Airport type Military Elevation AMSL 885 ft / 270 m 3,045 928 | Time zone CST (UTC−06:00) 01/19 3,045 Owner Royal Canadian Air Force | |
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Location RM of Portage la Prairie, near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba | ||
Canadian Forces Base Portage la Prairie is a former military airport located adjacent to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. Today the airport is operated as Portage la Prairie/Southport Airport.
History
Originally opened in July 1942, as No. 14 Elementary Flying Training School on 28 October 1940, a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
The post-war expansion of the RCAF resulted in RCAF Station Portage la Prairie being re-activated on 15 September 1952. No. 2 Advanced Flying School (No. 2 AFS) was established to train RCAF and NATO pilots. Several other flight schools followed over the succeeding decades.
As a result of the unification, the station was renamed CFB Portage la Prairie in 1966.
In the late 1980s, DND budget reductions lead to the contracting out of flight training to civilian agencies. As a result, CFB Portage la Prairie closed on 1 September 1992. It reopened as Southport Aerospace where 3CFFTS continues to conduct flight training under contract with KF Aero.