Canadian Army Aviation
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Terry was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. His early military experience took him on a meandering path from Sea Cadets, to the 19th Alberta Armoured Regiment (later the 19th Alberta Dragoons) and the lofty rank of Lance Corporal. In 1952 he was selected for the first class at the College Militaire Royal de St Jean, Quebec. A football injury prevented him from completing his second year, so he returned home and to the University of Alberta for a year.
Initially accepted into the PPCLI before discovering his knee injury prevented him from parachuting, he was welcomed by the LdSH (RC) and served as 2 i/c of the Recce Troop. As there was no Officer Candidate Programme at the RCAC School at the time, he was sent to the Infantry School and forced to swap his Strathcona flashes for RCIC ones. Not comfortable in the infantry, he opted for the RCASC (and the possibility of flight training) and completed OCP#4, commissioned 2Lt and posted to 3 Coy RCASC Kingston ON, serving two years at RCAF Station Trenton. He returned to the RCASC School, Borden, in 1959 for stints in the Depot and Apprentice Companys before being selected for the first ab initio Army Pilot course to be conducted at RCAF Station Centralia. In early 1960 he and fellow Chipmunk graduates proceeded to the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre (CJATC) in Rivers, MB for further training to wings standard on the L-19 aircraft. Once the 300-hour fixed wing prerequisite was met, he completed (with some admitted difficulty) the helicopter conversion course on the Sikorsky H-5. With no immediate rotary wing (RW) positions available, Terry qualified as an L-19 instructor. In 1961, though, he flew an H5 during that summer's Concentration in Petawawa. Later that year he completed a Cargo Helicopter Conversion on the Vertol 44 at 4(T)OTU in Trenton. In early 1962 Jones was posted to Germany as the Aviation Officer and the Brigade Commander's CH-112 pilot. He returned to Canada and Rivers in 1965 with his new wife and became a helicopter instructor at the Army Aviation Tactical Training School (AATTS). Soon after, the Basic Helicopter Training Unit (BHTU) and AATTS blended to become 4 Flying Training School (4 FTS). Terry was granted an Al Instructor's rating and introduced RW to a large group of students from all three Services in the late 60s. He served as Chief Standards Officer and Deputy Commander of the FTS until 1969. He was then offered a position at Air Command HQ in Winnipeg, but a family situation necessitated Terry to request a more 'remote' helicopter posting. One was not forthcoming and he opted, with great regret, to take his release in favor of his family's immediate welfare. At 34 years of age, Terry began a second career in civil helicopter businesses in Canada. Over the next 50 years he was a line pilot, instructor, base manager, operations manager, partner and VP for a number of civilian helicopter companies in Western Canada. He became an extremely respected representative for the industry in Canada. Whenever he spoke, people listened. In 2015 the Helicopter Association of Canada presented their prestigious Carl Agar/Alf Stringer award to Terry for his outstanding contribution to the Canadian Helicopter Industry. The following year the BC Aviation Council presented him their Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding commitment and contribution to the development of the aviation industry. |
