President of Harvard Aircraft Association Heads West

One of Canada's earliest astronauts and high profile aviation supporters, Bjarni Tryggvason, passed away at the age of 76.

Tryggvason, originally hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, made his way to Vancouver, British Columbia where he grew to love aviation. He attained training as an engineer, pilot, and inventor, lending his expertise to the Canadian Space Agency aboard the space shuttle Discover in 1997, both working on equipment in space and assisting with the atmospheric research projects going on throughout the 12-day mission. Has varied body of knowledge and aeronautical expertise benefitted all who trained alongside and under him.

In his retirement, he became the president of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, an org dedicated to maintaining the historic WWII trainer aircraft. His enthusiasm helped keep the aircraft airborne past their 100th anniversary, operating as FAST Lead, formation pilot, and aerobatics specialist in the vintage aircraft. At his most recent board meeting, he announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the year to retire in earnest, ending his time flying the Harvards with a final flight to return a bird to service fresh from the hangar.

“I’d like to think that he was sent on his way with memories of the Harvard fresh in his mind,” said Allan Paige, chief operations officer of Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, in a statement to membership announcing the loss.

FMI: www.copanational.org