Calgary Might Be Getting a NEW AIRPORT?

Back in mid-September, De Havilland Canada announced that they’ll be building a brand new aircraft manufacturing facility just 30 minutes east of Calgary.
Since then, they've released an official Area Concept Plan with some more technical details, so let's take a look and see what this could mean for aviation in Alberta!
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SOURCES:
[1] De Havilland Field Press Release: dehavilland.com/en/news/posts...
[2] About De Havilland Field: dehavillandfield.com/about/
[3] The DHC-515: dehavilland.com/en/news/posts...
[4] Reviewing the Twin Otter and Dash 8-400s: skiesmag.com/news/de-havillan...
[5] DHC’s existing Calgary presence: www.vikingair.com/twin-otter-...
[6] De Havilland Field Area Concept Plan:
dehavillandfield.com/wp-conte...
[7] The Hybrid-Electric Dash 8: dehavilland.com/en/news/posts...
[8] Hydrogen-Electric Dash 8-400 Engines: dehavilland.com/en/news/posts...
[9] Derivatives of other DHC Types: calgaryherald.com/business/va...
[10] Aircraft Group Numbers, TP312 pg. 30: www.tc.gc.ca/wwwdocs/TCDR/en/...
[11] Boeing 767 Wingspan: www.boeing.com/commercial/767/
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Outro song - "Take Flight" by Nyhtian: • Nyhtian - Take Flight ...
© Alex Praglowski Aviation 2022
This video is the property of Alex Praglowski Aviation and may not be used for any purpose without prior permission. Contact me at the email in the "About" section of my channel for usage.

[@sukhichana]

Always happy to see Canadian Aviation progressing or recovering regardless which Province. Good to see Alberta getting employment help.

[@gcorriveau6864]

Interesting news. For too long we've seen airports closing down across Canada - so I see this as a postive move. Thanks for posting.

[@bradleybprentice1497]

Great report. I was curious about these developments. I spent 6 years working for DH at the Downsview, Ont plant when the Q400 or Dash 7 & Dash 8 were under development. I ended up in Dash test flight facilities.

[@miken7976]

CYDH is a CANSOFCOM field at the Dwyer Hill Training Centre. No CH 146 Griffens based there, and the CAF wanted to close that place in the past, and move to Trenton.

[@lanceb7556]

It would be a great place for a corporation like AAR to set up for an overhaul location much like they have in Windsor Ontario and Trois-Rivieres Quebec.

[@mikejackman4416]

Great reporting

[@kevinkeswick1243]

Toronto's loss is Calgary's gain! This must be exciting news for local aviation enthusiasts. Who would have thought that Calgary would become the site of a major all-new aircraft manufacturing site! In its heyday Bombardier Downsview was the largest manufacturing employer within Toronto's city limits. Now all those jobs are going to Calgary! I bet more than a few former workers from Downsview would be happy to relocate to Alberta. I hope that they will restart the Dash 8-400 along with derivatives along with restarting the production of the iconic Twin-Otter. No doubt with a brand-new facility and airport like this De Havilland Canada must be planning clean-sheet designs in the future as well.

[@HuckThis1971]

I agree. More affordable housing and I am sure Alberta government will give incentives to Longview aviation. It's a win win situation for everyone.

[@grindingambitions6698]

I am a former downs view employee of the dash8-q400 who was laid off. Its so sad to see it go as we had a state of the art manufacturing facility but the land lease ended 2024. Along with covid, it destroyed the order dhc had remaining.

[@brianb-p6586]

The Q400 and Twin Otter are planned, but dependant on design reviews.

[@Paint_The_Future]

You speak like a pilot giving an announcement. I respect your commitment to the bit.

[@DMSparky]

Honestly as a Calgarian this screams like decisions being made by a Canadian corporation. As much as I absolutely love the DHC product line they fact that they are trying to build a brand new “state of the art” airfield seems insane to me. What’s that realistically going to cost I’d imagine at least 100M CAD. They are going to drain all their money building a stupid air field rather than investing in new plane development and building at either Springbank or YYC. It’s going to start off as some huge big plan then end up building a runway and a building run out of money and go into receivership.

[@nickskier1]

Agreed. Very unlucky we will see the full build out of the airport at this point, unless they get a major new aircraft going. But the new owner is also the second richest person in Canada with over $12 billion. She could pump more money in if she wanted.

