Stanley Airport is located in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

Hants County Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History Formation The county of Hants ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, approximately northeast of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

History

World War II

Stanley was built as RCAF Station Stanley in March 1941 to train pilots as part of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

. The airport was the base for the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

's No. 17 Elementary Flying School which trained thousands of pilots for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The school operated a number of

Fleet Finch The Fleet Finch (Fleet Model 16) is a two-seat, tandem training biplane produced by Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario. There were a number of variants mainly based on engine variations. Over several years beginning in 1939, a total of 447 ...

II Model 16B aircraft from 1941 through 1944, and two dozen

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

aircraft to train pilots along with a

Link Trainer The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer" is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, founded and headed by Ed Link Edwin ...

, an early flight simulator equipped with gauges to simulate a real aircraft. At its peak Stanley trained four 30-student classes simultaneously for six weeks of flight training before graduates passed on to advanced training at other bases. The station was closed in January 1944 as the war came to a close.

Aerodrome

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF & D of T Aerodrome - Stanley, Nova Scotia at with a variation of 23 degrees west and elevation of . The field was listed as "gravel" and had three runways listed as follows: It was also noted in the above reference that at the time of publication, runway 5/23 was being extended to by this upgrade was under construction.

Post-war

The airport was taken over in 1968 by the Dartmouth Experimental Aircraft Association, which upgraded the runways and built some hangars. The association evolved into the Stanley Sport Aviation Association."Stanley Airport welcomes aviators Facility hosting annual fly-in", GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau, ''Halifax Chronicle Herald'', Sept. 2, 2011 The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources used the airport's large World War II maintenance hangar after the war before turning it over to Stanley Sport Aviation. This distinctive wood hangar had a control tower at one corner and was once the largest building in Hants County. It was demolished in 2006 due to deterioration of the structure.

Today

At present, the airport is home to Stanley Sport Aviation Association, a group of private aircraft owners and aviation enthusiasts who lease and maintain the field. The airport still has three runways built in the standard

BCATP The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Z ...

triangular pattern, although the wartime paving has been replaced by grass. The number of runways, close proximity to Halifax and the absence of landing fees make it popular with aviation enthusiasts. Every year over the

Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...

weekend, SSA hosts the annual Stanley Fly-In, which first took place in 1971 and is touted by the club as being the oldest fly-in in Canada. This fly-in is well known in the region, and attracts about 100 aircraft and 2000 visitors from across Canada and the north-eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

References

External links

Stanley Sport Aviation
{{authority control Registered aerodromes in Nova Scotia Transport in Hants County, Nova Scotia Stanley, Nova Scotia Stanley, Nova Scotia Buildings and structures in Hants County, Nova Scotia