Toronto/Downsview Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Toronto/Downsview Airport


IATA = YZD
ICAO = CYZD
type = Private
owner = Bombardier Aerospace
operator = DeHavilland Inc
city-served =
location = Toronto, Ontario
elevation-f = 652
elevation-m = 199
coordinates = coord|43|44|34|N|079|27|56|W|type:airport|display=inline
website =
r1-number = 15/33
r1-length-f = 7,000
r1-length-m = 2,134
r1-surface = Asphalt
footnotes = Source: Canada Flight SupplementCFS]

Downsview Airport or Toronto/Downsview Airport, Airport codes|YZD|CYZD, is located in Toronto, Ontario and has been exclusively owned and used as a testing facility by Bombardier Aerospace since 1994.

Downsview Airport has its own fire service (Bombardier Aerospace Emergency Services) which covers airport operations (using two airport fire rescue vehicles) and plant operations (using two SUV emergency vehicles). Bombardier Emergency Services employees are cross-trained as firefighters, first responders and airport security.

History

The Downsview Airport was developed in 1939 as an airfield next to an aircraft manufacturing plant operated by de Havilland Canada. In 1947, the Department of National Defence purchased property surrounding the airfield and expanded it, creating RCAF Station Downsview to provide an air base for Royal Canadian Air Force units. The base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Toronto (Downsview) in 1968 and retained this name until its closure in 1994.

Since 1998, the property has been administered by a civilian Crown corporation Parc Downsview Park, which co-manages the airfield with Bombardier Aerospace (the successor to de Havilland Canada). In recent years the property has been undergoing various landscape usage plans and some redevelopment has taken place.

The airfield was used in recent years to host the 1984 and 2002 Papal visits by Pope John Paul II, as well as to host the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) concert headlined by The Rolling Stones.

The airfield has also served as a test site for several famous aircraft produced by de Havilland and Avro Canada, including the Beaver, the Twin Otter, Dash 8 and the Avro Arrow. The airport is available to pilots only with prior permission.

Bombardier Aerospace currently owns 12 hangars in the southwest corner of the airport, where De Havilland Dash 8's are built and assembled. The Bombardier Global Express and the Bombardier Global 5000 are also assembled here at the Downsview plant, as are the wings and wingboxes of the Learjet 45.

Tenants

* Parc Downsview Park – Government of Canada
** Bombardier Aerospace
** Toronto Aerospace Museum
** Tree City
** The Hangar Sports Complex
** The Toronto Wildlife Centre
* Canadian Forces
** Land Force Central Area headquarters
** Area Support Unit Toronto (formerly Garrison Support Unit Toronto)
** Denison Armoury
** 32 Canadian Brigade Group headquarters
** 2 Intelligence Company
** 32 Combat Engineer Regiment
** 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion
** The Governor General's Horse Guards
** Toronto Transit Commission Wilson Subway Yard

Buildings located within or next to the airport:
* de Havilland Canada facility (1929) - now home to the Toronto Aerospace Museum
* Bombardier Aerospace facility - southwest end of the airport
* CFB Downsview hangers - northeast end of the airport
* farmers market - northwest end

Roads

Most of the roads at Downsview are city owned roadways:
* John Drury Drive
* Yukon Lane
* Carl Hall Road
* Canuck Avenue
* Hanover Road
* Beffort Road
* Robert Woodhead Crescent
* Garratt Blvd
* Plewes Road

Military housing

A series of homes built for Canadian Forces personnel were built at the corner of Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West. Access to Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive was restricted to base personnel and fenced off from the neighbouring properties. Housing remains at the site, but it is unclear who lives or owns those homes today.

References

* [http://www.torontoaerospacemuseum.com Toronto Aerospace Museum]
* [http://www.pdp.ca/ Parc Downsview Park]
* [http://jfchalifoux.com/squadrons_410_to_419.htm 410 to 419 Squadrons]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2529/ Military History Page]

ee also

* List of airports in the Greater Toronto Area