[@dmitripogosian5084]

Yep, it does feel backwards

[@AustinSersen]

Agreed. There's so much land around YYC, especially the east runway. Looks like half of the site is just a massive parking lot which wouldn't be required at YYC with Calgary Transit service and plenty of micromobility options. Best of luck finding employees willing to drive at least an hour every day, because not many people are going to relocate to Strathmore or Langdon.

[@aselwyn1]

great to hear about an exciting future for DHC

[@richardg8651]

Don't all air projects have to be funded by Ottawa for Quebec ?

[@Edmonchuck]

LOL. Too true...

[@BtcSimmer]

Thanks for the video Cannot wait to contribute to the construction of this!!!

[@thebtm]

I like how that last air shot shows how close to Langdon AB the Airport is going to be.

[@MSRTA_Productions]

Wow very interesting!

[@dehavillandcanadatwinotter9621]

Seeing De Havilland Canada returning to business is great. It also lightens the loss Canadian aviation has with the Bombardier financial situation with the now-A220

[@NickShoust]

YAM would have been a good location too.

[@brandodooferman9378]

Bring a trucker in Calgary hope I get to deliver some stuff there. Will be pretty awesome

[@HuckThis1971]

I flew Porter on the weekend. I love my Q400. Like anything you saturate the market. Then things get quiet. Then a demand comes back. The Q is a tank. So, the Q will be in demand eventually as the fleet gets older. Same for CL-415. Even before Bombardier sold the CRJ to Mitsubishi there was a high demand. I work on the Challenger line in yul. So I know lots about what is going on.

[@kingmalric6571]

Would not be shocked if this becomes a viable alternative to YYC for low cost carriers in the next 20-30 years like Abbotsford has for YVR. That being said the Lower Mainland beyond Vancouver has a much larger population than that area of rural Alberta, and with the new runway and terminal YYC isn't exactly running at full capacity anyway.

[@Edmonchuck]

Not going to happen. There is far too much capacity at YYC, it's too close to YYC intentionally pollute the eastern arrivals/departures, the infrastructure needed for a terminal, etc. is too costly, and ULCC's are not going to invest in this. It is scoped, sized, and configured to be more of an MRO field rather than a commercial passenger services airport.

[@AviationEdits1]

The dash 8 q400 is my favorite aircraft

[@darrellmcgorman8442]

Ahh it's ok, but seriously If you are traveling any distance the Q400 is small and cramped. A 737-7/800 is miles ahead in comfort. Even in Peasent class.

[@brettthomas5605]

Who says Alberta is not trying to diversify its economy. Apparently there was recently another major announcement of someone in the construction industry locating in the same area.

[@managed9348]

Should bring back the 300series to compete with the AT46

[@karlossargeant3872]

I Love watching this Video Dash 8 Hybrid & Hydrogen Electric Planes sounds like a good move for Bombadier Awesome Video Alex nuff respect to all your Videos on Aviation Dream Big on Aviation man 100%

[@HuckThis1971]

It isn't bumbardier anymore.

[@colbymcgrath6421]

As a farmer and outdoor lover hate to see the land go but as an aviation lover it would be awesome it’s weird that im torn over an airport

[@wx4tt]

I really hope Vancouver gets a new airport sometime like Toronto billy bishop, that would be so cool

[@tangill747]

We do already and it's called Abbotsford

[@grindingambitions6698]

@@tangill747 except billy bishop is on the island so technically no you don't. If Victoria island got an airport then yes it would be like YTZ

[@MrEeeaddict]

Is anyone even ordering the dash 8 anymore?

[@darioz5894]

Does anybody know which general contractor was awarded the construction to ?

[@brettthomas5605]

I don't believe they're even close to that stage of this project. It's still completely in the planning and approval stage with local governments.

[@randomchannel326]

bruh why cant edmonton get a little more aviation recognition like they always glazing calgary

[@maccarr9923]

Dash 7 neo ftb please

[@johnhironimus5748]

Why is cheadle north of number one on this map ?

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

I’m just surprise that this new facility isn’t being at Springbank Airport west of Calgary. Springbank has plenty of extra space, little commercial traffic, and room to extend the runways. Also it would be cool to see DHC resurrect the Buffalo or Caribou.

[@rileymannion5301]

The land isn't as flat out there, the amount of space they need would probably require a ton of ground work

[@Edmonchuck]

Not going to happen. The pressure from residents would be too great, and there is constant talk of CYBW being closed due to the amount of money that could be made from other uses. I think that the movement of heavy GA traffic to this new field is more likely.

[@terke1230]

YYC or YBW would mean having to deal with Calgary airport authority. Big mistake. YBW also has a hill to the north, therefore, even an extended runway would have problems in IMC conditions due to climb and approach gradient clearances. Where they chose is pretty smart.

