Comments 1,151 to 1,200 of 1,845
re: Neato!
Reply to @david:
I have landed on the grass strip at Herb's on numerous occasions. The grass strip is about 500' long, with the Hwy. 34 overpass as an obstacle to the west.
The paved strip has cars and trailers parked approximately half way down the runway. They are parked there to prevent any mishaps between the incoming car / truck traffic and landing / departing airplanes.
Owners are friendly, good food, friendly staff!
BTW, I fly a Challenger II Ultralight.
Do not attempt unless you're absolutely sure you can safely get in and out of the grass strip.
gy
hello
Snowy Owls seen at airports in Ontario
Hi, I am currently looking for Snowy Owls. They seem to be a bit late this year (2011). These white owls love airports and use them for hunting grounds. If anyone sees one could you let me know. They will sit on the corner edge of a shed or will sit on the ground in the snow. Thanks and safe flying! jennifer@naturesphotoadventures.com
Jennifer
re: about the aiport at Squamish
thanks tips.....
Wifi at Ottawa Airport
I'm glad it's free because I won't pay a cent for that crap...pitiful downloading speed.
Wait a good 2-5 minutes to browse anything..video is a no-no... You can check your email, that's about it.
I guess there is nothing good that's free.
Private Airstrip
This is a private airstrip which belongs to an ex- Air Canada captain, as I was told. Runway about 2000 ft long was in a good shape in October 2010, there were glider trailers and a tug parked on the adjacent taxiway. Approach from the East is "hooked" as the neighbour does not permit to fly over his barn (seen about two thousand feet following the runway heading eastwards). Procedure known to me was to fly a curved final around the barn before aligning with the runway. Electric line at the Western threshold was buried, as far as I can remember. Also, airport call on the radio is "Great Lakes", not "Colgan".
Abandoned Airport
This is a typical WWII aeroport with its delta-shaped runways, of which only one was used more or less continuously after the war. As per my low and over in June 2010, the 10/28 and 16/34 are not landable, unless you have Tundra tires! "Unregistered" runway (the only one with something that looks like a surface) is used for drag-racing, there are cars and trailers parked near it. Overall the airport does not look as active. I have asked locals, no one even considered it as a usable airport.
Closed Airport?
This airstrip looked as dead as possible when I've passed low and over it somewhere at June 2010. The runway was only distinguishable for the surroundings by a bit different color of the grass, and buildings next to it looked abandoned.
Private Airstrip
This is a private airstrip, owner has a hangar stuck to a barn - that's about as much I was able to see when overflying the field. It is a PNR, but the surface looked too bad to land - though approaches are clear. Might be a bit tricky to find - use the square ponds on the lakeshore as a prominent ground feature, then follow the road from the Beaverton to the West.
PPR Airstrip
I have not landed there - this airstrip is PPR and when I was circling over it end of November '10, a black SUV pulled into the middle of the runway and just stood there. There were no aircrafts next to the hangar, as opposed to shown on the Google Maps. Approach from the East looks intriguing - it is a tunnel cut through the trees!
The Biggest Runway Ever! :-)
Muskoka is another popular destination for the Toronto student pilots' cross-countries. This airport sports a huge runway, good for big jets and air force machinery. You need to talk to Timmins RCO (was London, but now they only provide FISE there) to operate in their control zone. RCO guys are positive and helpful, working with lots of student pilots.
You can frequently meet some expensive and cool aircraft at Muskoka - Corvalis, Cirrus, corporate jets and so on. Terminal building is very nice, facilities comfortable. I think it's a good place to visit now and then. Check out the airport website for more details: http://www.muskokaairport.com/
Interesting Airport
Peterborough is used as one of the default cross-country destinations by Island Air flight school (and a bunch of others, I believe), so I've been there three times while working on my license. Overall perception - long, rather narrowish (for the length) runway, very friendly and useful unicom operator, cute little FBO hut and always something interesting flying around. A twin working on IFR training mission around the Peterborough NDB, Moonies, Bonanzas, Cubs, Robinsons, everything else GA landing and taking off - and ultimately a bunch of jets sitting at the airport where they get painted, refurbished! I like this airport, it has this comfortable feeling that everything is ok around it.
re: Nasty Control Zone
That was my comment; just realized I wasn't logged in.
re: Nasty Control Zone
Reply to @dazuppa: I'm not sure how long you flew around the Springbank area but as someone who's flown out of CYBW for the past decade I can assure you that your experience with ATC is not the norm. In fact, the controllers at CYBW are as friendly as they come; more so if you are friendly from the start.
