Comments 1,751 to 1,800 of 1,845
Great Service
The airport staff were very friendly and helpful. The grass strip was well-maintained and the terminal was very nice - full of expertly crafted models. There is also a small museum covering the airport's contribution to flight training in the Second World War.
General Info
This was a nice grass strip at a farm, quite literally with a barn/silo/farmhouse at the north end of the runway. Trees at the south end should not pose any problem for take off or landing. There is a small pond at the south end that the CFS advises geese roost in. When I visited this airfield there was a smudge pot or similar by the pond, presumably to keep the geese away from the runway.
General Info
The windsock is quite small, and mounted on top of the small building north of the runway. The field looked like it was well maintained despite the countless dandelions when I landed here. There is a very slight downslope towards the east end and the trees that should not be a problem for most any aircraft.
Expensive Ride into Town
I stayed at the Holiday Inn 22 July 06, however there was NO airport pick up available and the taxi fare was $22 each way! Landing fees too!
There is a COPA discount for fuel, but remember to bring your membership card.
Good Fuel Stop
Marathon has self-serve fuel and is a convenient place to stop for fuel when flying around the top of Superior. I stopped here travelling both East and West in 2006, didn't see anyone else around. The fuel pump is fussy, you may have to restart it a couple of times before it pumps at a good rate. There is a phone in the terminal for flight planning, but no internet (summer 06).
You May Get Held Up Here By Fog
Flown into, out of and over Marathon several times - there is usually fog in the bay which can move over the airport just after you land. Be prepared to spend several days there if you get fogged in.
Training Airport
I did some IFR training at Mirabel. It's almost a shame that such a large, sprawling airport is largely closed (many taxiways, one runway, no passenger service, etc). At least it provides the local flight schools with a great place to train for ILS approaches and not worry about all sorts of commercial flights coming and going.
Great Airport
My plane is hangared here :) !
C-FAKQ a 1976 Cessna Cardinal RG
Caution - Lots of Fire Fighting Helo Traffic Here in the Sum
Stopped here several times for fuel travelling East or West around the top of Superior. In July and August there can be numerous firefighting fixed wing and helos transitting the area to pickup crews or fuel. Listen closely on 126.7 for updates.
Birds
There is a bird sanctuary near the airport, so be sure to keep a good lookout for birds.
No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum
A great little gem of a museum. This airport has a great community around it that has brought a BCATP airfield back to life. Well worth a visit.
Lots of Cessna Cardinals Here
I bought a Cardinal here in 2000 with the help of Roy Sobchuk. Roy Sobchuk is the designer of speed mods and fairings for the beautiful Cessna 177 Cardinal and other Cessnas. There were 6 other Cardinals in the hangar in Brandon, all very nicely equipped and maintained aircraft. Maple Leaf Aviation at Brandon Airport is a Transport Canada approved manufacturer for replacement parts and modifications for Cessna aircraft. Fiberglass and metal components are manufactured in-house. Maple Leaf Aviation Limited holds over 40 STC’s in Canada (TC) and the United States (FAA). Maple Leaf Aviation Limited also provides services for the importation of aircraft.
Marathon
Nice airport. Got weathered in here while on a trip to the West. Self serve pumps work well. Eat at Marino's just down the road.
Crosswind Strip
There is a shorter crosswind turf strip at Smiths Falls that is not depicted in the CFS (visible on the map above). A flying club member recently told me to feel free to use the grass if there was a good crosswind on my arrival on a cross country flight. I would guess it is about 1500' long.
Picked Up My First Airplane Here!
Flew to Winnipeg with Paul Williams to pick up my Cardinal in May 2000. Paid my first fuel bill as an owner at the Shell FBO at CYWG. Had a great time (two inexperienced pilots) flying back to Ottawa via Thunder Bay, Wawa and North Bay.
Missed my chance
I skipped the restaurant since it was a refuelling stop in the morning, but it sounds like I missed some good food. The FBO staff were very friendly as well.
re: Bushplane Museum
Fun for home *builders*, that is.
re: Bushplane Museum
I can second Flying Celt's recommendation of the Bushplane Museum. It's downtown, near the Station Mall and the bridge to the U.S., and has a small but very nicely chosen collection of planes. They're not too crowded, and there's a lot to do, including climbing into some of them. They have a Taylor Cub that was found on Baffin Island many years after it disappeared. There's a special focus on forest fire fighting, and a good selection of kids' activities. Restoration is going on right on the museum floor, and a sign welcomes you to visit the work area, so it would probably be especially fun for home buildings.
Butter tarts
Butter tarts yes. Also - there are go carts next to the field. It's a back track runway - though so don't be too tight on the plane in front of you.
