George Bayliss Lothian George Bayliss Lothian George Bayliss Lothian was born November 20, 1909 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was one of the first pilots of Trans-Canada Air Lines in 1937, which later became Air Canada. He died February 13, 2000. George Lothian was the first Canadian pilot to log 100 aircraft crossings of the North Atlantic and set the trans-Atlantic crossing speed record three times. When he retired from Air Canada in 1968 he had logged over 21,000 as pilot in command of many different piston and jet transport aircraft. He reluctantly gave flight instruction in the Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner
Vickers Viking specification 46/22 given the service name Vanellus when taken on for evaluation by the RAF against the Supermarine Seagull design. The last Viking amphibians were built during 1923, but the name was re-used for the twin-engine VC.1 Viking airliner some 22 years later, which saw service as the Valetta with the RAF and other air arms. Some Viking amphibians were built by Canadian Vickers Limited, a subsidiary company in Montreal with no previous aircraft manufacturing experience. Their involvement with the Viking led to a future line of indigenous flying boats beginning with the Canadian Vickers Vedette. No Vikings survive today