Information Echo

I’ve been following (with interest) an ongoing series of emails from the local COPA mailing list regarding the future of the Lindsay airport, CNF4.

A number of months ago the topic of the continued viability of the Lindsay Airport came up at Lindsay town council.

For anyone who has never been there before, CNF4 is a quiet airport that is only a 15 or 20 minute flight from Oshawa. It’s uncontrolled, has a 3500′ E/W main runway, and a 2642′ N/S turf runway. Fuel is available on site, and there is a popular restaurant that is frequented by not only by those who fly in, but by many local residents alike. There are also several businesses located on site.

Although it tends to be quiet during the week, on most weekends it becomes a common location for $100 hamburger flights, or in my case, $100 French Fries.

Along with Peterborough Airport (CYPQ) Lindsay was one of the airports I visited most often, not only during my training, but many times after I earned my license.

Unsurprisingly, because the airport is owned by the municipality, it’s been put on the chopping block, presumably as an effort to save money. This is a fate that has befallen many small airports over the years, not only here in Canada, but in the USA as well. Sadly, until the public comes out and shows support for their local airport and brings many of the benefits they bring into the public eye, politicians often only see the dollars and cents.

In the case of Lindsay, not only is the operating costs apparently in question, but the fact that the property could be sold and “redeveloped”, according to what I’ve read. Personally, I read this as “more houses”, which seems strange since the airport itself isn’t terribly close to the residential areas as it stands - there is no shortage of land in the area that can be developed instead of the airport itself. Quite to the contrary, “redeveloping” the airport lands would seem counterintuitive when plenty of vacant land surrounds it on all sides.

Tomorrow evening at 7PM there is a major meeting with town council during which the future of the airport will be discussed. There will be significant representation from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association present, as well as heavy presence of local pilots, all standing up for the future of the airport.

I was invited by a fellow local pilot to tag along in his Cherokee for the brief flight to Lindsay tomorrow night and then on to the meeting, but due to changing work commitments I unfortunately had to bow out. (Thanks for the offer regardless, Doug!)

I believe that if the council doesn’t railroad Lindsay into the ground, it stands a fighting chance. Without doubt all of the positives that the airport has to offer will be brought to the town councils attention, some of which may not be well known or thought of currently.

Lindsay serves not only as a significant pilot training destination (countless students from airports all over southern Ontario can count CNF4 amongst the airports they would have visited on a cross country training flight), but also serves as a (albeit small) hub of business. In addition, there is also a poignant story of a local resident who’s life was saved when he was medivac’d to Toronto, something that could never have happened without the airport being open.

So far the two studies and other facts all indicate the viability of the airport at its present location. If these facts are presented properly, no politician will be able to vote against an economic generator that produces $5.5 Million into our economy and employs several people.

Here’s hoping that the politicians listen to reason and make the right decision.

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