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Abbotsford Airport
Abbotsford began
life as one of dozens of new facilities
developed under the British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan (BCATP). Construction began in
June, 1942 and in July the following year, RCAF
Station Abbotsford officially opened. By the
time this 1944 aerial photo was taken, the new
training base featuring the RCAF�s typical
triangular 3-runway layout, along with hangars
and support facilities.
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From 1943, Number 24 Elementary
Flying Training School was ready to offer basic training to
new pilots on Fairchild PT-26 Cornell aircraft.
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With plans under development for
a major Allied assault during the war in the Pacific,
No. 24 EFTS was replaced in August 1944 by No. 5 Operational
Training Unit, providing advanced training on 4-engine
Liberator bombers.
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Some of the training flights
provided hard lessons for the pilots, including this
one�recorded for posterity in a private scrapbook.
The RCAF officially closed the
station in 1946 but kept it under caretaker status in
following years. In 1948, the station�s barracks housed
refugees from the record flood of the Fraser Valley. The
annual summer camp of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets was held
at Abbotsford in 1950. The airport was closed from 1952 to
1958, at which time title passed from National Defence to
the Department of Transport. The airport was reopened in
1960 as an alternate landing site for aircraft diverted from
Vancouver because of fog.
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In 1962, a
Stranraer
Flying Boat�the last model built by Vickers in
Canada�was rolled out of the restoration hangar
after an extensive restoration and took off from
runway 18 using a purpose-built dolly.
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Each year (with some exceptions,
as for COVID) Abbotsford offers one of Canada�s premier
airshows. The first Abbotsford Air Show was held in 1962
through a partnership of the Abbotsford Flying Club and the
Abbotsford Rotary Club. Evolving and growing through the
years, it now brings in well over 100,000 visitors annually
with the accompanying economic benefit to the region. Its
reputation as one of Canada�s premier airshows has allowed
it to attract unusual and exotic participants�in 1989, for
example, the largest airplane in the world, the An-225 Mriya
(destroyed in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine).
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In 1963 runway 06-24 was
lengthened to accommodate larger aircraft. Two years later
Skyway Air Services set up its water bombing operations at
the airport and were taken over by Conair
in 1968. The
Conair fleet has grown significantly (the photos compare
1976 with 1983) and remains an anchor tenant for the
airport�s flying and repair activities.
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Abbotsford now hosts a number of
private aviation oriented businesses and offers regular
scheduled flights with WestJet, Swoop and Flair airlines
from its general terminal building.
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Note: All photos courtesy Chris
Weicht
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British Columbia Aviation Museum Updated:
2023-01-14
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