Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 71

In May 1988, technicians change an
engine on a CP-140 Aurora aircraft in its
newly constructed facilities at CFB
Greenwood, Nova Scotia.
Project: The Aurora Program
Ahead of their time…
Technical Services, Head Office; late 1970s—
With the Canadair Argus airplane having been in service George Moennich
When I was Chief of Technical Services in the late 70s,
guarding Canada’s coasts since 1958, the mid-1970s
we had one of our first consultant-assisted contracts, on
brought with them the need for a new long-range
the Aurora project. The consultant, ADD, was in Halifax.
maritime patrol aircraft. In July 1976, a contract worth
To facilitate correspondence, we had a facsimile
more than $1 billion was signed with Lockheed to
machine installed in Head Office. You could actually
provide the Canadian Forces with their Aurora aircraft —
send sketches with this machine, and it worked well for
which meant, of course, that new facilities for those
the duration of the project. Once the work was done, I
aircraft would be needed on the Atlantic and Pacific
was asked if we should keep the machine. Although it
coasts, where the new aircraft were delivered between
had served us very well, my reply was negative, because
May 1980 and July 1981.
no one else had one in our realm of business.
DCL’s Atlantic Branch witnessed what the Annual Report
described as an “unprecedented increase” in workload
during 1978 and 1979—the Aurora projects hit the
area at the same time as the Halifax Base Development
Plan, which, coupled with several other projects, not to
mention a province-wide electrician’s strike, boosted
the region’s work volume to a 20-year high.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
61