Building your own Canadian aerodrome/airport

[way_up_north]

Hey guys

always wondered what it took to turn your property into an airport....is it as simple as buying land and mowing the grass?

what if granny next door doesn't like you taking off on Sunday mornings?

ive tried searching online and. Not found much for canada....

iif you've done it...please chime in...

if our american cousins want to chime with some wisdom...pls,do

[davzLSA]

I dont know anything about using private property in the US as an airport but I do live near a lake that is surrounded by a community, There was this guy with a j3 on floats that was landing there for awhile until granny complained. After that I never saw it land there again. So I guess if your airdrome is going to be close to a granny I think I would talk to her before hand and maybe get her permission before going to too much effort? Granny is a powerful thing!!!

[quadra]

this may not be current but a quick search shows it is possible but requires some hoop jumping:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviation/reference-centre/advisory-circulars/ac-301-002.html

[rv8bldr]

It's a major pain in the butt in Canada, now. I built mine before the new regs came into effect on Jan 1, 2017, so thankfully the new regs don't apply to me. Essentially you need to have an open public consultation process for a period of where comments and objections can be registered, plus all of the other stuff you would normally need to do (as Dave alluded to above...). It won't be cheap.

Here is a link to the TC page describing it: http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2016/2...rs261-eng.html

If you are a member of COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) there is a large document in the Members Only section that collates all of the information you need called "Guide to Private Aerodromes.pdf).

Cheers

[way_up_north]

Looking over those links you guys posted... have you heard of any stories of what’s happening recently with this? As in chances of success?.,,,if granny gets a vote it’s always going to be no...

im a student pilot I was going to join copa once I’m full fledge pilot

[rv8bldr]

I haven't heard of anyone going through this procedure yet. I'll certainly ask at our next EAA meeting and report back. Depending upon where you are trying to do this (distance from other airports, number and type of local population, etc), and if you don;t want to register the field, you *might* just get away without doing any of that stuff. That is the way it used to be; as long as you weren't in controlled airspace and the neighbours were amenable, you could just create your strip and you were done. You only filed with Transport Canada if you wanted it registered and listed in the CFS. Under federal law, just about everywhere was considered an aerodrome.

No need to wait until you have your PPL before joining COPA; there is some good stuff on the website for members, and the quality of the monthly magazine has gone way up over the last two or three years.

[Bdflies]

I'm in Louisiana, not Canada, but was wondering the possibility of just not registering. My state declares it "illegal" to land an airplane at an an airport not registered with the state. I know several such "illegal" local strips that are used regularly. It’s my understanding that the state really doesn’t care much, but is covering their tails. I’ve wondered if other states have such involvement. I don’t really know if the FAA has any such restrictions. I registered my place years ago, but it’s not on the charts. At the time, it was easy and painless, but took forever... Some insurance policies have prohibitions about "off airport" ops, so it’s worth looking at that too.
Early on, I brought Granny for a ride. I do my best to employ noise abatement procedures.

Bill

[Battson]

I'm in Louisiana, not Canada, but was wondering the possibility of just not registering. My state declares it "illegal" to land an airplane at an an airport not registered with the state. I know several such "illegal" local strips that are used regularly. It’s my understanding that the state really doesn’t care much, but is covering their tails. I’ve wondered if other states have such involvement. I don’t really know if the FAA has any such restrictions. I registered my place years ago, but it’s not on the charts. At the time, it was easy and painless, but took forever... Some insurance policies have prohibitions about "off airport" ops, so it’s worth looking at that too.
Early on, I brought Granny for a ride. I do my best to employ noise abatement procedures.

Bill

What if you are not landing at an "airport"?

[Bdflies]

Well, you know politicians...if you land an airplane there, it MUST be an airport, Therefore, we need to regulate it!
Or, you may not know politicians, in NZ...

Bill

[Mark Goldberg]

Every state has different rules. Here in Texas we do not need permission from anyone to put a strip on our properties. The FAA is only interested if you want your strip on the sectional. MG

[Bobsacomano]

Way up north, I have some experience with this but not a lot. The consultation process if I recall involves adjacent landowners and aerodromes within 30 miles. Ag Use did not require consultation. How far north is way up north? I’m in central Alberta and put a strip on the farm and didn’t get any grief from any one. It’s gonna depend on your neighbours.

[way_up_north]

Way up north, I have some experience with this but not a lot. The consultation process if I recall involves adjacent landowners and aerodromes within 30 miles. Ag Use did not require consultation. How far north is way up north? I’m in central Alberta and put a strip on the farm and didn’t get any grief from any one. It’s gonna depend on your neighbours.

To someone in Florida, I'm way up north......to you I'm some city slicker from Toronto...lol....you probably call me directionally challenged if your reading from the Yukon

so what happens if any of your 20 neighbors says no?....if you hear anything in your travels let us know...

Reason im asking is the wife and I might do a hobby farm kinda deal....and let's say there is a nice flat long piece of property attached....mmmmm....mow the grass and put up a wind sock....

A guys place up the road from me has the hydro poles wires buried across the front of his property at the road..just wide enough for his runway approach...guess when you got an airport they got to build around you to certain codes...I was wondering if hydro paid to burry thos wires for 100 feet between poles or if the landowner did?

if it asked him to use his runway and build a hanger...and offered compensation is that allowed?

sometimes you envy the birds...for the lack of paperwork they have to deal with....

[Bobsacomano]

Ya, ill call you way over east instead....just kidding. ok, as far as i know, there was a Advisory Circular put out about the consultation process and when it applied, but it generally states meaningful consultation. Is a AC a regulation, I don’t think so. Does consultation mean permission, I don’t think so. This circular is meant for new aerodromes and existing aerodromes doing major alterations or work product, so if you simply have a flat long spot, mowed short, i guess one could say the aerodrome was always there, and was used very little until now. If you have to move a lot of dirt that will be obvious to all the neighbours, you may receive some pushback. Me, i would go with it and argue issues as they arise. What i believe to be true is that ONLY transport can enforce any action against an aerodrome. So a cranky neighbour would have to get TC interested enough to actually do something about a strip and really why would they. I moved dirt and built a strip, anytime someone asked what i was doing, i gave a different answer, told one guy it was a rifle range, another it was a golf driving range etc... never mentioned a airstrip. Then i planted grass and started landing my plane there. And i also built a hangar. No permits required.....closest neighbour to my strip is about a 1/4 mile. I don’t think we bother them to much and I haven’t received any complaints. YMMV. Good luck