Port Alberni Airport

                            Curtiss JN-4 on a barnstorming tour

In June 1920, a Curtiss JN-4 on a barnstorming tour of Vancouver Island was the first airplane to land in the Alberni Valley. Lt. Harry Brown and Norman Goddard landed in a field where the Catalyst pulp mill stands today.  They were the first and last land based aircraft to visit the area for nearly three decades�in the coming years, however, there would be much seaplane traffic around Port Alberni.

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1921 saw the arrival in the harbour of an RCAF Curtiss HS-2L from Jericho Beach, assigned to assessing storm damage in area forests.  This was the first of a number of visits by RCAF aircraft over the following years flying in support of Fisheries, Forestry and Customs enforcement activities. 

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In the early 1930�s, RCAF Jericho Beach established a detachment at Sproat Lake to support aerial mapping surveys of Vancouver Island using Vickers Vedette and Fairchild FC-2W aircraft like the one shown here.

An RCAF Vickers Vancouver was dispatched to Barkley Sound in 1931 to search for a schooner suspected of landing illegal immigrants on the coast.

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The 1936 gold rush at Zeballos put Alberni on the route for regular flights between Vancouver and the gold rush town.  This Ginger Coote Airways Fairchild 51A flew a regular scheduled flight between Zeballos and Port Alberni until it was lost coming from Zeballos in May of 1938, killing the pilot and three passengers.  It was only found ten months later, fifteen miles west of the Alberni Canal.

In 1939 the first airmail service to Port Alberni and Zeballos was established by Canadian Airways.

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With war imminent, the first RCAF detachment of No. 6 (BR) Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron was stationed at Ucluelet in 1939 and succeeded in 1940 by No. 4 (BR) Squadron.  Their aircraft�like the No. 4 Squadron Stranraer shown here�and those of subsequent units stationed at Ucluelet were frequent visitors to Port Alberni.

The local paper reported on July 29, 1943 that the city council had authorized the search for a possible (land) airport site and intended to seek assistance from the Department of National Defence.  Although the Department of Transport dispatched an engineer to review the proposal, no further work was undertaken before the end of the war.

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In the years following the end of the war, pressure continued for construction of an airfield as well as an adequate seaplane dock to serve the growing community.  By May 1947 a farmer, Bob Christie, began to develop part of his land across the Somass River from the town site.  By 1947 the Port Alberni Flying Club had formed and began to fly from the 2500� grass runway, identified by the arrows in this early aerial photo. 

Also by 1947, Port Alberni Airways was offering air charters and flight training, using a mix of land-based aircraft and floatplanes based on nearby Sproat Lake.  The Christie farm field (referred to locally as Somass field) remained relatively undeveloped; the Canada Air Pilot dated April 19, 1956 notes the runway is �soft during periods of rain� and not licensed for more than a 22 � degree crosswind.  Christie Field was reported as still operating in a 1985 article in the Alberni Valley News.

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Among the private aircraft that flew from Somass Field were these ex-RCAF trainers, now in civilian livery: a Fairchild Cornell, and a deHavilland Tiger Moth. 

Commercial aircraft also continued to use Somass Field, despite the limited facilities and short runway.  This Queen Charlotte Airlines Anson overshot the field in the early 1950�s, incurring some damage. 

 

The field was closed to aviation in the late 1990�s by the then owner, MacMillan Bloedel.

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In the face of greatly increasing demand for aviation services and limited opportunity for expansion of the Somass Field, the Alberni Valley Regional Airport (CBS8) was opened in September 1993 with a 3952 foot paved runway.  Located about 11 km northwest of the city, it is owned and operated by the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot. 

CBS8 now features a 5000� paved runway and significant facilities for some 15 aviation tenants that include the headquarters of Coulson Aircrane, a heli-logging company, and the base for a BC provincial forest fire suppression crew.  It also hosts the Alberni Valley Flying Club and the Vancouver Island

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