[@GeneralMatte117]

The community Harmony is right beside the airport. The hours are limited to certain times a day. Also rich folks live there. The Karens out cry would be unimaginable. Wheatland makes more sense. Not to mention it is tight down there.

[@terrycampbell2037]

Too many Richie Rich ppl would oppose it

[@rickfeng4466]

I don't know why I fell sour about this, maybe because I'm on Vancouver Island and felt entitled that it should stay in Victoria? Well, on second thought, it's logistically more logical to stay on the eastern side of the Rockies, let alone on a west coast island. I suppose the spat regarding the oil pipeline and the AB separatist movement makes me think DHC production should have gone to a province with a smaller tax base to boost that location's economy. Calgary and Alberta as a whole have enough income from the resource extraction sector; if we have more tax bases gone there, they will think more as they are paying for the rest of the country but could neglect talents, funds, and the reputation of the whole of Canada contributed to Alberta's prosperity.

[@BennyGeserit]

Seems like a great location but it is also a very long way from Pratt and Whitney Canada in Montreal. Dash-300 confirmed has to be correct. If you look at Greenland Air they use the -200 due to small runways. Perhaps the 300 with engine refitted can serve places like Greenland going forward. Ideally the iconic Twin Otter gets new engines, pressurization and retractable gear. The Q300, Q400 (not letting the Q branding die) and the Otter should be in play. If they were bold they would buy the rights to produce and service the CRJ 500 and 900 models as well. As we move to more net zero emissions, smaller runways, smaller airports, much smaller aircraft will start to dominate. We may soon see the end of single aisle 737's flying less than three hour durations. Big airports will be for Asia, Europe, southern U.S and southern hemisphere.

[@gmitchellfamily]

A Twin Otter with pressurization and retractable gear is just a slower Beech 1900. I think it's good in the niche it's in. A revived -300 would be amazing though.

[@Edmonchuck]

IIRC, the PT-6 is made in Lethbridge, so it is not far from a manufacturing facility at all.

[@HuckThis1971]

CRJ is sold to Mitsubishi.

[@HuckThis1971]

Twin Otter is fine as is. Has been and will always be.

[@jfmezei]

Curious on why the Twin Otter doesn't restart production in Victoria where it was prior to covid and perhaps move to Calgary once the facility is built for it. Having to wait years for new facility when they already have everything setup at Victoria to restart is odd. Bombardier had let go of the Dash-8 because it was trying to push its money losing CRJ business and felt it had no future. I was so looking forward to De Haviland really giviung the Dahs-8 new energy and sales but then everything collapsed and now it looks like thingw ill happen for many years. Will it be too late? Should be noted that many airlines have let go of their Dash-8s (such as Flybe) and there is quite a used market for them. Similarly, the CL415 had no sales left under Bombardier, and considering climate change has really increased forest fires, I would have thought there would have been an "emergency" to restart production to capture some demand, but lack of available CL 415/515 planes means folks like Coulson are converting ol aircraft to airport-based tankers. (and Coulson who hates the Canadair tankers has ironically bought some of the FlyBE Dash-8s to convert into tankers. really hope De Haviland can get into business and succeed. Hard to make sales when they have no production facility and high degree of uncertainty on aircraft future. With regards to airports: Montréal had Mirabel, their airport of the future. Then 1976 happened and head offiuces left and flights moved to Toronto. They actually demolished the prrfectly good passenger terminal a few years ago and all that is left is the now Airbus hangars for the C-series and what used to be CRJ production facility (700/900/1000). Not sure if those hangars were sold to Airbus or not. (were meant to be sold so Airbus could increase A220 production capacity, but then covid happened).

[@zigarten]

I thought Twin Otter was owned by Viking air..so confused

[@jfmezei]

@@zigarten Viking Air is part of Longview and has existed for a long time and inherited abandonned products from Bombardier. When the Dash-8 was sold, Longview also got the naming right to "de Haviland" so created new subsidiary with the anme and is moving its products to de Haviland. Unsure of future of Viking (could become maintenance arm).

[@afoolandhismoneychannel]

Potentially it's because the workforce in Victoria is unionized, but a newly built facility wouldn't fall under that existing labour agreement. Also, Victoria being such a small metro area means that the talent pool is very shallow so workers are hard to come by. During their hiring frenzy a decade or so ago, they were grabbing anyone who was breathing and training them in-house.

