Airport type Private Location Toronto, Ontario Elevation AMSL 652 ft / 199 m Code YZD Province Ontario | Operator DeHavilland Inc Time zone EST (UTC−05:00) 15/33 7,003 Elevation 199 m Owner Bombardier Aerospace | |
 | ||
Address Toronto, ON M3K 2C9, Canada Similar Billy Bishop Toronto C, Toronto Pearson Internatio, Holiday Inn Toronto‑Y, Montecas, GPK | ||
Westjet q400 takes off from downsview airport
Downsview Airport or Toronto/Downsview Airport, (ICAO: CYZD), is located in Toronto, Ontario and has been exclusively owned and used as a testing facility by Bombardier Aerospace since 1994.
Contents
- Westjet q400 takes off from downsview airport
- Downsview Airfield
- Downsview Airport
- Tenants
- Roads
- Military housing
- Accidents and Incidents
- References
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.
Downsview Airfield
Downsview Airfield opened in 1929 as general aviation airfield and one of two airports in the area. It was built by de Havilland Canada for testing aircraft at the plant at the site.
The site was expanded during World War II by the Royal Canadian Air Force and renamed RCAF Station Downsview.
Downsview Airport
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 1996.
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 Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert headlined by The Rolling Stones to revive the local economy after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.
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 the De Havilland Dash 8 is 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.
The airport has one operational runway, 15/33 at 7,000 ft (2,100 m) with a parallel taxiway. Runway 09/27 at 3,164 ft (964 m) is closed (east section removed), as is runway 04/22 at 4,000 ft (1,200 m) (north section removed and south part retained as taxiway into the Bombardier plant).
Tenants
Buildings located within or next to the airport:
Roads
Most of the roads at Downsview are city owned roadways:
Military housing
A series of homes were built for Canadian Forces personnel at the corner of Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West and at the south end of the base property. Access to the north end housing on Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive was restricted to base personnel and fenced off from the neighbouring properties. With most of the military base being closed down, the housing has been abandoned and torn down.