Edmonton/Cooking Lake Airport is a registered

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

located 15 kilometers east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on the west shore of Cooking Lake, north of the hamlet of

South Cooking Lake, Alberta South Cooking Lake is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County. It is located on Highway 14, approximately southeast of Sherwood Park. The Cree, Blackfoot and the Sarcee were the first to inhabit the area, and that is where the n ...

, Canada. Cooking Lake Airport is the largest of two public airports located within

Strathcona County Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region within Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park. It forms part of Census Division No. 11. Strathcona County is both urban and rural in n ...

and currently serves 87 per cent of the county's public aeronautical traffic. Established in 1926, it is Canada's oldest operating public airport, and Alberta's only airport with both a floatplane base, Edmonton/Cooking Lake Water Aerodrome, and a conventional runway. The airport is operated on a non-profit basis entirely by volunteers.

History

The first known aircraft to land at Cooking Lake was in August 1922. The aircraft, G-CAEB, was a

Vickers Viking The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine amphibious aircraft designed for military use shortly after World War I. Later versions of the aircraft were known as the Vickers Vulture and Vickers Vanellus. Design and development Researc ...

Mark IV, Type 69, and was operated by Laurentide Air Service. It was returning from an unsuccessful search for a lost gold mine east of

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

. Cooking Lake Airport was the site of one of the earliest recorded

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

s in Alberta. On August 28, 1932, Walter and Gladys Hill of

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...

were advised by their doctor to seek specialized medical care at a hospital in Edmonton due to complications with Gladys' pregnancy. The couple were flown to the Cooking Lake Airport in a

Fokker Universal The Fokker Universal was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for the Germans during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built betwe ...

G-CAHJ, and a healthy boy was born 10 minutes after landing. In 1953, Max Ward acquired a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter single-engine aircraft at the Cooking Lake Airport and founded

Wardair Wardair Canada was a privately run Canadian airline, founded by Max Ward in 1952 under the name Wardair Ltd, before formally changing its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976. The airline was acquired by and folded into Canadian Airlines in 1989. ...

. The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

established a base at the Cooking Lake Airport in 1942. The purpose of the base was to support construction of the

Canol pipeline The Canol Project was constructed during World War II to ensure a supply of oil for the defense of Alaska and the North American west coast. The project was completed in two years at an astronomical cost and was abandoned less than a year later. ...

connecting

Norman Wells Norman Wells ( Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, settled about 140 km (87 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional o ...

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

. The project was considered a high priority due to the potential threat of a Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands. The Americans purchased a number of Norduyn Norseman aircraft (named the C-64) to ferry personnel and supplies to the extremely rugged northern wilderness where the pipeline was being constructed. The American operating base was wound down in 1945 as the war came to a close, but the Americans left behind upgraded docks and seawall for use at the airport. The Cooking Lake Airport lodge hosted the cast and crew of the 1961 film ''

Wings of Chance ''Wings of Chance'' is a 1961 American/Canadian action / drama film directed by Eddie Dew based on a story by John Patrick Gillese. The film stars James Brown, Frances Rafferty, Richard Tretter and Patrick Whyte. ''Wings of Chance'' is one of th ...

'', one of the first full-length Hollywood motion pictures shot in Canada. The film stars

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Frances Rafferty Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

, Richard Tretter, and Patrick Whyte. While many of the scenes for the film were shot at the Cooking Lake Airport, its most memorable scenes were shot in nearby national parks. Cooking Lake Airport gained approval in 2015 for private and corporate international flights from the United States under Canada's Border Agency CANPASS Program. In 2016, the airport served approximately 26,000 aircraft movements, the same number of aircraft movements as the

Lethbridge Airport Lethbridge Airport , previously Lethbridge County Airport, is located south southeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It is 10–15 driving minutes from downtown and has scheduled service to the city of Calgary, Alberta. The airport is classifi ...

. There are approximately 200 aircraft based at Cooking Lake Airport.

Economic impact

The airport generates $9.85 million of economic value to the region each year. There are approximately 33 direct jobs spread across various small aviation businesses on the field. Two Transport Canada approved flight training schools operate at the airport and graduate 60-75 licensed pilots each year. In addition to typical private and commercial flight training, Cooking Lake Aviation offers a diploma in Aviation Management while Freedom Air provides flight training to paraplegic students. There are five aircraft maintenance shops located on the airport.

Property tax controversy

Excessive property taxes at the airport have been the subject of numerous appeals by airport volunteers. In 2015, an independent assessment review board acknowledged that the property taxes at the Cooking Lake Airport were inequitable with the nearby County-owned Edmonton/Josephburg Aerodrome, but attributed the inequity to the Warren Thomas Aerodrome being eligible for certain tax exemptions pursuant to s.362(1)(o)(ii) of the Municipal Government Act.Notice of Decision, CARB 0302-04/2015, Composite Assessment Review Board. July 27, 2015

References

External links

Cooking Lake Airport websitePlace to Fly
on COPA's ''Places to Fly'' airport directory {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonton Cooking Lake Airport Edmonton Airports Edmonton Metropolitan Region Registered aerodromes in Alberta Transport in Strathcona County

History

Economic impact

Property tax controversy

See also

References

External links