[@tbwpiper189]

Well done AP

[@marriedGary]

Thanks Alex! While its great for Calgary it still amazes me they gave up downsview or even Mirabel as options.

[@nickskier1]

They didn’t have the option to stay at downsview. Bombardier sold the downsview land before they sold off the de havilland name and dash-8. They said they tried to look in areas in the GTA but that it was far to expensive.

[@kurtisf3366]

The province jumped through a lot of hoops to get them here. I was at a conference a few weeks ago where (former) Premier Kenny was bragging about how he bent over backwards to secure a huge deal that would be announced within a week and how they changed the tax laws specifically to attract it here.

[@brianhackett1024]

Hi Alex i joined your channel .love it but i dont see my name in your channel members i have only seen it once .Thank you

[@AlexPraglowskiAviation]

Sorry about that, will fix for the next video!

[@ottawaemergencyvideography]

👀👀

[@audreyjune7824]

Moving operations out of Toronto fits with Sherry Bryson's mentality of not having Unions and positioning it in a cheaper location. Next place to close will likely be Victoria after sufficient building is carried out in Calgary. Union busting 101 and cheaper labour with lower quality. Transport Canada beware of this new facility a close eye will be required

[@kingmalric6571]

Great news for Calgary and Alberta! I wonder why Springbank wasn't chosen?

[@gmitchellfamily]

Different class of airport, main runway only 5,000 feet, and though it looks nice and open, there's less space to expand. Those are my guesses anyway.

[@loganneubauer8722]

Springbank is also the 5th busiest airport in Canada in terms of aircraft movements. And given the fact it is mostly GA movements it’s understandable that they would look elsewhere, probably similar reasoning as to why they avoided CYQF.

[@nickskier1]

A lot more houses near Springbank airport too, that are opposed to significant expansion of the airport facilities.

[@monkeyk2295]

Land is too expensive on West Side of Calgary.. Wheatland is probably 1/2 the price..

[@gmitchellfamily]

👍

[@PathyBPongo]

I miss calgary.

[@rockjohn2308]

I miss Calgary me too.🙂

[@barrywakeford1385]

Pretty stupid, considering there's an airport just West of Calgary,(Springbank).

[@JacobMaleh]

10 to 15 years to fully complete. ERHHH....

[@sam_likes_airplanes]

NAS Field IRL🗿

[@smithwesson7765]

No, it won't. The De Havilland facility will be in Rockyview County, not Calgary.

[@rogerbouchard7135]

We are dealing with the government of Canada and trying to get environmental approvals has always proved to be difficult. I personally do not see shovels in the ground in this area till sometime in 2025.

[@kurtisf3366]

Airports are exempt from most legislation strangely enough due to strange loopholes that only allow Transport Canada to regulate them. TC has little interest or knowledge in things like environmental approvals though so often they just don’t get done. We saw this when Parkland Airport went in just west of Edmonton. The developer just plowed ahead and the County and Province filed stop work orders but they were overturned by the courts as invalid.

[@adrianwapcaplet2773]

While a new 'greenfield' airport is the only viable option for an operation like deHavilland, it's going to be a traffic nightmare to have all the construction and eventual airfield workers driving to & from Calgary every day, as well as the emissions from all that commuting, the loss of agricultural land and general encouragement of further sprawl. Given most commuters from the city will be looking at 90-120 minutes in their cars each day, I'm sure property speculators have already started descending upon Strathmore, and the good folks in Cheadle will kiss their prairie solitude good bye. The notion of this airfield serving ULCCs is a stretch; comments about the field length v elevation are correct: it's inadequate for the 737/320 class of airplane. Carriers want to serve where people live, and this site is simply too far from Calgary. The Ryanair approach of serving secondary airports far from the advertised destination may work in Europe, but WestJet's experience in Hamilton, and Air Canada's in Abbotsford suggest that it doesn't work in Canada. Lynx/Flair etc serve the major airports for a reason. The new field will be designed to the AGN IV standard to allow for built-in compliance in the event of future runway extension - anticipate cargo aircraft serving a large distribution warehouse on site (Amazon Prime etc). Without referring to performance charts, I'm thinking 9000' runway length at minimum. CY__ refers to a Canadian airport with a weather reporting station - will one be built at the airport? CZ__ is more likely.

