Hamilton International Airport

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

there are limitations to the Island airport. Rwy length for most Jet aircraft is too short. Also you need to take a ferry off. some people might be into that.

While runway length may be an issue for certain types of planes. The ferry is no problem, it's 120M and takes no time at all. Those who've taken Porter know that the ferry is a non-issue.

[urban_planner]

Except when the city of Toronto Employee go on strike. None the less the runways are short there. The Dash-8-400s are Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft hense they have no trouble at all. If you look at flightware the last couple of days all the flights are either Porter or single engine aircraft propeller aircraft.

[markbarbera]

Toronto Island airport is restricted to propellor type aircraft - no turbine jets permitted unless it is medevac.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

I don't think it will have much of an impact. The only thing i wonder is where the Cargojet regional flights will go to I guess YYZ (pearson) Right now there are several flights from Buttonville to Hamilton with small Beech 1900d and Cessna Caravans for cargojet that come to YHM then get loaded on to the larger fleet to move to the other airports that Cargojet flies to.

But I guess then will either truck in to YHM and use those aircraft someone else or just switch the flights to YYZ to YHM.

aside from that I don't think buttonville has anything significant that we might gain, perhaps some private jets.

Buttonville is the third busiest airport in the country for takeoffs and landings, the only 2 airports that are busier are Pearson and Vancouver. They had 170,000 takeoffs and landings last year.

The management at HI might be wise to try and attract some of that business.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

Except when the city of Toronto Employee go on strike. None the less the runways are short there. The Dash-8-400s are Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft hense they have no trouble at all. If you look at flightware the last couple of days all the flights are either Porter or single engine aircraft propeller aircraft.

The TCCA ferry service is not run by the City of Toronto, it's run by the Port Authority and was unaffected by the City of Toronto Employee strike.

I'm not saying it can (or does) handle them now, but apart from public objection anything could most likely be changed.

[urban_planner]

I guess they have seprate service from the rest of the islands because according to the city of Toronto Website ferry service to the islands were cancelled. None the less still have runways that are too short for anything worth more then 4 seats.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

I guess they have seprate service from the rest of the islands because according to the city of Toronto Website ferry service to the islands were cancelled. None the less still have runways that are too short for anything worth more then 4 seats.

Yes, the ferry service to the airport is run by the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), the other ferry service is run by the City of Toronto.

[markbarbera]

The planned passenger tunnel from the mainland to the airport will make ferry service a moot point.

With the restriction of traffic to turboprops and the physical limitation of the runway length, much of the current traffic into Buttonville would be unable to land here. And seeing that any runway extension to Toronto Island Airport would either mean landfill into the lake or expropriation of city parkland, it's a pretty safe assumption that runway extension is not going to happen.

I have serious doubts Buttonville will actually be closing anytime soon anyway. But if it does, its cargo business would likely relocate to YYZ and/or YHM, and private jet traffic and flight school would most likely head to Markham and/or Brampton airport.

[SteelTown]

"The government intends to publish a list of all 90 projects Sept. 10. Then it will get on with finding more projects for more rounds of federal funding, Goodyear explained." -> from SODA (Southern Ontario Development Agency).

We should find out soon if Hamilton Airport will get money for expansion.

[SteelTown]

Just to re-cap on what Tradeport is requesting.......

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Excellent news!!!

Hamilton City Council will submit nearly $496 million worth of infrastructure fund and Hamilton Airport is on the funding list, big time!

Terminal Expansion - $60,000,000
Runway Expansion - $20,000,000
Dock Facility Upgrades - $12,000,000

That's $92 million for Hamilton Airport.

conditions include:
• projects that qualify will have to be completed by March 31, 2011 or the money has to be returned
• funds allocated cannot be used for any project that has already been identified in the City's 2009-10 capital budget
• the money cannot be used to buy land or buildings
• construction on approved projects must start within 60 days of receiving funding

Infrastructure Stimulus Fund:
http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/18...27FCS09052InfrastructureStimulusFund.pdf

[markbarbera]

The Transportation Safety Board released a report today regarding a bounced landing that happened at the airport last summer:

"PILOTS NEED MORE TRAINING," SAYS THE TSB

(Gatineau, Quebec, September 09, 2009) - Many flight crews do not receive training to deal effectively with bounced landings says the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). A bounced landing occurs when an airplane's wheels initially touch down but then lift up again as the plane moves forward on the runway. The TSB says this type of landing can happen to any aircraft carrying passengers or cargo, and that, if crews are not properly trained on how to handle it, there is a risk of an accident.

