Jim Devlin folded his wings yesterday, ending a flying career that spanned 47 years and landed the personable pilot in aviation history as having the highest number of hours operating a Twin Otter aircraft.
Devlin squeezed his six-foot-five frame into the cockpit for his last three flights between Victoria and Vancouver harbours, saying he had mixed emotions about leaving the career he started as a teenager.
Despite a touch of fog off Indian Arm in the morning, it was a beautiful sunny day to fly and say so long to the skies he's called home since skipping high school basketball and selling his Triumph motorbike for his pilot's licence in 1963.
"I guess it's going to hit me at some point. Flying is certainly something I've enjoyed, but there's a time for everything, I guess," said Devlin, 66, who raised four children and has four grandchildren.
His final flight into Victoria last night arrived under the arc of a water cannon salute from the harbour fire boat.
Devlin leaves the clear blue yonder with more than 44,000 hours of flight time -- the equivalent of more than five years in the air. That included 35,000 hours guiding Twin Otters on wheels, skis and pontoons, the most by any pilot in the world with the de Havilland-built aircraft.
He's flown a variety of craft over the years, including Cessnas, Norsemen, Beavers and single-engine Otters. He prefers the Twin Otter, which, Devlin says, "has become a vital airplane in the history of transportation, particularly in the opening up of the North."
There have been a few close calls over his career, but nothing Devlin considers too nerve-racking. He says the Otter's reputation as a durable and rugged aircraft was well-earned. "We lost an engine over Kitsilano one time, and I just told passengers to look out their windows and notice that one of the engines wasn't working. I said we're heading back to base, where we just got on another plane," said Devlin. "It's a good plane, extremely reliable."
Devlin started his long commercial career in northwestern Ontario with Superior Air, based in Port Arthur, and moved on to Air Park where he flew routes in Manitoba, Ontario and the North. He later moved to Vancouver Island, where he was base manager for Island Air in Campbell River. He also worked for Air West and its successor, Air B.C.
For the past 18 years, Devlin has flown Victoria harbour to Vancouver harbour, most with West Coast Air.
Devlin spurned the idea of flying for the big airlines because he has always preferred to be "hands-on" with the operation. "The one-on-one with the customers is very appealing," he says. "And there's a lot more flying involved with the commuter and charter part of the industry. There are more takeoffs and landings, and many more variables. There is something new and different every day."
Despite both Vancouver and Victoria harbours being busy with boats and planes and ferries, Devlin said safety and organization had improved over the years because of centralized communication towers. "We used to do all that ourselves. Now all these little harbour ferries know I'm coming five minutes before I get there."
He's ferried passengers of all ages and walks of life -- from families to fishermen, and government workers and business people to movie stars, including the likes of Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn and the cast of The Beachcombers.
As for his future, Devlin says he plans to build his own aircraft. He's also got a new love in his life. "I found a lady in Belgium who I'd like to spend the rest of my life with," he said. "But where we are going to live -- here in Victoria or over in Belgium -- we don't know. Both are beautiful places."
dkloster@timescolonist.com
