Welland Phipps

Welland Wilfred "Weldy" "Angayuroluk" Phipps (July 23, 1922 – October 22, 1996) was a Canadian military pilot and prisoner of war during World War II, a pioneer bush pilot, inventor and a territorial level politician.

Phipps joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and became a fighter pilot in World War II. He was shot down and became a Prisoner of War for 2 years. He succeeded in making an escape from his POW Camp.

Phipps moved to the Northwest Territories after returning home from the war. In 1953 and founded a business called Atlas Aviation, based in Resolute Bay. He invented a new type of balloon tundra tire — as possibly an "improved" version of American Alvin J. Musselman's earlier invention of a similar one in 1929/1930 — that allows an aircraft to land safely on tundra. The type of tire is known as the Weldy Special. Atlas Aviation introduced the first regular scheduled airline service to Canada's most northern communities.

It was Weldy Phipps who introduced the first scheduled airline service to the communities of Resolute Bay, Grise Fiord, Arctic Bay, and Pond Inlet. Their citizens have special memories of him. The Inuit named him Angayuroluk, an affectionate nickname roughly translated as "poor older brother".

Weldy was fortunate enough to obtain the registration CF-WWP (his initials) for one of his first Twin Otters.

On April 5, 1971 his wife, Frances Phipps (Fran) was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the first woman to set foot on the North Pole, when she accompanied him on a flight to install a navigation beacon.

Phipps delivered supplies to a number of notable arctic expeditions, including Ralph Plaisted in 1967 and 1968.

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