Edmonton City Centre Airport - Edmonton, Alberta
Posted by: 
wildwoodke
N 53° 34.099 W 113° 31.241
12U E 333081 N 5938449
The Edmonton City Centre Airport, once known as Blatchford Field and then the Municipal Airport has seen a reduced level of large commercial traffic as commercial airliners are now using the International Airport to the south of the city.
Waymark Code: WM7VPM
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 12/08/2009
Views: 5
Once known as the Blatchford Field, the airport was named for the former mayor Kenneth Alexander Blatchford.
The airport has a rich aviation history, being the first licensed airfield in Canada (1929). Airman 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 a major stop-over on the Northwest Staging Route during World War II. The airport was the site of the wartime British Commonwealth Air Training Plan flying school and was also an air observer school.
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 In the 1995 election, a second plebiscite was put forth to the citizens of Edmonton asking if the bylaw should be repealed on the basis of consolidating all scheduled traffic at CYEG and keeping CYXD open for 56 years to general and corporate traffic. 77% of voters approved this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.
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 Indy Car Series now races there.
Edmonton City Centre Airport is a major Airport for air charter, emergency medical transport, and supply gateway to the north.
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