8037

 

8037 Dave Gregory

 

Spent his earlier years roaming around Canada, France and Germany as a Service BRAT.

He quickly joined the class of 1970 after spending a delightful year as a member of 5 Sqn with Charlie King, Al Thorne, my Roommate Richie Sullivan, Don Gates (RIP), BJ Currie, Jim McBride and Les White (RIP). The first floor guys namely Dick Reid, John Carlson, Mel Dempster and Doug Smith down in Pete Needra’s territory. Sulley and I having our room directly across from Sqn HQ. (Terry Doyle, Spinney, Hunter, Mccreay, and Arch Archambault) lived a sedate life never getting called upon for skylarks.

I kept my links to 5 sqn through Charlie, in fact throughout my RCAF time.

I settled in with my new confreres and was looked upon as a weird sort chap as the Rhodants and St Jean cadets joined the class minus the three originals and the 12 that joined after second year.

Went to 3 Sqn as the Wing grew to 7 Sqns in my third year and graduated as CSA from there.

Graduation saw me move to Uplands AETE Escape Systems as supernumerary but was given full standing within the year.

Moved with AETE to Cold Lake a year later with Brian Paradis, Terry Cave, Eddie Morin (1968), and two others from Civy U.

While at Cold Lake, I met and married Louise Gaudette, an RCAF nurse.

In 1973 I moved to NDHQ Elgar Bldg and a year later to Bldg 115 Rockcliffe with the formation of DGAEM and the marrying of the Engineering sections with the maintainers. (DAES4),

From there I was posted to the Brigade in Germany, as SAMEO 444 Tac Hel Sqn. I spent three wonderful years there to be posted back to Ottawa and NDHQ and DAEM. After a year I was promoted to Major , given responsibility for all Bell helicopters in the CF, airframe and engines as well as Configuration Management.

After another two years in the job I was moved to Program Management and the CF-136 and CF-135 Mid Life Update Program. These programs lead the normal way of life and were cancelled soon after I joined.

But another adventure was to come along and after a week of General Gelling and Adm

(Mat) Crutchloe (sp) having a bun-fight over where I would work: Bldg 155 or 235 Queen St DOI. Gelling lost, and I spent the next year working on secondment to the Helicopter Project office with Roger Sabberton. Was present for the signing of the Bell Establishment Contract and spent every other week in Fort Worth Texas. Later on that year I was party to the signing if the MBB Contact which saw MBB establish in Fort Erie Ont. Gelling won in the end and had me posted to CSC 11 in Toronto in the summer of 1984.

After a year at CSC11 I was first offered Summerside but ended up in Ottawa, where after a week and a half I reported to the NSA Project Office as ILSM. I received my LCol after a year there and after two years, I hit the 20/40 point in my career in 1987.

Following a month of deliberations I took my release and went down east to IMP. No soon had I arrived than the NSA consortium of EHI, IMP, CMC and Amtec dissolved. I thought I was protected in my job as ILS Director as Max Phillips was PM NSA but no. I informed Ken Roe (owner) and Carl Gerrard (Head of Aerospace) of my departure in July 88.

I spent the next 11 years at Bell Helicopter Textron as Manager then Director of Programs, running the Program Management and Transition to Canada of Bell’s commercial products as well as their R&D programs. During the 11 years I had the pleasure of running the program of providing 100 412CF helicopters to the CF in addition to bringing the Bell 230, 430, 427 and 429 though development to production.

After my time at Bell in 1999, I decided to head out on my own and after as session with Premier of Grande Prairie Tx, less than one year, I started CanRep Inc with a 70 Classmate Cliff Squires and another chap. After 11 months I bought out my partners and headed out really on my own, with my wife Louise of course.

In 2006 I established AeroParts Plus of South Burlington, Vt and in 2009 we established CanRep International in the UK.

In 2011 we bought Aviatron Inc of St Laurent Qc, an MRO company and moved it into our site in Mirabel Qc in 2013.

We have since shut down the UK operation and joined the MRO operation with CanRep’s distribution.

The CanRep Group operation was formed in 2008 and now CanRep operates from a building, my wife and I own, while the CanRep Group is owned by my wife and I plus my son who joined in 2004 and my daughter who joined in 2018. I have pretty well retired with my son running the operation and my daughter looking after Finance and Admin. My wife and I clip coupons each month for the building and enjoy life.