Smoky Times @ Red Deer Airport

Time for another silly little post and here it’s a few random photos captured at the Red Deer Airport in Central Alberta. We came to document a vintage transit bus (teaser photo below) but in the end, found the background to our subject so interesting that we kept on shooting after it was gone. Turns out “YQF” is a hot spot for strange old planes and amazingly many of them still work for a living. It’s no museum!

Evening is upon us and it’s old metal…with wings.

Forest fires raging across Western Canada and the US made for the extreme smoky conditions seen. There in the sky it’s an eerie orange glow with the sun a little ball of fire and it’s as though a nuclear apocalypse is upon us. Later that weekend it cleared up, but here it was like being on set of Mad Men. Poor Connie and her asthma.

Before anything else: Red Deer Regional (YQF), was once part of a military base (RCAF Station Penhold, later CFB Penhold) and is located south of the city near (you guessed it) Penhold. There’s no scheduled flights utilizing the facility although in the past there were, so mainly you’ll see personal aircraft flying out of here.

Still, there’s a couple charter/contract firms based at the airport and they got some some big, old stuff that’s super interesting. At Buffalo Airway’s maintenance centre, there’s an eclectic mix of aircraft, including World War Two era Douglas DC-3s for cargo use, plus Canadair CL-215s in the role of water-bomber.

Buffalo also has vintage Lockheed L-188 Electras, some equipped with tanks for firefighting and others outfitted as freighters. When built in the late 1950s/early-1960s period these were passenger liners. A number of non-flying examples are seen on the apron and these get scavenged for parts to keep others in the air. One Electra sits inside the hanger – well partially – with the tail section too tall to fit and sticking out.

Buffalo Airways famously appeared in the TV series Ice Pilots NWT.

A smaller Aero Commander functions as a spotter (bird dog) during forest fires and is one of the “newer” aircraft seen in these photos (so from the ’70-’80s period!). Its job is to get close to the action and orchestrate the water drops.

Air Spray, who’s business is aerial firefighting, is a couple buildings down from Buffalo and also operates Lockheed Electras. With their protruding belly tanks, a number can be seen in the background in the one photo. Interestingly almost all the Electras still flying today, and that’s in the entire world, are based out of Red Deer Airport.

A Piper from the late 1960s is also in that same scene. Yes, there’s quite the collection here.

Mounted at the entrance to the air terminal, it’s a Harvard from the 1950s. This one was built at a factory in Ontario and has been hanging around Red Deer since at least the 1960s. That same factory, incidentally, produced the old buses seen here: A Tour of Sandon BC.

Made by the thousands (US and Canada) from the late 1930s and into the mid-1950s, the Harvard was a well regarded training aircraft.

The strange looking satellite dish thingy (a technical term) comes from the Penhold radar base that was once located about twenty minutes to the east. A product of the Cold War this antenna would have sat inside a protective dome and as part of the Pinetree Line network, was entrusted to watch the skies for enemy (so Soviet) aircraft and missiles.

Radar Domes? Cold War? Curious? Take a look at last extant Pine Tree Line installation to know more. But with that comes a warning that it’s a deep rabbit hole: Canadian Civil Defence Museum’s Alsask Dome.

Both the Harvard and the radar unit belong to the Harvard Historical Aviation Society.

Reluctantly the road calls and it’s time to go. Ahead it’s a busy weekend documenting all manner of historic things, including this place: Rocky Mountain House Historic Site. Stay tuned for the article on that bus as well…it’s old, it’s ex-Calgary Transit, it’s mean and it’s green (yes green)! Oh, and it was AWESOME!

Till next time…

To know more about our subjects, go here: Red Deer Regional Airport and CFB Penhold Alberta.

They’re saying…

”The stories are sentimental, but honest. Next best thing to having been there.” Martha Maudsley.

More fun stuff…
Twilite Drive-in Wolseley – Doing it old school.
New Horizon Mall is Strange! – No exaggeration.
Train Day at Aspen Crossing – All aboard!

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: contact us!

Date of Adventure: September, 2020.
Location: Red Deer Airport (YQF) @ Springbrook Alberta near Penhold.
Article references and thanks: Red Deer Regional Airport, Canadian Civil Defence Museum, Harvard Historical Aviation Society, Buffalo Airways, Air Spray and finally AirLiners.net.

We’re at the Red Deer Airport.

Some interesting aircraft on the apron.

Haze is smoke from forest fires.

It doesn’t quite fit.

This cold war relic once watched the skies.

It came from a nearby radar installation.

An apocalyptic sunset as we prepare for the road.

Coming soon, a piece on this historic bus…

The reason we were here.