Stanley Airport

Stanley was built as RCAF Station Stanley in March 1941 to train pilots as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The airport was the base for the Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 17 Elementary Flying School which trained thousands of pilots for the Second World War.[2] The school operated a number of Fleet Finch II Model 16B aircraft from 1941 through 1944,[3] and two dozen de Havilland Tiger Moth aircraft to train pilots along with a Link Trainer, an early flight simulator equipped with gauges to simulate a real aircraft. At its peak Stanley trained four 30-student classes simultaneously for six weeks of flight training before graduates passed on to advanced training at other bases.[4] The station was closed in January 1944 as the war came to a close.

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF & D of T Aerodrome - Stanley, Nova Scotia at 45°06′N 63°55′W with a variation of 23 degrees west and elevation of 96 ft (29 m). The field was listed as "gravel" and had three runways listed as follows:[5]

It was also noted in the above reference that at the time of publication, runway 5/23 was being extended to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) by 200 ft (61 m) this upgrade was under construction.

The airport was taken over in 1968 by the Dartmouth Experimental Aircraft Association, which upgraded the runways and built some hangars. The association evolved into the Stanley Sport Aviation Association.[6]

The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources used the airport's large World War II maintenance hangar after the war before turning it over to Stanley Sport Aviation. This distinctive wood hangar had a control tower at one corner and was once the largest building in Hants County. It was demolished in 2006 due to deterioration of the structure.[7]