[@TheOwenMajor]

You sound like you're from Toronto. "it's going to be a traffic nightmare to have all the construction and eventual airfield workers driving to & from Calgary every day," It's Calgary, not Torona. It's along a major highway, you won't even notice the traffic. ", as well as the emissions from all that commuting," You're in the wrong Province to care about a little commute. "the loss of agricultural land and general encouragement of further sprawl." Oh no, we are going to lose .0000001% of our farmland. "Given most commuters from the city will be looking at 90-120 minutes in their cars each day," If you live on the east side of Calgary you're looking at a 30min commute which is standard on the prairies " Strathmore, and the good folks in Cheadle will kiss their prairie solitude good bye." Lol, no clue. Strathmore is a bedroom community for Calgary already, and is on the highway, and Cheadle is a tiny three road old townsite.

[@adrianwapcaplet2773]

@@TheOwenMajor Not from Toronto. Never been there. You're simply looking at the 'now' and unwilling/unable to see what's coming. "If you live in east Calgary..." is such a head-in-sand rationalization. Some will live there, most won't. I forecast 45-60 minute commutes for those in central, south and west parts of the city, and whoops, did you forget to include the time spent driving home? Hey presto: 90-120min as I said. Do you honestly think several thousand rush-hour workers won't affect highway traffic and congestion/prices within adjacent towns? Sure, ok. Come back to this conversation when it's all built. Oh, do you like your humble pie fresh or frozen?

[@TheOwenMajor]

@@adrianwapcaplet2773 I'm not sure what your point about the commute is. How long people are willing to commute is a personal decision. My point was the commute certainly isn't outrageous in any respect. Don't like the commute? Move closer or find a different job ... just like literally every other job. The reason I think you may be from some mega city is because you seem have either really nonsensical opinions or you just like to whine alot. "Do you honestly think several thousand rush-hour workers won't affect highway traffic and congestion/prices within adjacent towns?" Calgary's metro region is comprised of almost 1.5 million people. It's not a small project by any means but the airport/manufacturing facility is hardly a mega project. Like seriously, what planet do you live on?

[@adrianwapcaplet2773]

@@TheOwenMajor Right on, Owen, you're starting to get it. You recognize that people can "move closer" to their jobs. What do you think might be the effect on small towns/rural areas when several hundred families are "moving closer" to their job in Wheatland County? However...spouses' jobs, kids' schools, plus all the attractions of a metro area will likely mean that most will live in...Calgary. Which isn't an enormous population, but it sure is spread out over a large area. So: we have people looking to move adjacent to their jobs (placing an enormous burden on Strathmore/Langdon/Chestermere etc) or we have people moving into Calgary proper. Either way, they'll be driving to & fro by car (usually single-occupant of course) - never mind the hundreds of daily parts deliveries, courier, service etc etc. You don't seem to grasp how even modest increases of traffic dynamics on highways can drastically alter flow and increase congestion. I guess only inhabitants of "mega cities" would understand? Finally: don't be the type pf person who finds an opinion they disagree with, and instead of engaging in honest debate, makes uneducated guesses and levies accusations of "whining". Be an adult, Owen. Be as civil online as you would in person, because I can guarantee you wouldn't speak the way you do if we were sitting together discussing this issue face-to-face.

[@gumbyshrimp2606]

So much parking lots makes this an unpleasantly unwalkable area. I wonder if it will even have public transit connections

[@kurtisf3366]

It’s an airplane factory. Wall ability is not part of their design criteria.

[@TeemarkConvair]

GOOD news,, especially considering how many companies look to locate in low tax, non-union places ,,cough(Mobile, Alabama).. This plan will be good for Canada!

[@sfgfortnite5085]

First

[@jeanbolduc5818]

And no federal regulations or International aviation rules ....and illegal guns in the airport

[@stellarsjay1773]

With climate change going the way it is, I would call firefighting equipment manufacture is a growth industry.

[@kennyg1358]

Gullible

[@denisekay4292]

What about the climate change issues?

[@joeshmoe7967]

Planes are still gonna be built. Might as well have the economic benefits for Alberta. Not to mention nothing we do in Canada makes ANY difference to the climate of the the earth. If Canada came to a 100% complete standstill, it would not move the needle in any statistically meaningful way. Of course you may have been kidding.

[@gregvandenberg8100]

Who cares all those planes suck and terrible to fly on big deal

[@kennyg1358]

Thanks for your input

[@Rusty945]

Very insightful, thank you for your input. We'll go-ahead and cancel this whole thing given you're thought provoking statement.

[@joeshmoe7967]

Twin Otter is a fantastic airplane!

[@run-cnc]

as an employee of DeHavilland, i have my doubts how quickly anything with happen. This company is notorious for making big plans and never following through unless its government finances the project..