouver Island
area where he continued flying Beavers for a Nanaimo-based
airline. In 2001 Chris relocating to the B.C. Sunshine
Coast,
about thirty miles north of Vancouver, where he flew float
planes part-time for Coast Western Airlines until 2002. At
age sixty-seven, with over 17,000 flying hours, he retired
from commercial aviation but still instructed Air Cadets at
a local squadron.
After joining a local flying club, Chris celebrated the
50th
Anniversary of
his first solo flight on September 27, 2002, with a flight
above the coastal mountains near Garibaldi Lake, B.C. In
retirement he now concentrates his efforts writing a
seven-volume tome entitled Air Pilot Navigator.
Chris Weicht travels extensively throughout British
Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and Alaska giving lectures and
slide shows on the subject of his first love, the rich
aviation heritage and history of the Pacific North West.
Chris always has time to talk about aviation history and
may be contacted at home at 604-885-6766 or email at
creeksidepublications2@gmail.com.
Chris Weicht with grandson Connor on the float docks.