First planes to land stopped in meadow near Queen’s Park
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles about the history and development of Penticton Regional Airport leading up to Airport Day, a special event to be held on Sunday, July 22.
Community leaders in Penticton were thinking about the importance of an airport as early as 1932 and decided to hold an air show to prove their point. Hugh Cleland was a member of a committee which staged a Penticton “Air Pageant” on July 7 to bring attention to the benefits of having an airport in the community.
A total of seven aircraft visited Penticton that day including three Fleet aircraft flown by Aero Club of BC members, a Gypsy Moth, a Fairchild flown by Jack Wright, Imperial Oil Company’s Puss Moth piloted by Pat Reid and the Shell Oil Company’s Ryan, a sister ship to that flown across the Atlantic by Charles Lindberg. “We didn’t have a real landing field,” Cleland recalled. “Planes used to drop down on a flat meadow south of Queen’s Park. Because Eckhadrt Avenue did not go farther south than Railway Street at that time, there was no road to interfere if a plane needed more room for landing and taking off.”
The other pageant committee members were Reeve G.A.B. McDonald and Frank Whiskin, linotype operator of The Herald who flew in France during the Great War.
Pilots who used the field said it was too short for safety and the site was soon abandoned. In 1936, federal aid was sought and the present airport was developed.
To commemorate 76 years of continuous operation and the importance of the airport to Penticton and other communities in the South Okanagan, the Penticton Flying Club is coordinating a special Airport Day on Sunday July 22.
A pancake breakfast starting at 8 a.m. will be followed by selfguided tours of “open door” aircraft hangars, guided tours of the control tower, displays of helicopters and home-built aircraft, water bombers and military aircraft if available. A kid’s zone will keep youngsters occupied with aviation-themed activities and a fire truck provided by the Penticton Fire Department.
A commemorative plaque will be presented to Transport Canada, operators of the airport, by the City of Penticton.
Karl Crosby is a former Canadian journalist and freelance writer now residing in Penticton