Quesnel Airport

Quesnel Airport is on the east side of the Fraser River about north of central Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada.

Earlier activity

In October 1928, John M. Patterson landed a Yukon Airways and Exploration Co Alexander Eaglerock biplane at Johnston's Field. In September 1929, Walter Gilbert came in a Western Canada Airways (WCA) Boeing B-1E. That winter, a Consolidated Mining and Smelting Fairchild 71 arrived on the frozen Fraser next to the bridge. During summer 1930, Wilhelm A. Joerss descended onto the Fraser in an Air Land Manufacturing Co Junkers F 13. In March 1931, Tom S. Corless made a weather-prompted landing of a Stinson SM-8A at Nam Sing's Field about north of Quesnel.

During the early 1930s, R.L. (Ginger) Coote was based at Quesnel, initially operating as a sole proprietorship. In October 1933, he incorporated Bridge River and Cariboo Airways. Wheel-equipped aircraft heading to Alaska preferred the inland route up the Fraser, making Quesnel a popular stop. By 1934, Baker's Field came into use. In January 1938, the inaugural Ashcroft– Fort St. John airmail run landed on the frozen Dragon Lake south of Quesnel. This lake became the preferred venue for float planes.

World War II era

In 1942, during World War II, the DND developed the present site as an intermediate facility between Williams Lake and Prince George. The airport was called RCAF Station Quesnel. In May 1943, the airport was designated the No. 13 Staging Unit. In the event of a Japanese invasion, fighter aircraft could be operated from the airstrip as a second line of defence. The RCAF established a radio range aircraft navigational facility nearby.

Department of Transport administration

In 1946, administration of the airport passed from the DND to the DOT. In 1949, extensive drain and ditch work was carried out.

In 1950, a spacious new refuelling area was developed. In 1951, further drainage work and some paving were undertaken and approach lighting tendered for the runway. In 1954, the Quesnel Flying Club was founded, later disbanding, but reactivating in 1985. The reconstruction and paving of the runway, taxiway, and parking area culminated in an official opening in November 1958. Tendered that year was the installation of medium intensity lighting, and in 1959, the erection of a duplex.

In 1960, Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CP Air) began scheduled services using a DC-3. In 1963, the frequency was reduced from daily to tri-weekly. That year, a new main reservoir was added to the existing pumphouse. After years of inadequate accommodation, a new terminal was opened in 1967. The next year, the construction of a new powerhouse was tendered.

In 1971, Thunderbird Airlines, under charter to Pacific Western Airlines (PWA), inaugurated a Prince George− Kelowna service, which included a Quesnel stop. During a 1974 firefighter strike at Prince George Airport, CP Air and PWA Boeing 737s were landing at Quesnel. Less than a week later, these 737 flights switched to Williams Lake, because the existence of only auxiliary ground crew firefighters and a dry chemical carrying truck at Quesnel Airport was deemed inadequate.

By 1978, the three trained part-time firefighters and a dry chemical truck exceeded the fire suppression standards for a Class F airport. Quesnel then averaged 48 take-offs or landings by heavy (over ) aircraft per month. A foam fire truck had been transferred to Williams Lake the prior year, because of decreased air traffic at Quesnel.

In 1980, the overhead power distribution system was rebuilt. The next year, a new passenger arrival area was set up in a portable at the south end of the terminal. In 1983, the runway and a taxiway were repaved. The next year, a new firehall/maintenance garage was erected and the water supply system upgraded.

In 1991, the runway was rehabilitated. Construction tendered in 1992 included a meteorological instrument compound and the associated underground electrical ducting. That year, the airport handled more than 18,000 passengers and 13,000 aircraft movements. In 1993, a new timber terminal and the associated roading and parking lot were built. The former portable accommodation was tendered for disposal.

City of Quesnel administration

In 1997, control and maintenance passed from Transport Canada to the City of Quesnel. At the time, the federal government provided $1.8 million for safety improvements, which included resurfacing the runway, taxiway and apron, and upgrading the airfield lighting. Regular federal subsidies of about $500,000 per year came to an end.

In 2003, a $211,000 federal grant funded an upgrade of the security gates and the purchase a runway sweeper. The next year, Central Mountain Air (CMA) replaced Air Canada Jazz as the sole scheduled service provider. In 2005, the name changed from the Quesnel Municipal Airport to the Quesnel Regional Airport. In 2010, the first annual SkyFest airshow was held, and the airport received a federal grant of about $158,000 to replace the old wet/dry chemical spreader. That year, the airport provided a temporary base for personnel and aircraft fighting wildfires in the area, which developed into an ongoing forestry services facility.

In 2013, Northern Development provided a $244,815 grant to expand the apron by . By 2015, the annual airshow had become one of the biggest in Canada.

In 2021, the airport received a $7,162,526 federal grant to rehabilitate the runway, taxiway and apron. In 2023, the airport applied for a $491,500 federal grant to replace a sweeper.

The city owns and operates the site. The infrastructure includes two corporate hangars and some small private ones. CMA provides scheduled services. Other users are the Quesnel Flying Club, medevacs, and charter flights for the forestry, oil and gas, and mining industries. Low fog remains a navigational hazard.

Accidents and incidents

*March 1933: When Ginger Coote's Ryan B-1 engine was being preheated by a blowtorch the aircraft caught fire and was destroyed. Also that month, a Canadian Airways Loening Amphibian hit an obstruction on takeoff. When the pilot restarted the engine after a forced landing, the aircraft burst into flames and was destroyed.
*October 1950: A Stinson nosed over on takeoff.
*January 1952: A passing CP Air flight, which developed engine trouble, made a forced landing.
*September 1959: When a USAF F-89 Scorpion made an emergency landing, the jet sustained minor damage to the undercarriage and two tires blew out.
*November 1967: A Quesnel Flying Club Cessna 170B flipped on the runway while landing.
*July 1968: A light plane went out of control on landing.
*December 1968: A Cessna 172 developed engine trouble on takeoff and crashed south.
*March 1982: A Northern Mountain Helicopters Bell 206 JetRanger crashed in a gulley in a heavily-treed area about northwest of Quesnel, killing the pilot.
*December 1994: A veteran bush pilot experiencing radio problems first buzzed low over the downtown area before successfully finding his bearings to the airport.
*July 1996: The pilot of a Mooney M20 failed to lower the landing gear before reaching the runway.
*February 2002: A Beechcraft 100 slid about into a snowbank on landing.
*August 2006: A passing Cessna Conquest II experiencing a hydraulic leak made a successful forced landing.
*January 2009: A strong wing gust tipped a taxiing Cessna upside down.
*August 2013: A kit-built Smith Cub 18, which was landing on the grass beside the runway, flipped in longer grass about beyond the threshold.

*August 2016: The landing gear of a single-engine Beechcraft collapsed on the runway.

Footnotes

References

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Certified airports in British Columbia
Cariboo
Royal Canadian Air Force stations
Military airbases in British Columbia
Military history of British Columbia