Bill Bialkowski returned to entertain the Shellback Club for the third time. His topic: Celebrating Canadian Naval Aviators since 1914. About Bill Bialkowski
Bill was born in Poland in 1940. His father, an aeronautical engineer, had escaped the German invasion and was already flying in RAF 300 Bomber Squadron. The family escaped to England after WW II, where Bill’s father worked on a jet fighter project. Bill set his sights on becoming a naval aviator, flying Sea Hawks from carriers. His interest in Naval Aviation has continued ever since. In 1957, the family moved to Canada as Bill’s father was hired by AVRO for the Arrow project. In 1963, he received a degree in Electrical Engineering from Nova Scotia Technical College, paid for by Royal Canadian Navy as an ROTP cadet. On graduation, he served in destroyers at sea, before electing to leave the navy in 1966 to pursue graduate studies. He graduated again with a Masters Degree as a Control Engineer from the University of Toronto in 1968. In 1984, he founded his own consulting company, which applied the science of stability, control, and simulation to helping pulp and paper mills achieve higher productivity. He has published many technical papers, and contributed to several books. He was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 1994, awarded the Control Engineer of the Year Award (in LA, 1997) and named a ‘pioneer’ of the US Pulp & Paper Industry in 2000. At 50, he took up flying as a hobby, flew aerobatics, and owned a seaplane, all to compensate for not flying in the navy. He has logged over 1000 hours, including 400 flying float planes. He is also a sailor. He is a member for the Naval Association of Canada, supports the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Shearwater Aviation Museum, and Vintage Wings of Canada. Bill is married, has three grown children, four grandchildren. It is true: Flying is 99% routine and 1% terrifying, especially at night!
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