NEWSLETTER Volume 10 No. 3 February 1, 2015 Regional Community Airports of Canada AIRPORT PROFILE: Swift Current Airport (CYYN), SK The Swift Current Airport is located 6.5 km east of the City of Swift Current on Airport Road. Swift Current Airport is a public facility that accommodates corporate charters, military training, private aircraft, and government aircraft--including the RCMP, STARS, and the provincial air ambulance. The airport served a significant role during World War II. From 1940 to 1944, it served as a training base for pilots who served with the Royal Air Force. The Swift Current Airport began to be developed by 1937 as an emergency stop for the proposed Trans-Canada Airlines. After WWII broke out, one of Canada's most important contributions to the war effort was the creation of Flying Training Schools for training British and Commonwealth pilots. Swift Current was chosen as the location for one of several training schools across the prairie provinces, where airspace was plentiful. The No. 39 Service Flying Training School (S.F.T.S.) officially opened at the Swift Current Airport on December 15, 1941. 17 young men lost their lives in training accidents, and hundreds more received their wings and were stationed overseas. While stationed in Swift Current, they were warmly welcomed into the homes — and gratefully welcomed into the businesses — of Swift Current. The station closed in the spring of 1944. Many of the airbase buildings have been repurposed throughout the community, including the Lions' Hall, Ashley Park Hall and the West Wing gallery at Kinetic Park. The first Trans-Canada Airlines flight took off from the airport in 1947, and a private airline operated out of the airport into the 1950s. Currently, the base is home to a vibrant and growing Flying Club. The airport offers fuel, maintenance and repair facilities, and it serves as a base for agricultural spraying operations. In March 1996, the City of Swift Current's Public Works Department took over operations from Transport Canada and contracted out airport services. Today, the airport is managed by the Infrastructure and Operations Department. Craft Aviation is a Transport Canada Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) providing a wide range of services including routine aircraft maintenance, structural repairs, and painting. Craft Aviation is located at Swift Current Airport at the west end of the apron. Contact Craft Aviation at 306-773-8944 for your aircraft maintenance needs. Touch N Go Aviation operates a modern, 24-hr self-serve card lock fuel facility at Swift Current Airport located at the west end of the apron. Aviation gasoline (100LL) and turbine fuel (Jet A-1) is available. Pricing is competitive and the easy-to-use terminal accepts VISA, MasterCard and American Express. Aircraft storage services are available from privately-owned and operated hangars at the airport pending availability. Aircraft storage rates and fees are set by the individual hangar owners. In 2014 the installation of a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) system was completed on Runway 30. The project was funded 50-50 by the provincial Ministry of Highway’s Community Airport Partnership and the City of Swift Current. The security & wildlife perimeter fence was also completed this year – it has been a three-year project. The project was funded in a similar manner. Airport users are reminded to keep gates closed at all times to prevent wildlife from entering the premises. Airport Manager Todd Schultz Phone: 306-778-4803 [email protected] 1 RCAC NEWSLETTER News items for information only, source as indicated. Photos copyrighted as per caption credit. Provided for members of RCAC Email: [email protected] Website: www.rcacc.ca CONFERENCES & TRAINING – 2015 ` IAAE Canada Online Courses IAAE Canada Training Plan 2015 March 4-5 Manitoba Aviation Conference – Winnipeg, MB REGIONAL COMMUNITY AIRPORTS OF CANADA NEWS CONTENTS 1. Quebec Kicks in for Sherbrooke Airport Renovation 2. Dawson Creek Poised to Get Second Daily Flight to Vancouver 3. NAV CANADA Assessment Downloads Costs to Municipalities 4. Dawson Creek Airport Traffic Could Quintuple: Hawkair CEO 5 Feds Seeking to Cut Pitt Meadows Tower Taxes 6. Dilkens Confronts Reality (Windsor International) 7. Air Canada Reports November Load Factor 8. Drone Enthusiasts Thrilled with Relaxed Usage Rules (Nanaimo) 9. Town Moves Ahead With Airport Plans (Ponoka Industrial) 10. Soul Oilfield Services Gets Airport Agreement (Wetaskiwin Regional) 11. City to Discuss Airport Decertification 12. The Dilkens Mayoral Era Has Started (Windsor International) 13. Beaverlodge Airport Land Up for Sale 14. BC Transportation Conducting Survey (Nakusp) 15. Airport May Receive Reliability Upgrades (West Kootenay Regional) 16. Flights Cancelled by Police Helicopter Searching for Suspect (Kamloops) 17. Nanaimo Airport: Planning for the Future 18. Health Canada Study: Ontario Wind Turbine Rules Not Protecting Citizens 19. Airport’s Expansion Plan on Shaky Foundation (Nanaimo) 20. Eight Honoured with Prince Rupert Civic Recognition Awards 21. Single-Engine