Bushplane Museum
I flew into Sault Ste. Marie in late June. It's a nice airport. Car rental was only $35 for a day - which is cheaper than the cab or limo. If you go there be sure to visit the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Museum http://www.bushplane.com/. It's a must see for aviation enthusiasts. Lunch at Muio's Restaurant - 685 Queen St E can't go wrong.
terminal restaurant
by far one of the best restaurants at any airport. fantastic breakfasts, at very reasonable prices. try the gino special.
Buttertarts
Famous for the best buttertarts anywhere!
Right IN Mont-Tremblant
When visiting Mont-Tremblant in the summer months this grass field only minutes away should be your preferred strip. There are modest landing fees and no night flying.
Home of the famous fish and chips
About a 25 minute walk from the airport is the famous Herberts Fisheries where you'll get probably the freshest fish and chips you'll ever have. People come from far and wide. But be ready to wait up to an hour for your food. Well worth a visit.
Head for the south
This is the southern most point in Canada. There's a Caribbean theme restaurant about a 10 minute cab ride from the airport with great seafood. Honestly comparable to the very famous Herbert's fisheries in Killarney. Worth a visit.
Katana Cafe
Amazing, gourmet-class cuisine overlooking runway 33. Highly recommended.
No More Restaurant
When I went in 2006 the restaurant in the a/p bldg. was closed. Short car ride (call taxi) to "La Crémaillère", an excellent French Restaurant/Inn in neaby village of Messines (3 or 4 km SW of a/p), with adjacent bike/ski trail.
Food
Cafeteria at Upper Canada Village entrance & restaurant at golf club.
Flight School with Twin
Radio svc is good for an a/p this size. Great stop while heading down the scenic St. Lawrence.
Great View
Great view of Lake Ontario & the St. Lawrence when departing to the South. Taxicab svc to downtown for good restaurants is fast & not too expensive.
Delta Heritage Air Park Website
Check out http://www3.telus.net/airpark.
Delta Heritage Air Park WiFi Service
Delta now has WiFi service at the Coffee Shop. Bring your laptop and do your flight planning on line at the Coffee Shop!
Good Place for Lunch
Whoops, scrub the last comment, it was meant for Lachute, not Mont Laurier. Mont Laurier has a nice little snack bar/restaurant right beside the ramp, great for breakfast or lunch. Look for the Piper on a post. It is alot nicer to eat there now that there is a no smoking law in Quebec!
Good Place for Lunch
A great little airport, close to Montreal and Ottawa, run by nice people. The restaurant is great, or you can borrow a bicycle to ride into town.
Light rail
I live in Orleans but my hangar is at Carp. Light rail would solve lots of problems. I think Carp and Arnprior are the only local airports to permit the building of private hangars at reasonable cost.
So Close to Halifax and Dartmouth
A great little airport and so convenient to downtown Dartmouth and Halifax. I flew in here as a passenger in a Sea King many times during my Navy years. I went here once in my Baron to visit friends in Halifax - shortly afterwards I heard Shearwater was closed to commercial and GA traffic again, perhaps for good.
First GPS Approach to Minimums
I flew my Baron into Kap for a Hope Air mission in 2004. I took Simon Garrett from Rockliffe along for the company and some Multi-IFR experience. We filed IFR which was a good thing since it was IMC from North Bay to Kap. We flew the GPS Approach to minimums and taxied to the terminal in heavy rain. Then we had to wake up our passenger who fell asleep departing Ottawa. At least he had confidence in our abilities.
Clear US Customs here going to the USA
I crossed the border at Coutts Alberta (CEP4) in July 06. There is a little grass runway that runs East-West right along the border, the US side of the border is Sweetgrass Montana (K7S8). The highway border crossing is only 100 yards away, so the agent just walks over, like at Piney in Manitoba. I think THY was parked with the tailwheel in Canada and the front tires in the US. The border runs along the side of the runway.
There are several little air strips like this between Chilliwack BC and Piney in Manitoba. Because they are only yards from a customs office, they only require one hour advance notice (to avoid that $5000US fine). Check the AOPA International Operations website or the AOPA Airport Guide for the latest advance notice requirements for the specific airport.
When I phoned to give my one-hour notice, the US Customs agent asked me to confirm I was flying a taildragger and suggested I should not land here if it was wet, since it can be very rough.
Light rail
Thanks for the fuel info, Tony.
There's talk at Ottawa city council about building a light rail line as far as the village of Carp. If that ever happens (and it would be years away), CYRP could become a fairly important Ontario GA airport.
The North Field vs. The International Airport
Runway 04 - 22 at the North end of the Ottawa Airport is for General Aviation - the flying clubs and local avionics shop are there. The Ottawa Flying Club has a restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. The same landing fees apply at the North Field.
There is an Esso Avitat and a Shell FBO just East of the main International terminal, just beside Runway 07-25 for business travellers and charters.