CYBW is one of the busiest GA airports and serves both training pilots and training controllers. Inner/outer tower is a both a necessity and a great learning experience at the same time. If you walked away thinking otherwise then it's an opportunity missed. I've flown across the country and found that the Calgary-area airspace is second in complexity only to the GTA. If you can handle CYYC/CYBW you can handle anything.
Finally, having done training and rentals (before purchasing a PA32) at most of the schools located at CYBW, I can also say that your experience at CFC is not typical. I would consider both SATC and CFC to be the same in most respects. The biggest difference between the two is that SATC is a commerical operation whereas CFC is more of a 'club' and therefore offers a richer experience (and cheaper fuel) for all pilots.
re: Airport sold
Reply to @david: The airport has not been sold yet. The city agrees to sell. The city said the proposed sale result in $1,225,000...
Blue Younder Aviation
Wayne Winters of Blue Younder Aviation owns this airport. For those unfamiliar with Canadian ultralight aviation history, Wayne is a "daddy" of the Merlin EZ and EZ Flyer aircraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Yonder_Aviation) He's a great person and one of the pilots you learn a lot from just chatting next to the hangar door.
Runways are uneven, and you can see a gopher sitting right in the middle of them when you are taking off, but that's all right. For me, flying at Indus was a great experience and a discovery of the whole experimental/homebuilt aviation in Canada. Just stay there at Indus for a couple of hours, and you'll be surprised with a number of great people and interesting aircrafts around!
Gliders
Cu Nim is a base for the local gliders community. Those guys are serious and proficient, it's a pity that their prices are way too high for the engineless flight. I've made a simple calculation and realized that it will cost me more to fly the gliders there than airplanes out of Springbank. Sorry guys, you are nice, but business is business - even if you hold a monopoly...
Great place to fly, nevertheless, and the whole process of flying is nicely organized there. They also communicate properly, so if you are just flying by - turn on your radio and keep an ear on the frequency.
Grass Roots of Aviation
Bob Kirkby owns this nice little private field, kept in a very decent shape. Approach over the highway feels a bit hairy as you pass just over the moving cars - and you have to be low or on flaps, as the runway is really short for the elevation.
Bob is a really nice guy, do not hesitate to call him and meet in person! Maybe he'll show you some of his flying treasures. ;-)
Look out for antennas when going aroind in circuit, and keep the downwind over the field, not over the Bob's house. The airport looks easier to find on Google Maps than it is in the real life, so keep an eye on the Chestermere lake and your position related to it and the Trans-Canadian highway.
Crazy Runway
Okotoks has a challenging runway - narrow and sloped. When you arrive from the "higher" end of it (16), you will feel like dragging the plane so low you'll scratch the roofs of the cars dodging you on the road right next to the threshold! Intense.
There is also a pilots' community around the airport - they have their planes parked on one side of the house, and their cars on the other! Like a pilots' village, very cool...
Sky Wings Okotoks provides a flight training, and the guys here were nice - but renting anything in summer was next to impossible. Man, they had every weekend booked all the months to come!
Nevertheless, if you'll ever make it to Okotoks, you'll love that crazy little runway.
Best Grass Roots Airport in GTA
I hereby award Greenbank a Best Grass Roots Airport in GTA diploma. :-)
Seriously, this is a great little airport. Two grass runways, both sloped, marked with flags and very well cared of. There is a "secret" flying school there, using a 172, and a 24/7 gas pumps for the local grasshoppers community. No worries if you'll see the birds on the runway - they know this whole GA thing and will let you land or take off without any problems.
Nice and clean FBO, very scenic surroundings (especially in the Autumn), great place to fly in with friends. Such a pity that accident happened to the original airport owner, but an excellent conditions of the airport afterwards are a testament to the great job done.
If ever in doubt which grass strip to fly to East of Toronto, go Greenbank!
Good Airport
Oshawa is a Good Airport. Free from that Pearson control cloak covering almost everything around Toronto, you can take off from Oshawa and get a training area right in front of you. Fast and convenient. Rental prices are the lowest in the whole GTA, though condition of the planes is... let's say, they are very well used.
