Airport comments from dazuppa

Been there yesterday, and man, wasn't that an example of mechanical turbulence... Brutal! My poor 172 was tossed around like a paper plane, yoke hitting the stops and ASI jumping from 60 to 100 in a blink of an eye. Twice got sucked down in a wind shear while on short final, adding full power to arrest the descent... Overall - three awesomely challenging circuits, totally worth visiting the place. And no one around that wonderful day (wondering why?)

Initially I thought that horrible turbulence was a result of the crosswind blasting over the airport buildings, but no - it was as "bumpy" all around, low and high, thanks to a bunch of irregularly-shaped hills just west of the airport, with a lee wave stuck aside of a mountain ridge nearby.

Besides that, a very nice aerodrome - easy to find, with clean approaches and lots of space around in case your engine decides to quit. Runway is in the good shape, and airport name is written on a main taxiway - very welcoming and friendly.

Vulcan is a bit of challenge to discover, sitting "in the middle of nowhere", close to a little town next to a railroad. When approaching from the West, main runway looks as long as the town itself!

There is no doubt when you find Vulcan, as its name is written in huge white letters on the ramp. I haven't stop there yet, just touch and go's - but the place looks clean, nice, and well maintained. Reasonably wide, long, asphalt runway in a very good condition, easy approaches.

NDB sitting next to the runway is... well... not really useful. I mean, when you finally get a steady signal, it means that you are just a couple of miles from the field. Should be interesting to shoot some training approaches, though.

I have been to High River twice, always in winter, and found it hibernated. Looks like there is a community somewhere, but I wasn't able to catch up with them.

Runway is huge, long, clean and well maintained. Note the long displaced thresholds, though. And caution with crosswinds, these can be quite intense as the prairie around is flat for miles and miles around!

Easy to find, with clean approaches and light traffic - though somehow there was always someone on the frequency (or in the circuit) when I was flying there.

I've only been to CYHM for touch and go's, but flew through their airspace and near it quite frequently while going to Niagara area and back - day and night, winter and summer.

Airport itself is large, way too much than average GA pilot may ever need - and located in a strategically excellent spot. Easy to find, and though there is a lot (as in - a lot!) of through and local traffic, never a problem to deal with thanks to an excellent, very professional ATC. Thanks guys, you set the standards in my books! Few controlled airspaces I've been to are as friendly and comfortable to deal with.

Private airport, registered and opened for the flying community. Runway is built and maintained so that owner's C182 can use it comfortably. A bit tricky to find the first time, as the lakes around tend to change their size, but absolutely worth visiting. Wayne Wilderman is an awesome person, keeping his airport in a great shape - friendly and open to the visitors. It was great to land there, will be happy to make it there again!

Ostergard's is a well-maintained private strip, made available to the general flying public out of courtesy. Being part of that public, I can only appreciate that - as there are few non-restricted airfields around Calgary, and Ostergard's airport is located in such a beautiful corner! Right between the canyons and the wind farms, both panoramas are just awesome...

Runway is in a very good shape, approaches are clear, and the airport is reasonably easy to find - though I believe that one must expect significant crosswind many of the times. I liked how the northbound runway drops right after the edge, and I enjoyed taking off southbound - towards the wind farms.

Location itself is definitely not a place to goof around - one could clearly see that people live and work there. But I'm glad I visited Ostergard's and hope to be back at some point.

I've been to Bishell's for a fly-in and loved everything about it. Interesting short final southbound - passing just by the tree line, touching down on a hill top and then rolling lower and lower... Easy to find, good approaches, no significant obstacles around, the runway is kept neat and clean, airport facilities are in order, people around are simply great - awesome! Loved to be there and would be happy to visit this place again.

Been there again two days ago - it's listed as registered, but looks like a private cropdusters strip. Farm machinery in and around the hangar, instead of airplanes, and a red truck parked on the first third of eastbound runway. Didn't look welcoming, though it's a long strip - and surface was quite beaten. Looks like the owners just did not update their official airport status to "restricted".

Reply to @camroe: You probably meant the Okotoks Air Park, just a couple of miles southeast, right? Skywings is there... As for this grass strip, it's restricted, and in a very decent conditions - just overflew it two days ago, looked very nice and landable. Loved the runway numbers cut in the grass, cool touch! :-)

Reply to @dazuppa: Correction - SE ramp mentioned above, sorry! :-)

Brantford is very easy to find - an obvious triangular shape next to the only big town in the area. Wide, long, well-maintained runways and not so well maintained taxiways, huge ramps. A couple of semi-dismantled C-117 with square tails and oversized elevators at the end of the SW ramp (aviation buffs, check them out - those birds are rare now!) Reasonably busy, but with well-organized traffic and helpful unicom. A nice place to visit.

A crosswind runway was recently completed, making Burlington really comfortable and easy to operate from. Maneuvering surfaces are in a very good shape, overall airport infrastructure looks better and better with every visit.

FBO status remains the same - sort of struggling through and not quite organized, missing a leading hand. Seen a King Air blasting the parked Cessnas (yes, he was doing a run-up next to the pumps, pointing its tail to the ramp within 60 ft). Advised the FBO folks, they refused to comment or take any action to prevent the damage of their own airplanes.

For the renters - add $10 to the prices from the Spectrum Airways website, this is called a "temporary fuel surcharge" or something like that, but looks like its a permanent thing in disguise.