Self-serve fuel
Yes, they have 24-hour self-serve, and their regular customers can sign up for their loyalty program for another discount! See John at West Capital in the FBO building.
Breakfast every Sunday
The Brockville Flying Club has a fly-in breakfast every Sunday. It's hard to find official info, but I think it's 8:30-11:30 am. I hope to try it out tomorrow.
Special landing/takeoff procedures
Because there's a high ridge just east of the airport, the normal procedure for landing on runway 12 is to do a wide left downwind, then follow the river valley through the town on a slant left base. Because of a hill SE of the airport, you won't see the runway until you're almost lined up on final. For departure from runway 30, just reverse the procedure (unless your plane has a very good climb angle) -- instead of trying to outclimb the ridge, make a gentle right turn after takeoff and follow the river valley southeastwards until you're high enough to get over the hills. Note also that there are trees off both ends of the runway. If you're in a low-powered plane like a Cherokee or Cessna 172, it might be a good idea to take off when the air is cool (e.g. not midafternoon on a summer day), and to be a fair bit under maximum gross weight (you can top up your fuel at Pembroke [YTA] and Peterborough [YPQ], which are both only 62 nm away and have long paved runways), though the gravel runway is a good length at 2,200 ft. It's a fun airport for a pilot, but note the previous comment for a passenger's perspective.
Up on a hill
This airport is up on a hill, several hundred feet above the city below and Lake Nippising. That's both a good and bad thing -- once, I was able to depart VFR when the city was completely fogged in, because the hill was above the top of the fog with blue skies above. On the other hand, if there's a low ceiling, it will be lower here than in the city.
Permission required
I came in here in 2005 for a Hope Air flight. There is a civilian terminal, but because it's a military airport, you need prior permission to land. I called the operations and got a special authorization code to provide on first contact with ATC (they never asked for it, because they were expecting me).
Chicoutimi airport is nearby for regular civilian traffic, along with several other, smaller airports in the Saguenay/Lac-St-Jean area.
My Home Base
Boundary Bay is home base to my little Piper Archer. It's a very busy GA airport about a 30 minute drive south of Downtown Vancouver.
Runway 07-25 was recently restored back to it's original 5000' length. There is no proper FBO here, just a managment company that runs the field and sells the fuel and acts as landlord to the many flying schools and other aviation related businesses. Services are minimal and the fuel price tends to be one of the highest in the region, no self serve, truck only.
Still, this is a reasonable option if you are flying yourself in to Vancouver. No landing fees and it's the closest airport to downtown other than YVR itself. It's a Canpass airport if you are coming from the US, but note that the Canpass hours are limited, typically 10:00PM is the latest you can arrive.
Transit here is poor, a few buses a day, so plan on arranging a rental car to be delivered or take a taxi. Be warned the taxi fare will be well over $50 and in rush hour there can be significant traffic.
There's a Nav Canada PIK (pilot information kiosk) in the main terminal building, and if you hang out near the Pacific Flying Club building you can usually log in to their WiFi.
Because of the intense flight school traffic and the proximity of this field in and under the airspace for Vancouver International, you need to study arrival and departure procedures in the CFS with great care, and if possible enter the VFR reporting points in to your GPS. The tower expects you to know these procedures and fly them accurately. Pay special attention to the various airspace ceiling heights, they are a bit unusual.
Awesome downtown airport!
This is a great airport if you are visiting Toronto. You land on the island, right next to downtown. The approach gives you a dramatic view of the CN Tower, the baseball stadium, and the downtown core. A quick ferry ride takes you to the mainland. Hop public transit, or grab a cab, and you're in the core in a matter of minutes. The city is quite walkable and has fabulous public transit. No need to rent a car to visit the main sites in Canada's largest city.
Pearson (Toronto's major Int'l airport) is way out in the west end - there is no efficient public transit into the downtown core, and a car/cab ride is going to take at least 45 minutes, if the highways aren't jammed with traffic. The smaller airports (Buttonville, etc.) are great if you're visiting the 'burbs, but not so great for downtown.
Very busy airport
For a small airport, it certainly is busy. Very active flight school, with lots of people training.
Aviation Museum as well
I should also have mentioned the Aviation Museum which is right behind the airport.
Approach
🔗 Sun, 22 Jul 2007
— @StudentPilot at Listowel Airport, Canada
A house with a yard full of trees is right at the south end of the runway. There are a couple large trees (80' AGL from the CFS) on the centreline. Rather than approach over the trees, I flew my approach just west of the runway and slipped over to the runway once past the trees. This worked very well and I am fairly certain I landed much earlier than I would have if I had flown over the trees. If taking off to the south I would definitely turn slightly right once airborne to avoid the trees and the home.