CC-115 Buffalo provides pilot with exceptional memories
News Article / January 19, 2022
Cheryl Condly
Capt James (Jim) Robinson was a pilot in Class 4 of Buffalo flying training when the aircraft first entered the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet. He was among the first, and loved flying the ‘Buff’ from the very start.
“It was a tremendous aircraft,” said Robinson. “It could do things other aircraft could not possibly do – the STOL (short take off and landing) capabilities especially, and how it handled in all weather and environments was exceptional. It was powerful, safe, and fun to fly. And it could always get you out of trouble!”
Robinson did his conversion training in St. Hubert in August 1968 before joining the Squadron Detachment in Edmonton in October that same year. “There were only four aircraft and four crews,” Robinson recalled. “It was awesome!”
He had “only 112 hours on type” while on a ticket ride for proficiency and allowance to fly under instruments with the Detachment Commander, Major Les Benson. They were returning from Comox performing a “low and go” overshoot over the Edmonton International Airport.
“The weather was fine as we climbed out. Then the right engine quit,” Robinson said. “I looked at Maj Benson and asked him if he had done something,” expecting this was possibly a simulated emergency for his continued squadron training. Benson responded with an unambiguous “No.”
So with less than 32 hours of flying out of Namao, Robinson had an emergency while flying the ‘Buff’. He declared, “We have an actual engine failure.”
“We were well trained, and the training kicked in. There were no emotions,” Robinson replied when asked how he had felt in that moment. “We contacted Namao and requested a GCA (ground control approach) on the short runway.”
While on approach Benson told Robinson to perform a STOL.
“Why not?”
And Robinson landed a single engine STOL.
Robinson recalls the Detachment Commander, Major Les Benson was an excellent Commanding Officer who lived by “It’s not a case of worse case scenarios, but rather a case of possibilities.”
“Major Benson pushed the stated envelope,” Robinson is reminded as he speaks of his time with 429 Squadron. “We did things in that first year that were expected to be rolled out in a four-year plan.”
Benson had said “The airplane is supposed to do it, so we’re going to do it.”
The air force and army had eagerly received the Buffalo, a tactical platform at the time.
“It was an excellent platform for the Airborne,” said Robinson. “The ‘Buff’ is slow and steady - ask any paratrooper and they’ll tell you this was a great aircraft for parachuting from.”
And because the aircraft and crews were quickly gaining excellent reputations, 429 Squadron participated in exercises and missions in the Arctic, Jamaica, Europe, and Africa.
Robinson enjoyed the NATO demos and the air shows between missions. “We got to do some exciting flying on this new Buffalo and show off its capabilities, it was very rewarding.”
He also recalls flying from the cold Namao winter to the warmth of Jamaica in February 1971, where Canadians had helped build a runway. Robinson recalls having to reverse in the air in order to land - due to an air cushion created by the topography.
“I remember the sugar cane was so high, it was over the wing tips,” recalls Robinson. “Then suddenly there were all these Jamaicans coming out of the sugar cane, I’ve never seen anything like it – an apparently neither had they!”
Later that same year Robinson and his crew left the temperate climate of July in Edmonton for the freezing temperatures of the Yukon. They were tasked with air dropping supplies to scientists on Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain.
Robinson finished his tour on the Buffalo in 1974. He remembers the missions and his Squadron mates with fondness. “It was some of the very best years of my life,” remembers Robinson. “And I am grateful for the opportunity and the lifelong friends I made.”