Coordinates are 43.735 -80.447 (you can set them in google maps or your GPS). Flying, it is just NW from the town of Fergus, following Beatty Line across the river. Note that there is another, unrelated airstrip NE from Fergus - closer to the Belwood lake - and a couple of others, also unrelated fields just SE of the lake!

The only other information I have is that CPG7 "Fergus - Juergensen Field" (the airstrip we are talking about) is a home of the Chinook ultralights community (liftoffaviation.com) Hope that helps...

Runway is really "perched on the top of a hill", as mentioned by one of the commenter - and there are other hills, antennas and trees around, but the whole location is so very scenic, absolutely adorable. Runway and taxiways are in the perfect conditions, the airport is definitely maintained well, and there was a stash of wonderful flying machines in the hangar! Absolutely worth visiting.

I was always interested in visiting Bradford because of the L'il Buzzard fame (www.ultralightnews.ca) - I think it is a great website and the whole approach of the owner is right on.

Unfortunately, the landing surface was really bad. One of the hangar folks described it to me in advance as horrible, and that turned to be true - pretty much like landing on the unprepared field with a hump in the middle. Fortunately frozen today, so bumps were stiff - and approaching through the cut in the tree line on short final was fun. Managed to almost get stuck a couple of times while taxiing, though - and overall perception of the airport was like it used to be very much alive, but went down lately.

Huge runway, easy to find, useful unicom and friendly folks in the FBO - great place to go, a useful alternative to Muskoka. Unfortunately, uncontrolled - but otherwise absolutely recommended to visit. Watch out for the floatplanes approaching - they actually complete a normal circuit for the runway 17, only to skim the concrete surface and land in a pond at the end of it! Looks unusual...

You know those MS Flight Simulator airports which, due to a program error, are sitting in the bottom of a pit with vertical walls around - so you need to fly in circles to climb out or land? Volk airport looks exactly like that in reality, especially when you stand at the bottom of the pit, where both runways are crossing each other. More, the longest runway is not only upsloped both ways - it is also curved, framed with tall trees, and has a rather uneven surface!

Well the hills and slopes surrounding Volk airport are not vertical, but they still look impressive. If you are flying a Super Cub or CH 701 - visiting Volk airport will be pure fun. But if you are plowing the sky in something like a 65 hp J-3, with its engine a bit too beaten to give you the full power, and the air is hot... Uhm... I would say be very, very careful - you may not make it out.

I think that Volk airport is one of the most exciting and challenging grass strips around Toronto, and Lisa from Golden Eagle flight school (goldeneagleflightschool.com) is a very friendly and welcoming person, nice to chat with. Just get a right plane to go there, and enjoy the adventure.

Reasonably well maintained airstrip, nicely blended with the environment. A real challenge to find, unless you are good at pilotage or have a GPS. If you wish to give it a try with just compass and a clock - be careful not to wander into the Hamilton airspace, immediately on the NW from York strip. Quite deteriorated scenery below - rusty hangar roofs, some semi-disassembled aircraft inside - but friendly people and positive atmosphere around. Definitely worth challenging your navigation skills.

Long runways in good condition, extremely easy to find, well positioned airport. Do not overfly the field - skydivers will drop on your head! Circuits are outwards, check the CFS. Do not miss the aviation history museum in a hangar right next to the main ramp. Friendly folks around and overall positive atmosphere - I enjoyed Dunnville, and would love to be back.

Huge runways in good condition, lots of GA planes, some impressive vintage aircraft (I've seen a T-28 and Cornell), completely messed up circuit with planes cutting on the final, joining it from any altitude and direction, doing steep turns on the downwind... reminds anything? I felt like it was another Brampton. Decent airport, but not so fun to fly around. If needed to land somewhere around Niagara, I'd think St. Catharines, not Welland.

Quiet small airport. Well maintained runway, good approaches, nice folks at the FBO. Finding it is a tiny bit of a challenge, though following the railroad while checking a Pearson VOR radial helps. Loved the autumn scenery around Grimsby - so quiet, so sweet.

Nice grass airstrip West of Toronto - relatively easy to find, clean approaches, well maintained. Look out for the unmarked power line parallel to the road when approaching from the East. A bunch of ultralights and homebuilts hidden in the hangars, and walls of soft, high corn surrounding the landing strip - in case you'd feel like rolling out. ;-)

Top-notch business airport. Terminal is much bigger inside than it looks from the outside. There is some GA life in and around, but it is obviously built for the big bucks and biz jets. Unicom is helpful and all the services are in place, just don't expect that cozy feeling of the local aviation community, etc. Lake Simcoe is a totally different category - and aparently a good one in what it is.

Lots of GA activity, scenic location, big runway, well-maintained taxiways. A number of interesting machines parked around - from ultralights to PC-12. Helpful unicom and cozy terminal. Easy to find and nice place to visit, just keep an eye on the traffic!

Google image is quite dated - currently the airport looks way better! Another runway added and the grass one is in a very decent condition. Ramp and the whole maneuvering area are well maintained and clean. This airport is home for a vintage aircraft restoration group, there are Tiger Moth, Canuck, Baby Ace and other fancy birds flying around. Overall - nice place to visit and check out those magic old planes, and chat with enthusiasts working on them.