Oshawa has a useful NDB and a friendly tower, which won't punish you for inadvertently intruding their airspace (from the said training area) right away, and will be helpful and cooperating providing a flight following within their control zone when you go cross-country following the shoreline to Kingston or back.
I would suggest this airport (or actually a Durham Flight Centre) as a choice for those who want to practice the instruments flying in GTA without bogging into the airliners dodging and violent radio chat almost inevitable East of Toronto.
A Bigger Small Airport
You can't get in or out from this airport without a rental car, even though it looks like sitting in the middle of the city. Oh well, there is a bus stop next to a funerals home in front, but in winter they don't clean the snow there so you'll have to wait in a pile of snow.
Toronto Airways has one of the least interested instructors I've seen in the whole Toronto area! Like, really, if you are a potential customer (renter, student pilot, whatever), paying a hefty price, you may expect certain level of positive attitude towards you. FBO folks were nice, though.
Seneca College airplanes are also based there, and those guys are setting standards in competence and quality of flight training.
From the pilot prospective, runways are huge and comfortable. Tower is generally friendly, though if you are flying from CYKZ to CYTZ and vice versa they tend to be... a bit picky sometimes. Not really bad, just picky. Won't release you from the frequency until the last second, etc.
They have this funny little Markham airport plugged into their airspace - I'd suggest going through the CYKZ control zone instead! Markham people can pop up in front of you in a glider without warning (yeah, they have their own separate frequency for gliders, I know, but better - just fly with Buttonville radar keeping an eye on you and throwing advisories if needed).
Love and Hate Airport
Brampton is super-cute, with its nicely painted buildings, nice little restaurant and a smallish pilot shop. You can actually see some bunnies eating flowers in front of the Caledon office early in the morning.
Brampton is a mess, with its packet parking, piles of airplanes moving in all directions, super-lame unicom and traffic chat, people doing circuits of all sizes and cutting in front of each other.
Brampton flying center is all about making money. Big money with lots of international students. Membership fee, enrollment fee, fee for this and fee for that... Noticeable overload over the already not-so-cheap prices. Not good for renters.
FBO work appears like being organized back in time, and hugely deteriorated afterwards. Things like forms, flight documents, internet access and such look like they were thought out, but then dropped into "no one cares, just take it as it is" mode.
Brampton is one of the two locations in all GTA where you can actually rent a SuperCub! Checkout will cost you just about two thousand dollars to go solo (keeping in mind all the fees and taxes).
Ultralight and Skydivers base
Baldwin is a home for Toronto Aerosports ultralight flying group (http://www.torontoaerosport.com/) Airport community mostly operates Challengers (like a dozen of those), but there are also Savannah, two Merlins, and a bunch of other interesting machines on tie-downs - even a Piper twin. Ultralight people are sharing the airport with skydivers, please check the NOTAMs! Skydivers are currently using a Shorts Skywan - if it's not on the ground, it might be dropping people right over the field...
No flying over the Eastern side of the airport - there is a trailer park which habitants are not at all happy with any aircraft passing above them. So runway 01 is a RH circuit, and if you need to join a left downwind for 19 - you may have to do that from south, looking for the traffic. Always stay on the frequency and look out for NORDO aircrafts in the area.
In any case, if unfamiliar with the area, I strongly suggest calling Toronto Aerosport people on the phone and ask for advisory before attempting to land or closely overfly Baldwin. They are good people and will help.
re: Airport closed
Thanks for the update. Wikipedia agrees, so marked as closed pending any new information.
Airport closed
The town of Grimshaw decided to close this airport in 2009. The Runway is marked as closed and has several post driven into the center line at mid field.
re: Does Kaslo Airport have a call sign, like Victoria's YY
Reply to @ptomblin: Sorry, CBR2 isn't an ICAO code, it's just a Canadian code.
re: Does Kaslo Airport have a call sign, like Victoria's YY
CBR2 is its ICAO code. It doesn't have an IATA code.
Does Kaslo Airport have a call sign, like Victoria's YYJ
Does Kaslo Airport have a call sign, like Victoria's YYJ
Great food!
Flew three friends here from Rockcliffe CYRO for lunch. It was a Friday, about 1:30, when I arrived.