Harvard Returns to Windsor to Join Yellow Birds (Windsor International) 22. Wind Concerns Ontario Plea to Health Canada 23. Surprise Cash for City: Airport Wants New Terminal (Miramichi) 24. Air Canada Makes Strategic Enhancements to its North American Network 25. Air Canada Returns to the Comox Valley Airport 26. Nanaimo Airport Welcomes Air Canada Service to Calgary 27. Aerobatic Jet Team Added to 2015 Abbotsford International Airshow Lineup 28. Partnership Adds 23 New Destinations for Sault Travellers 29. Mules, Pushback Tugs ‘N’ Other Airport Wheels 30. Langley’s George Miller to be Inducted to Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame 31. Airport Development Ready to Go to Clearview Council (Collingwood Regional) 32. City Council Making A Hard Push for Development (Penticton Regional) 33. Report Outlines Challenges Facing Prince Rupert Airport Due to Capacity of Digby Island Ferry 34. Blood Now Carried Onboard STARS Air Ambulances (AB) 35. Boeing Wins Aircraft Order from New Canadian Airline 36. MD Money Matters (Bonnyville Regional) 37. Council Passes 2015 Budget (Cold Lake Regional) 38. City of Penticton Investigating Airport Purchase (Penticton Regional) 39. Airport Lease Fees (Fairview) 40. The 4,000 Kilometre Commute (NB) 41. Council Consensus That Airport Stay Certified (Wetaskiwin Regional) 42. Air Canada Inaugurates Seasonal Flights Between Toronto and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec 43. Buttonville Airport to Continue Operations Into Late 2016 44. Air Canada’s First Toronto-Tremblant Flight Touches Down 45. Fort McMurray Airport Evacuation Over, Passengers Return 46. Wabusk Air Offers Flights Between Cochrane and Timmins 47. Cargo Carrier Flies Record Load Through Hamilton 48. Council Votes Down Suggestion to Plant Trees Along Western Approach to Town (Vulcan) 49. WestJet Pilots Approve Four-Year Contract 50. Fog over Brandon Forces Cancellation of Flight 2 RCAC NEWSLETTER News items for information only, source as indicated. Photos copyrighted as per caption credit. Provided for members of RCAC Email: [email protected] Website: www.rcacc.ca 51. Airport Runway An Increasing Risk to Aircraft: Report (Muskoka) 52. Parkland Aerodrome Incites Hot Debate 53. $13 Million Fanshawe Aircraft School Could Ground St. Clair’s Chances (Windsor International) 54. Improved Wireless Service (Comox Valley) 55. Trail Says ‘No’ to Regional Airport Study, Sticks to Trail Regional Airport Plan Instead 56. Come Fly Away: The Heritage Warplane Museum (Hamilton International) 57. Fees, Bylaw 1945-14 (Red Lake) 58. Hijacking at Castlegar’s West Kootenay Regional Airport? 59. Air Canada Reports December and Full Year Load Factor 60. Collingwood Council Notebook 61. First City Council Meeting of 2015 (Estevan Regional) 62. Wiarton Airport Short on Support NOTE TO READERS: The links connect to many news sites where content is cycled rapidly. If you wait too long before reading, the links will disappear. We encourage our readers to submit airport articles & photos of September 28, 2014 1. Quebec Kicks in for Sherbrooke Airport Renovation – The Sherbrooke Record The contentious Sherbrooke airport is about to get a much needed facelift thanks to a $232,521 grant from the Quebec Ministry of Transport. The City will inject the same amount into the project to redo the apron, runway, and parking areas by next spring. Although the work will not be sufficient to allow the airport to handle international flights, the City believes it’s a big first step in the right direction. November 18, 2014 2. Dawson Creek Poised to Get Second Daily Flight to Vancouver – by Mike McMeans, Alaska Highway News Dawson Creek has a second daily flight from Vancouver again in the works, to begin possibly as early as March, the head of the airline that’s taking over the current flight between the two cities told the Alaska Highway News on Monday. “We’re in this for the long haul,” said Jay Dilley, the president of Hawkair Aviation. November 30, 2014 3. NAV CANADA Assessment Downloads Costs to Municipalities – by Monique Keiran, Times Colonist A Supreme Court of B.C. decision confirmed earlier this month that the air-traffic control tower at Victoria International Airport should be valued at $20. The property had been assessed at $1.43 million. The ruling came after a long battle between North Saanich, where the airport is located, & Nav Canada, which owns and operates Canada’s civil air- navigation system. December 2, 2014 4. Dawson Creek Airport Traffic Could Quintuple: Hawkair CEO – by Jonny Wakefield, Alaska Highway News The president of the airline taking over service from the Dawson Creek Regional Airport Hawkair president Jay believes passenger traffic could quintuple without major infrastructure upgrades. While on a tour Dilley on a tour of the of the aircraft maintenance hangar at Northern Lights College Wednesday, Hawkair president Northern Lights College Jay Dilley told Alaska Highway News that Dawson Creek's airport could move "between five and aircraft hanger with Professor Hal seven thousand people" a month – up from the one to 2,000 monthly Hobenshield.