All About The Como Air Harbor Association (1946-1979)

November 25, 2022

In 1946, the Como Air Harbor Association was founded, located in Hudson, Quebec, and owned and operated by Alastair Grant, an avid aviation photographer, enthusiast, and proud owner of a Republic RC-3 Seabee, registered as CF-ECV (S/N 516). Alastair wrote about his Seabee in AOPA's "Vox Pilot" paper, in August 1950, saying, "I am the owner of a Republic Seabee, and I have been highly satisfied with the operation of it during the last three years. The Seabee is an ideal plane for private flying in Canada where we have--especially in the eastern section--many lakes and few airports. I thought you might be interested in this photograph [see cut] of my plane on the ramp leading to the hangar beside my house at Como, Que. The Seabee can run into the hangar easily under its own power at about half throttle even though the ramp is quite steep. When I take the plane from the hangar, I put the prop into reverse pitch and the plane backs down from the hangar into the water, where the wheels are then retracted. I'm for more and more Seabees!"

(Alastair Grant (AOPA 61926), AOPA Flying Magazine, August 1950)

Alastair used his Seabee to fly lumber and supplies all around eastern North America, for his company(s). As Alastair describes, he had a hangar with a ramp that led right into the water and it is believed that he was the first pilot in North America (and possibly the world) to purely rely on the reverse pitch on his aircraft's propeller to easily get it in-and-out of his hangar. Alastair continued to maintain and fly his Seabee for both his business and private uses until he sold it to Marvin Olson in 1977. Alastair also owned a Lockheed Hudson Mk.V (photo), which he had obtained from a scrapyard and kept in the front yard of his property in Como, Quebec. During the time the aircraft sat there, he worked on restoring it. It is unknown as to what eventually happened to the aircraft after his passing in 1979.