When I received the Innisfail Province for Jan. 22, a couple of Items jumped off the page at me regarding the upcoming renos and COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) convention at the Big Bend (Innisfail) Airport.
First, the distance of four kilometres is not correct. I started at the intersection of 50th Avenue and 50th Street and drove to the parking lot at the terminal building at the airport.
The distance is 10 kilometres, give or take 100 metres.
Secondly, the comment that the COPA Convention has never been held in this area before. This is also incorrect as this convention was held at the Red Deer Regional Airport in 2002. The COPA convention in 2002 was the 50th Anniversary Convention. The accompanying photo is of the crest on my volunteer’s T-shirt.
Just as large airports have a unique identifier, so do smaller aerodromes. For instance we know about YYC for Calgary and YVR for Vancouver. The aviation identifier for the Big Bend aerodrome is CEM4.
I grew up in Innisfail and returned here 20-odd years ago and plan to continue my retirement here.
Brian Davies,
Innisfail retired resident and glider pilot instructor
