Lynn Garrison

Lynn Garrison (born February 22, 1937) is a Canadian pilot and political adviser.

He was a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot in the 403 City of Calgary Squadron, before holding jobs as a commercial pilot, film producer, director and mercenary.

Garrison has also accumulated a substantial collection of classic aircraft, flying many of these as well as organising their restoration and preservation.

He participated in the Nigerian Civil War as a mercenary, assisting the military of Biafra.

In his classic, Fighter Command Air Combat Claims, 1939–45 (1939–1940), John Foreman commented on the question of pilot temperament and ability.

Foreman observed that Garrison had remarked, "In every squadron there were, perhaps, four or five pilots who exuded confidence. They knew that they were going out to shoot. The rest knew sub-consciously, that they would make up the numbers, mill about, and get shot at".

During October, 1954, the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor was introduced to RCAF service in a quest to find a replacement for the Harvard.

Courses 5409 and 5411, at Penhold, were chosen as the test classes for the type.

It was decided that the T-34 was too easy to fly and was dropped from the RCAF in February, 1955.

A total of 48 students participated in this experiment, including Garrison.

After completing the course on Harvards he advanced to 2 Advanced Flying School (Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) for jet aircraft training in the Canadair CT-133 Silver Star.

Garrison received his wings on 6 April 1955 making him the youngest "winged pilot" in the RCAF since World War II, a record that still stands.

Garrison's wings were presented by Wing Commander Joe McCarthy DSO, DFC, CD, a Second World War veteran who was famous for attacking the Sorpe dam on the Dambuster's raid.

On 1 April 1957 Lieutenant Commander Derek Prout delivered an RCN Hawker Sea Fury WG-565 to Calgary for use as a ground instruction airframe at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Garrison flew the aircraft making the last official Canadian military flight of the type.

Prout would lose his life in the crash of an F2H-3 Banshee at RCN Shearwater, Nova Scotia May 31, 1957.

In 1960, Garrison obtained a contract to ferry 75 ex-RCAF P-51 Mustangs to new owners in New York.

Milt Harradence took time off from his law practice to accompany Garrison on the trips.

Flying mainly without radios, they navigated by following the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks eastward.

Harradence and Garrison acquired two Mustangs as part of their compensation and registered them RCAF 9221 44-74435"CF-LOR" and RCAF 9223 44-74446 "CF-LOQ"; the first of their type registered in Canada.

During 1961, while ferrying surplus RCAF Mustangs from the old BCATP airfield at Macleod, Alberta, Garrison spotted a number of Lancaster bombers slated for the melting pot.

He purchased Lancaster FM-136 and created the Lancaster Memorial Fund to see the aircraft on permanent display in Calgary.

In 1962, Garrison served with 115 Air Transport Unit of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), on the Sinai Peninsula, where he flew de Havilland Otters and Caribous.

While with 115 ATU he acted as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Dr. Ralph Bunche's pilot.

On 2 August 1962 RCAF Caribou 5320 from 115 ATU, UNEF, was attacked overhead El Arish airfield, on the Sinai, by two UAR Mig-17 type aircraft.

The Caribou, captained by F/L Lynn Garrison with Wing Commander Hal Knight OC, 115 ATU, as co-pilot, was on a test flight when UAR controllers ordered it to land.

A refusal saw two Migs launched.

Maintaining a very tight turn, over the airfield, 5320 avoided the fighters and touched down, while still turning.

General P.S. Gyani, UNEF commander, initiated an official protest over this incident, one of many.

On 4 July 1964, Garrison captained the RCAF's final flight of the Avro Lancaster with Flight Lieutenant Ralph Langemann as co-pilot.

Specially authorized by Minister of National Defence, Paul Hellyer, the flight was complicated by the fact that Garrison had never flown a Lancaster and had broken his ankle the previous day.

It displayed at the Calgary International Air Show, an event created and coordinated by Garrison.

After the flight, Garrison purchased the aircraft, KB-976, which is now included in Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight collection in Florida.

During 1965, Garrison, with authorisation from Paul Hellyer and the help of RCAF 121 Search & Rescue Unit, salvaged a Vought OS2U Kingfisher from Calvert Island, British Columbia, It had crashed there on a ferry to Alaska during World War II.

The aircraft was brought to Calgary, then restored by the Vought Aeronautics 25 Year Club and donated by Garrison to the North Carolina Battleship Commission.

It is now displayed on the stern of the USS North Carolina.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Garrison served in various political capacities, such as being an adviser to Haitian President Raoul Cédras and serving as Haitian Consul to the United States between 1992 and 2010.

In his latter years, he has been increasingly active as an author as well as various charitable concerns.

With regard to flying, Garrison is known for his oft-repeated comment, "If it has fuel and noise, I can fly it."

At the age of 17, Garrison joined the RCAF and trained at the RCAF Officer Selection Unit (Ontario) and Course 5411, 4 Flying Training School (RCAF Station Penhold, Alberta).