Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport
nativename = Edmonton City Centre Airport


image-width = 200
IATA = YXD
ICAO = CYXD
type = Public
owner = Edmonton Airports
operator = ATCO Frontec
city-served = Edmonton, Alberta
elevation-f = 2,200
elevation-m = 671
coordinates = coord|53|34|21|N|113|31|14|W|type:airport|display=inline
website = [http://www.edmontonairports.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=15-53&lang=1 http://www.edmontonairports.com]
r1-number = 12/30
r1-length-f = 5,868
r1-length-m = 1,789
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 16/34
r2-length-f = 5,700
r2-length-m = 1,737
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft Movements
stat1-data = 86,574
footnotes = Sources: Canada Flight SupplementCFS]
Statistics from Transport Canada. [http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/EN/Report/TP577/pdf/TP577_07.pdf Aircraft Movement Statistics: NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations: Annual Report 2007] ]

Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport, Airport codes|YXD|CYXD, is located within the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is bordered by Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway Avenue to the west, and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) to the east. It encompasses approximately 144 acres (58 ha) of land just north of the Edmonton city centre. The airport is named for the former mayor Kenneth Alexander Blatchford. Before being named Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), it was known as the Edmonton Municipal Airport.

History

The airport has a rich aviation history, being the first licensed airfield in Canada (1929). Characters such as Wop May helped pioneer aviation in Alberta and Northern Canada, further solidifying Blatchford Field as the "Gateway to the North". Wiley Post landed there during both of his circumnavigations. The airport was also a major stop-over on the Northwest Staging Route during World War II. A full history can be gathered at the Alberta Aviation Museum.

A weather station was established in 1937. Over the years since then, its site has witnessed increasing influence by the urban heat island effect. By the mid-1970s, "Edmonton Municipal A." (as listed in the "Monthly Record of Meteorological Observations in Canada") was regularly recording some of the longest frost-free periods in the Prairie Provinces with the first fall frost often not coming before October.

The ECCA has been embroiled in a fierce debate for several decades. In the 1950s, the need for a longer set of runways to accommodate the larger aircraft on the horizon was clear. With no ability to expand CYXD, the search was on for a new site. After much debate, the current site for the Edmonton International Airport was chosen. Upon completion of the international airport in 1963, CYXD was to close. Political opposition to this move caused the City of Edmonton to keep CYXD open, and entered Edmonton into a 30+ year airport debate that has shaped logistics, transportation, and regional disparity issues ever since.

Several types of jet passenger aircraft did use CYXD, including the Boeing 737-200 and other early 737 variants. These were initially operated by Pacific Western Airlines and its later incarnation Canadian Airlines from their initial purchase in the late 1960s up until consolidation. The runway lengths are based on the absolute maximum performance characteristics and weight of this airliner; however, the extreme wear caused by utilizing this field and pushing these limits was a concern. Other jet service came in the form of the BAe-146 as an Air Canada connector flight operated by Air BC. DC-9s in Air Canada livery operated briefly out of YXD in the early 1980s but left due to field/weight limitations. Time Air and its later brand of Canadian Regional operated Fokker F28s and Echo Bay Mines Limited operated a private 727-100 from the field for several years. However, the demands for ever increasing range and the increased weight and runway length requirements for the next generation aircraft in these series made their use at CYXD economically and in the many cases physically impossible.

In the 1992 municipal election, the City of Edmonton held a plebiscite with the question of "Are you in favour of bylaw No. 10,205, The Edmonton Municipal Airport Referendum bylaw?". This bylaw kept CYXD open to all traffic that the field could legally handle; 54% approved. In the 1995 election, a second plebiscite was put forth to the citizens of Edmonton asking if the bylaw should be repealed on the basis of consolidating all scheduled traffic at CYEG and keeping CYXD open for 56 years to general and corporate traffic. 77% of voters approved this version, and in June 1996, the consolidation process was finalized.

Currently, CYXD remains open as per the lease with the City of Edmonton. There are small passenger airlines that can utilize the facility. These airlines, however, cannot transport more than 10 passengers and are restricted to which destinations they can serve - primarily destinations north of the city.