On July 22, 2008, at Hamilton Airport (A08O0189) a large cargo jet touched down hard and bounced before touching down hard a second time. Immediately after the second touchdown, the pilot decided to perform a go-around. During this manoeuvre, the tail contacted the runway. The aircraft climbed away and returned for a normal landing. There were no injuries and only minor damage to the aircraft.

In its investigation, the TSB found that while the aircraft manufacturer's manual contained guidance on what to do if the plane bounced on landing, the pilots had never practiced this manoeuvre or received training to safely control and land a plane under these circumstances.

"There are risks associated with this type of manoeuvre," said Mark Clitsome, Director of Air Investigations, "and our investigation shows there is an underlying problem that must be addressed before a more serious accident happens."

In light of this problem, the TSB is calling for operators to train crews on this manoeuvre and make it part of their training program.

Without training to improve crew awareness and skills, an unacceptable risk to crews and the travelling public will continue to exist.

That's why the Board is recommending that the Department of Transport require air carriers to incorporate bounced landing recovery techniques in their manuals and during their training activities.

"Pilots rely on training and checklists when problems arise. The best way to ensure the safe outcome of a bounced landing is to make pilots more aware and better prepared," said Mr. Clitsome.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

[markbarbera]

Looks like Windsor would like to muscle in on our cargo business:

Windsor pushes for air cargo hub

Windsor is moving forward on a plan to build a new air cargo hub at Windsor International Airport.

City council voted unanimously in favour of the plan Tuesday night at a special session after an aviation consultant presented a report supporting the expansion.

"There's a lot of sleeping potential," said Thilo Schmid, the executive vice-president of Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa Consulting. "I think it's ready to wake it up."

The Windsor airport could handle up to 90,000 tonnes of commercial air freight within 25 years, said Schmid, who wrote the report.

The city will now ask the Ontario government for help in the next steps, which include spending an estimated $300,000 to conduct a financial viability study, considering what new facilities would be needed and searching for an operator.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis gave the project his own nudge, suggesting it would boost employment and diversify Windsor's economy the way similar projects have in other cities.

"We, as a community, have to make a decision: Do we invest in this asset, like Hamilton has, like Kitchener-Waterloo has, like Detroit has? And are we prepared to make sound investments that lead to higher return on investment? Otherwise, we might as well turn off the lights."

Windsor International Airport employs 200 people. In 2007, it served 118, 251 passengers on public and corporate flights.

[DHLawrence]

They gave the same announcement about two months ago. And again two months earlier. The odds of YQG getting their tails in gear and doing this any time soon are slim.

[urban_planner]

speaking of Cargo, DHL was suppost to bring there flights from YYZ to YHM starting in septmber. they are still flying into YYZ(cargojet). I was out at YHM last weekend checking things out with the Hangars and the Fuel Farm etc and noticed that they have DHL yhm flight operations on the door going into the old westjet hangar.

Anyway has anyone herd anything about this?

[urban_planner]

Found an answer. Ths DHL/Cargojet flight to Cinnicinatti Starts this week, The first flight arrive into YHM tonight at 6:25. Nothing exciting but its more revenue into the airport.

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

Found an answer. Ths DHL/Cargojet flight to Cinnicinatti Starts this week, The first flight arrive into YHM tonight at 6:25. Nothing exciting but its more revenue into the airport.

I seem that by the end of the week there are 2 flights. 1 CargoJet B727 and 1 DHL DC-8 around 7:30 am. Similar to this picture.

[urban_planner]

Ya I saw on Flightaware and Flytecomm that a DHL DC-8 came in and left to and from Cinicinatti. Thats great if this is to become a regualr friday or a new daily situation. Cargojet needs a large fleet to the send 3 flights to Winnipeg within 10 minutes of each other each business day. one of which is a larger 757.


One last thing, I have noticed a significant increase in DC-9 cargo flights from USA Jet and Kalita flying service over the past 2 weeks or so. Gone from nearly 0 per week to 10-15 per week.

Good news as far as I can tell.

[c@taract_soulj@h]

YHM is like parts of the rest of Hamilton..it has plenty of potential but hasn't acted upon the chance yet

[SteelTown]

More than $180 million generated by airport

By Mark Newman/News staff
News
Sep 22, 2009
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/189095

An economic impact statement released earlier this week shows the John C. Munro-Hamilton International Airport, in terms of gross domestic product, generated $181.2 million for the local economy last year.

The report, prepared for the city by a group of consultants, also showed the airport generated $12.9 million in federal taxes and $8.3 million in provincial taxes last year and paid the city $183,617 in rent.

While passenger travel fell about five per cent between 2002 and 2008, cargo traffic jumped by 12 per cent.

Cargo business accounted for nearly 65 percent of the taxes generated at the airport.

[urban_planner]

Thats pretty good numbers I would think. Its even better to think that the airport is nowhere near it potential.