Very busy - there were helicopter arrivals and departures, as well as lots of movements of SE fixed wing. The flying club / restaurant is at the east end of the runway (no taxiway), and there were several overshoots due to traffic not having yet cleared the runway (CSE4 uses R28 whenever possible, which results in less backtracking that R10).
No issues with language - lots of english in the circuit, with some french.
And the food!!! I had a simple club sandwich, and it was tasty beyond belief. With a ton of well-cooked frend fries. Those that had the smoked meat sandwich also raved about the food.
landing at stirling
very active strip with a large membership with welcoming members .Gas is availible when members are around. landing on 09 needs your attention on days if wind is strong from the west. land a bit long, as down drafts are present if you try to "land on the numbers" also if its a hot day,and winds are light and you are close to gross in a150 or a 140 piper you may want to take of down wind as trees are 35 feet tall right at threshold of 09 and there is a slight uphill grade when taking off towards the east, were as 27 , the land drops away over the cliff [comments from a fellow flyer how has flown out of here for many years}
airport condition
this airport has excellent approaches from east or west with no wires or trees, runway is grass but smooth ,two mooney,s flight off here as well as twins and other 4 place aircraft. The airport is own by jim marker . Members of the flying club currently do the grass cutting. David Byrd has been doing the bulk of the
work along with Mike Fox. the field is prior permission only at this time.
CNF-9 Niagara South Airport
there are two runways one gravel 4400 feet ditch to ditch as shown and the other is 01 - 19 3300 feet ditch to ditch grass field no services PRIOR PREMISSION REQUIRED
SEE CFS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Innotech (Shell) contact info
514-636-5870
10175 Ryan Ave-Dorval Intl
Dorval, QC, CANADA H9P 1A2
re: Whitewater Lake Sudbury Aviation
John and Pearl McMahon were my aunt and uncle. My name is Ronda Mackwood nee Makela. My mothers father was also part owner of Sudbury Aviation with his brother John. My father owns Lauzon Aviation on Lake Lauzon in Algoma Mills.
re: Kingston Ultralight Club
Reply to @david:
Homebuilt flow from Guelph Airport to Goderich in October 20
I am trying to locate Brian Harrington who flew a homebuilt aircraft from Guelph to Goderich. I believe Brian knew my father many years ago. Does anyone know him? If so please contact me at maryeoneil52@yahoo.com. Thanks
re: Kingston Ultralight Club
Sounds great. I'd love to drop by in my Warrior for a visit, but a 1,200 ft grass strip doesn't leave a lot of safety margin (it's doable, especially when I'm lightly loaded, but closer than I like). Maybe I'll drive in some Sunday.
Kingston Ultralight Club
Camden East airport is the home station of the Kingston Ultralight club, the group flies, powered chutes, trikes and fixed wing. Club meets 1st Sunday of each month at the strip 0900 hrs. The club is both a COPA flight and a UPAC Squadron.
re: Sparwood NDB
I confirmed this also via the latest CFS and updated the entry.
Sparwood NDB
Sparwood NDB is on 200 kHz, not 400 kHz.
wardair
gone 1989 . bin on it TWICE (there, back)
maple airport i think i was there twice(leaving/arriving/the
buttonville 4 times ( leaving/arriving/leaving/arriving). toronto centre island billy bishop ( not SEATON HOUSE centre island and not OWEN SOUND billy bishop airport that i know of and billy bishop big flap hero/not hero never . Owen sound billy bishop NEVER . they were hiring 'dispatchers' air traffic controllers porter airlines larry tanenbaum paul 'god' godfrey's (grandfather changed name from greenberg or something) friend. the 'maple syrup'=baloney.
MAPLE airport.
gone in 87 (wikipedia) .
oshawa and markham airports.
next. or ALREADY .
BUTTONVILLE airport.
cadillac-fairview (as in EATON centre for example) got it .
Quiet and friendly to ultralights
The field is nicely maintained by EAA chapter 65. If you fly there regularly, they ask you join them ($50/year or so).
Friendly owner
The field's owner, Newton Little, is an aviation enthusiast that is too old to fly but maintains the strip and welcomes guest pilots. He lives in the house next to the field - please ask him for permission or inquire about hangaring your plane there. There is also an RC field on the premises. Great scenery to the NW.
Landing at Herb's
🔗 Tue, 11 Jan 2011
— @CLdriver1960 at Herb's Travel Plaza Airstrip, Canada
Landing going West on the grass strip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9C-1uWOo4E