Ottawa Flying Club

The Ottawa International MacDonald-Cartier Airport as it is known today was originally known as The Hunt Club Field. It was used intermittently by aircraft, including Department of National Defence planes. Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis at the Hunt Club field on July 2, 1927 on a flight from New York, and the public’s interest in aviation in this region followed. Regular flying activity began on January 14, 1928 with the incorporation of the Ottawa Flying Club. The club leased the land from Ottawa Uplands Ltd. for $300 a year and received an airport licence on July 26, 1928. In 1935, the facilities of the airport were operated by the Ottawa Flying Club and included a club house, an office, one hangar (35 by 40 by 14 feet), 2 private hangars for light aircraft, refuelling services by Imperial Oil, and a wind-sock. The Club’s first home was an old, two-storey, white clapboard house located on the east side of what is now PAPA taxiway. At the time, club members and students were flying Avro Avians, powered by the Genet engines, purchased from the Ottawa Car Company, which made street cars for the City of Ottawa On August 1, 1940, the Ottawa Flying Club was asked by Transport Canada (new owner of the aerodrome since 1938) to stop flying due to the heavy traffic from the training schools. The club temporarily relocated to St. Eugene Aerodrome where it remained responsible for ab-initio training throughout the war as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The club was allowed to keep its Ottawa airport buildings rent-free for the duration until it returned in September 1945. In 1947 the flying club occupied half of Hangar No.1 as well as the watch office building. In 1961, the Ottawa Flying Club built its own club house. It later built an addition, and in 1978, through assistance from volunteer members, a grant was issued by Wintario to secure funding for the erection of our existing hangar. Over the past 83 years, the Ottawa Flying Club has graduated thousands of pilots and has even trained a few of the Canadian Astronauts. Many graduates of the Ottawa Flying Club have established themselves as professional pilots in various Canadian, US and International Airlines as well as within other aviation related jobs such as Air Traffic Control.