Amenities

For private and corporate aviation, there are two Fixed base operators (FBO) on site, located on the west side of the airfield off Taxiway A. Additional on-site amenities include the well done Alberta Aviation Museum, two hotels, and a cafeteria in the Edmonton Flying Club's building.

In close proximity to the field is shopping at Kingsway Garden Mall, Canadian Tire, the Chateau Louis (hotel), the Alberta and Edmonton office for St. John Ambulance, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and the VIA Rail train station to the north (off Bush Pilot Road).

Private air ambulances use the ESSO Avatat hangar to store their ground support units. A STARS air ambulance is also based at the airport. Proximity to the Royal Alexandra Hospital makes the airport a vital link for emergency medical access by air to many of Alberta's rural communities.

The airport's proximity to Downtown Edmonton makes it popular for business travelers as well.

Airfield

Due to its location in the central portion of the city, there are both curfew restrictions and noise abatement procedures. The field maintains 24 X 7 operations, with the strictest noise regulations in effect from 22:00h to 07:00h local time. More information can be garnered from Edmonton Airports or from NAV CANADA.

The runways are placed in an intersecting "V" configuration, with the intersection near the displaced thresholds of runways 34 and 30. There is one CAT 1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach on runway 34, and a LOC BC Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) approach for Runway 16. Runway 12/30 is visual with the approach aid being Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) (12) or Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) (30). [ [http://www.edmontonairports.com/nonimages/2/238.pdf Airport Diagram (CYXD)] ]

Frequencies are :
*Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) 125.400
*Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) 128.625
*Clearance/Delivery 121.300
*Ground 121.900
*Control tower 119.100
*Edmonton Radio 126.700
*Departure
**North 119.500
**South 133.650
*Arrivals
**North 119.500
**South 120.500
*Terminal
**North 119.500
**South 127.400

Economic impact

The ECCA employs roughly 1,000 people, and adds $388 million in economic output as well as $18 million in tax revenues for the city of Edmonton. It generated $4.6 million in direct revenue for Edmonton Airports, with expenses of $3.9 million.

Future plans

The land that the ECCA sits on is being leased from the city for a period of 56 years, starting in 1995. Despite having a rich 70 year history some people believe that the corporate, general and military aviation services should be transferred to the Edmonton International Airport, so that the land can be re-developed for a myriad of other uses. However, there are others that see the benefits to the city of having a central airfield for general and corporate aviation, so the debate continues. A compromise proposed is to leave the only ILS runway open (16/34) while allowing the remainder of the airport to be redeveloped for other uses. There are also rampant rumours that this is the leading site to host the potential Edmonton bid for a World Expo in 2017.

Airlines

* Air Mikisew (Fort McMurray)
* Corporate Express (Fort McMurray)
* Empire Airlines (Slave Lake)
* Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter (Calgary)
* North Caribou Flying Service Ltd. (Bonnyville, Calgary, Peace River)
* Northern Air (Peace River)
* Transport Canada (Fort Smith, Whitehorse)

Flight schools at CYXD

*Centennial Flight School [ [http://www.centennial.ca/ Centennial Flight School] ]
*Edmonton Flying Club

Trivia

*From 2005 on, the airport has annually been converted into a speedway for the Edmonton Grand Prix Champ Car race. Due to Champ Car merging with the Indy Racing League, the IndyCar Series now races there.
*The last terminal building constructed on the site is now a school for Aboriginal Canadians, the Amiskwaciy Academy.
*Taxiway D was once the third runway at CYXD.

ee also

*List of airports in the Edmonton area

References

External links

* [http://corporate.flyeia.com/general_aviation/edmonton_city_centre Edmonton City Centre Airport]
* [http://www.rewedmonton.ca/content_view2?CONTENT_ID=890 From Cow Pasture to Airport] - Real Estate Weekly article
* [http://www.ddsi.info/forums/index.php/topic,531.0.html Future of the Municipal Airport] - Discussion
* [http://www.navcanada.ca/ContentDefinitionFiles/Publications/AeronauticalInfoProducts/CanadianAirportCharts/CanadianAirportCharts_current.pdf Nav Canada's Aerodrome Chart (PDF)]
* [http://www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly/airport_view.php?pr_id=2&ap_id=204 Page about this airport] on COPA's "Places to Fly" airport directory