Okie re-union / remember those orange helicopters

[407 Driver]

All former employees are invited to a reunion of this great historic company in Pentiction BC in August 2004. Check out the website and register your email with the webmaster for direct updates....

Okanagan Helicopters Reunion 2004 (http://www.geocities.com/okreunion2004/)

[Lu Zuckerman]

Back in 1956 and 1957 I trained a bunch of men from the Canadian Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME) on Sikorsky helicopters. I am very sure that most of them ended up working for Okanagan. I wish I could attend just to make sure. They were the sharpest mechanics I had ever worked with. They also consumed great amounts of Canadian booze.

:E

[peter manktelow]

Okie re - union next weekend. Past employees of the ORANGE company getting together. Should be a blast. Unfortunately I will not be in attendance but Hi to all.

I do hope that some one who is attending is able to post numerous photos and comments etc for those unable to atttend.

Proud to show my pedigree.

Peter :8

[Nigel Osborn]

Hi Peter

With all your money, I was hoping you would shout me a ticket!!!:ok:

Ex Okanagan 1979 to 1985, Australia, Thailand & India.

[407 Driver]

Sadly, I can't make it either,
The Reunion Website has all the registered participants listed, some big names there....Barney Bent, Pat Aldous, Dave Whyte, Bob Coleman, Walter Palubiski, Dev Anderson, Al Eustis, ....

The complete list is on the URL listed above....


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/dsmctighe/OK.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/dsmctighe/OK_2.jpg

OKanagan employee 1977-1989

[John Eacott]

Anyone going to the re union, pass on best wishes from the Okanagan Australia element: there seems to be a lot of us here ;)

Having proposed to my wife courtesy of Okanagan shouting her a trip to Eire and India, I guess they will remain a formative part of my life :D

And Dave Whyte would have to have set the bench mark for Chief Pilots, to which we should all aspire :ok:

[peter manktelow]

407 driver.... that sure looks like Jan Rustadt I see in the second photo ?

Hi Nigel and John. Well not too sure about the big bucks given the current AUD:USD.

hear hear re DSW. One of the best.

I just got an email from the boss (Vic Corrie) who will be in attendance and he will try and get photos posted on to the website for those unable to attend.

Peter...still in China but soon to be released (for vacation):8

[Outwest]

Not sure how long it has been since some of you have seen PM but I'm sure a good portion of his wealth must be going to support his Grecian Formula (hair dye) habit. :D :D :D Sorry Ptyr, had get a dig in. You asked for it trying to even hint at poverty.
How many houses do you own now?

[407 Driver]

Peter, that IS the famous JR, (and look at Me in the pilots seat) the pic was taken in 1979. I had 100 hours, and Jan was a skinny kid with dark hair. Now...I'm just arriving at the lower side of 15K, and both JR and I need Grecian formula and a Jenny Craig diet !!

Vic Corrie was my Instructor through the 75 Hr mountain / Ops course.

How times have changed :O

[peter manktelow]

The Australian Okies…..where are they now ? (with apologies for those I have missed)

(fill in the gaps , guys)

Exmouth S61 operation , Exmouth S76 operation , Melbourne S76 op. Secondment to the parent company in India (212) and Thailand (S76). Ireland op. S61


Nigel Osborn – Gold Coast – can tell his own story
John Eacott – Melbourne , successful helicopter operator
Frank Hillier
Wally Watkins
Gene Burelson – somewhere in the states
Bruce Ramsay – just communicated with Bruce recently – outside Bunderberg , Qld.
Brian Hepple
Tod Corey – Perth , Sikorskey tech rep
Dave Whyte – approaching retirement ??? Alpine Helicopters , Kelowna , BC Canada
Harold Baba
Annette
Peter Manktelow – China with Vic Corrie’s Avion Pacific
Brian
Peter Thurlow
Nick Aubrey Roberton Price
Arthur Blundell – ran into him in Aberdeen as I was passing thru on a 61 ferry flight in 1990. he was with Bristow on Pumas
DennisTroup – flew with Dennis a couple of years ago here in China 212 op.
Dean Hohn – we trade emails on a semi regular basis
Peter Lewis – last saw Peter in Thailand a couple of years ago. Heard he was retiring soon.
Owen Shannon – still with CHC...Thailand ?
Ken Coss

Grecian Formula ! Ya got to be kidding. You have to have hair to be able to dye it.
How cruel to someone so follicly challenged as moir.

Ptyr ???? hmmmmmmmmmmm....dye..are we talking orange dye in the shower head , perhaps ??!!

does my emoticon look like it has hair ?? :8

[peter manktelow]

Graham Balchin – last I heard he was doing UN work in Asia somewhere
JC Jones
Roman Ochotsky – very sick man
Robin Vaughn Johnson
John Taylor
Dave Gibson

[peter manktelow]

a quick note from Nigel.....

"Gibbo lives in Fremantle and flies for Gulf in Doha.
Arthur is in Perth & was a courier driver.
Robin became a podiatrist in Busselton, quite a while ago.
Frank retired to Mandurah, would be 74 now same age as Ken Coss.
John Taylor is probably still in Kalamunda, aged about 69."

.........another name just popped up after a mind jogger from the Gladstone thread...

- Brian Eaton

Just had a note from Todd which indicated that "Cossie" has not lost his sense of humour.

Did not mean to hijack this thread as purely Okie Oz....I have or rather had a foot in both camps...3 years with OKIE OZ and 12 with the Canucks.

regards.......Peter :8

[semi-rigid]

Bah Humbug
About the reunion, the A------s out number the good guys at about 10 to 1

[Walt554]

Damn, wish I would have had knowledge of this site before the reunion. I would have loved to have been there. Anyone know of the next one?
Walt Lasher
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