Late in 1928, the federal government announced that it wanted to
experiment with the regular delivery of mail by air in western
Canada. Western Canada Airways carried out the first run on 10
December, travelling from Winnipeg to Regina and Calgary. A
second run flew from Winnipeg to Saskatoon and on to Edmonton.
The return trip took mail from Edmonton back to Saskatoon and
then to Regina, while the other flew from Calgary to Regina. A
single aircraft then took all the mail from Regina back to
Winnipeg. This experiment exposed a need for better ground
facilities, improved communication with the ground and more
accurate weather forecasts.
The Department of National Defence acted on these
recommendations, upgrading landing facilities, installing light
systems, building light and radio beacons, and establishing a
weather station in Winnipeg.
In August 1930, both Red Deer and Lethbridge saw radio
beacons built. These beacons included living quarters, storage
buildings and septic tanks. The beacon included a light
described as having 5,000,000 candlepower—more than bright
enough to assist pilots flying at night to find their way.
airmail envelope. Stamp on the envelope is a 7 cent Canadian
stamp, also stamped on the envelope is a box saying "CPO
Air Mail - First Official Airmail - Jetliner - Toronto
to New York"