AVIATION POSTCARD CLUB INTERNATIONAL
NEWSLETTER #58 - MARCH 2007
WORTH A SECOND GLANCE
SWISS SCENERY & SCRAP
With the virtual disappearance of the Airport postcard we lose a lot of unexpected and unintended card content. Here we have three cards from the Swiss airport of Sion in Valais Canton. The airport lies in a typical alpine glacial valley. The top card, of a CL44 on take off , is produced by Editions Jubin but also carries titles and contact details for cargo carrier Transvalair, the owners of HB-IEN. This CL-44 was one of two owned and had previously been with Flying Tiger, Seaboard World and the British Transmeridian. It was with Transvalair 1974-81 and then passed to various African carriers. It was still in existence recently in Congo (Ex Zaire) The oddity about this card is that it breaks one of the rules of card publishing, especially airline issue, which is not to show wrecked aircraft. But to the left of the runway is the remains of a red DC-8 being broken up, or in more recent usage, parted out.
The same DC-8 appears intact in two views on another Sion card from the same publisher which also features the CL44. If it looks like ex-Air Canada that is correct. DC-8-41 CF-TJB was one of the first delivered to then Trans Canada Airlines in 1959 and stayed with them until 1977 when sold to Transvalair who never used it but broke it up starting December – which all dates the card quite precisely. It is not clear why Transvalair got involved in breaking up a type that they never operated.
There is a third Sion/Transvalair from Jubin featuring HB-IEN, this time with local views and Swiss Air Force Vampires. This one exists with both Transvalair back titles and Sion/Valais topographical .
With the virtual disappearance of the Airport postcard we lose a lot of unexpected and unintended card content. Here we have three cards from the Swiss airport of Sion in Valais Canton. The airport lies in a typical alpine glacial valley. The top card, of a CL44 on take off , is produced by Editions Jubin but also carries titles and contact details for cargo carrier Transvalair, the owners of HB-IEN. This CL-44 was one of two owned and had previously been with Flying Tiger, Seaboard World and the British Transmeridian. It was with Transvalair 1974-81 and then passed to various African carriers. It was still in existence recently in Congo (Ex Zaire) The oddity about this card is that it breaks one of the rules of card publishing, especially airline issue, which is not to show wrecked aircraft. But to the left of the runway is the remains of a red DC-8 being broken up, or in more recent usage, parted out.
The same DC-8 appears intact in two views on another Sion card from the same publisher which also features the CL44. If it looks like ex-Air Canada that is correct. DC-8-41 CF-TJB was one of the first delivered to then Trans Canada Airlines in 1959 and stayed with them until 1977 when sold to Transvalair who never used it but broke it up starting December – which all dates the card quite precisely. It is not clear why Transvalair got involved in breaking up a type that they never operated.
