Bromont Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Bromont Airport


caption = An Ask 21 Sailplane turning to final for grass landing runway 23L.
IATA = ZBM
ICAO = CZBM
type = Public
owner =
operator = Régie Aéroportuaire Régionale des Cantons de l'Est
city-served =
location = Bromont, Quebec
elevation-f = 375
elevation-m = 114
coordinates = coord|45|17|27|N|072|44|29|W|type:airport|display=inline
website =
r1-number = 05L/23R
r1-length-f = 5,000
r1-length-m = 1,524
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 05R/23L
r2-length-f = 3,200
r2-length-m = 975
r2-surface = Grass
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft Movements
stat1-data = 4,673
footnotes = Source: Canada Flight SupplementCFS]
Movements from Statistics Canada. [http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/Report/tp577/vol2/51-210-XIE2008001.pdf Aircraft Movement Statistics: Airports Without Air Traffic Control Towers (TP 577)] ]

Bromont Airport Airport codes|ZBM|CZBM is located convert|3.4|NM|abbr=on|lk=in west southwest of Bromont, Quebec, Canada.

Traffic at Bromont Airport is represented mainly by small single engine aircraft, jets and big aircraft are not seen everyday. The airport serves general aviation and has no scheduled flights.

It should be the ideal place for sporty aviation, there is a school that operates two classic light single engine aircraft, Cessna 150 and Piper Cherokee. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets fly two time tested, Schweizer SGS 2-33 gliders with one tow plane, O-1 Bird Dog (Cessna L-19), during a spring and late summer camp. A commercial aircraft maintenance also operates in ZBM.

The ACE Glider Club is based at Bromont Airport, glider and soaring flight operations normally span from April to October. Glider flight operations take place only from the grass runway and are frequently canceled because of wet and muddy conditions, therefore unsafe conditions of the grass runway. It is not permitted in ZBM to operate gliders on the 23R runway.

However during spring 2007, work started on the construction of a convert|2000|ft|abbr=on|0 long convert|25|ft|abbr=on|0 wide asphalt runway that will permit optimum glider operations. Gliders will be able to take off behind tow from the new runway and land on grass, after landing glider will be in positions for the next take off.

The last decades of the 20th century have seen a progressive decline of private pilot flights and a decreasing number of small aircraft. The fleet of this region is aging and very few new aircraft are seen. This is because of the increasing cost. The possibility to fly ultralight, hang gliders and paragliders attracts many flight enthusiast.

From Bromont Airport it is possible to soar the cold front wave, when the meteorological conditions are favorable, with a good performance sailplane, it is possible to get airborne and get into a steady lift of more than convert|500|ft/min|abbr=on|0, over very wide areas. With such condition one can fly a glider straight at speeds over convert|180|km/h|abbr=on|0 without losing altitude, making sure not to exceed maximum rough air speed limits in such conditions.

Bromont Airport cold front wave is very predictable, the special meteorological pattern can be spotted before 1200 UTC time, and it repeats itself 63 percent of the time with onsetting cold fronts.

A new runway is almost completed, it will be 05C/23C and it will permit safe operation when taking off from 05C because lift off will occur from a hard surface and there is adequate space for emergency landing in case of problems at take off.

However taking off from runway 23C will be quite different because of the proximity of trees and other ostacles.

Glider operation from the grass 23G runway are sometime difficult because of wet muddy condition after heavy rain, from the grass 05L runway it is always difficult because of uneven ground and the risk of damaging the equipment is too high.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers.

References

External links

*ASN|ZBM