Canadian WWII Vet Even Flew The Queen

What's the nicest thing you can say about a pilot? We can think of lots of things, but perhaps the most complimentary we've heard lately is this:

"He had quite a reputation as an exacting pilot and when flying VIPs it was important for him to get them there at the exact time. He always gave his VIPs a smooth flight."

That's how Charles Cowie's friend, Ron Sierolawski, described the RCAF pilot. Cowie died last week at 83.

The Ottawa Citizen reports Cowie was a decorated WWII veteran with more than 13,000 hours of PIC time under his belt. He was also a VIP pilot for the RCAF, who often flew Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip around the Great White North on their visits across the pond.

"Chuck was opinionated, he was well-read, well-versed and could argue any subject and was willing to argue with anyone, and it didn't matter who you were whether you were a prince or a pauper," said Charles King, who founded the Ottawa Jaguar Club Cowie, who was a a self-professed fan of sports cars. "He treated everybody the same, but, once you got to know him and once you were his friend, you were a friend for life."

After the war, Cowie became a test pilot for the DeHavilland Aircraft Company. After that, he worked for Transport Canada. Eventually, he represented Canada before NATO, serving as chairman of the alliance's Civil Aviation Planning Committee Planning. He was responsible for NATO's civil aviation support.

Perhaps the worst time in Cowie's life was during the war, when his aircraft crashed in Wales. The entire crew was killed. Cowie was pinned in the wreckage for 16 hours before he was rescued. After that, he endured a long and painful recovery.

Sierolawski said, "He was anxious to get back flying and do his part. He didn't get back operational flying after his recovery, he was doing more (flight) training."

King remembered what Cowie had taught him about the business of flying. "I specifically remember Chuck giving me the three Bs of briefing. Be brief, be bright and be gone. It's worked for me," King laughed.

FMI: www.tc.gc.ca