Comment thread "Whitewater Lake Sudbury Aviation" for Sudbury Airport

I grew up maybe a mile from Sudbury Aviation. As a kid in the early sixties I hung around there a lot. My cousin Ray (Romain) Labine was an instructor at Sudbury Aviation. Unfortunately when Charlie went in he brought 3 other guys with him. He took off in snow showers lost VFR and flew into the ice at Scotia Lake. My first ride ever in a plane was with my uncle Ray Labine in one of those Fleet Canucks that was probably around 1960. I obtained my licence in 1974 at Muskoka airport, I went on to get my multi-IFR and commercial and flew for Shell as the aviation sales manager out of Montreal.

When you were flying out of Whitewater the business was owned by John and Pearl McMahon. Both are now passed away. John of Alzheimer's and Pearl of a stroke. My parents new them well.

I dropped by Sudbury Aviation last week to say hello. I now live in BC and fly a Cessna 182. Sudbury Aviation now uses two DHC-2's (Beaver) and one Cessna-185 for charters and a Cessna 172 for instruction. The business has been owned by Margaret Watson-Hyland for probably the last 25 years.

John and Pearl McMahon were my aunt and uncle. My name is Ronda Mackwood nee Makela. My mothers father was also part owner of Sudbury Aviation with his brother John. My father owns Lauzon Aviation on Lake Lauzon in Algoma Mills.