Pitt Meadows Airport Day 20th June 2026

~~ PITT MEADOWS AIRPORT DAY ~~

~ Saturday 20th June 2026 ~

A family focused event with many attractions for the non aviation enthusiast and stands from the tenants advertizing their trade.  I have documented every aircraft on display, most are local tenants plus some others pushed to the side to make room for the show on the main apron.  As clean shots were largely impossible, I have chosen to include the crowds which give an idea of the vibe of the day and it's nice to see children interested in aviation and interacting with the aircraft and pilots.

Entrance gate on Baynes Road to the main apron on the east side of the airport

Upon entry, four of the privately owned local residents were parked up at the end of the ramp which was mainly used for the event.  Apparently this grass area behind the aircraft will be the location of the Canadiam Museum of Flight Foundation who will be moving over from Langley

C-GIJD ~ 1973 Cessna 150L ~ Private

C-GOMZ ~ 1973 Cessna 150L ~ Private

C-FMWW ~ 2001 Sequoia Falco F8L ~ Private ~ an interesting aircraft originally designed by Aviamilano of Italy, then built by Aeromere and Laverda.  It was then sold as a kit by Sequoia Aircraft of Richmond VA from the mid 80's until 2014 and this is one of them.  De-registered since arrival last year.

C-GAFZ ~ 1974 Cessna 150M ~ Private

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Next we have the residents and visitors displayed on the main ramp, some of the larger companies had stands and stalls, giving away merchanidize, selling their products and advertizing their services

C-FTXT ~ 1977 Cessna U206G Stationair ~ Whistler Wings Aviation ~ a new single aircraft carrier registered in March, you can follow them on Instagram @whistlerwings.  The aircraft has been in the area for a while with Langley based AC Airways and Fort Langley Air

A Cessna 172 with a local flying school I did not actually grab the ID of

C-GTBG ~ 2025 Cirrus SR22T GTS ~ Wavin' In The Breeze Holdings [Boundary Bay] ~ used as a demonstrator, Cirrus had a large stand

C-FZIT ~ 1966 Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche ~ ABCD Enterprises ~ the PA30 is a smaller lower powered alternative to the Aztec optimized for private touring and multi training, opposed to air taxi work

C-FPTB ~ 2003 Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair SH-3R (III) ~ Canada Aircrew Worldwide [Springbank AB] ~ 300hp high performance carbon fibre kit aircraft with retractable gear, they were built just down the I5 in Arlington WA until they were taken over by Advanced Aero Components in 2017 and this model has been subsequently re-branded the G3 Heritage

C-GINP ~ 1969 Cessna A185E Skywagon ~ Private ~ the aircraft was being used to demonstrate the Ford F250 half truck beaching gear to move a float equipped aircraft without wheels in and out of the water, here is a close look at it

C-GKDB ~ 2002 Stacey 3 ~ Private ~ a new build replica of the North American / Ryan Navion named after the original builder.  If you close one eye and squint, it's North American family lines are still evident with clear similarities to their P51 Mustang and T28 Trojan.  It was envisaged to be a post war tourer aircraft, but it was also delivered to the US Army and National Guard designated the L-17A (L being liaison).  The design was bought by Ryan in 1947 who produced it until 1951.  It is fully acrobatic and this aircraft was part of a four ship act called the Fraser Blues led by a former Snowbirds pilot.  The group was disbanded in 2021 with many of the pilots being veterans in their mid 80's.  This one is called "Bonnie Blue" and existed long before anyone on the internet called herself that!

C-FFMZ ~ 2017 Sopwith Pup (replica) ~ Canadian Museum Of Flight Association [Langley] ~ a replica built by the museum volunteers to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France where all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together to capture the heavily fortified German ridge with the loss of 3500 Canadian lives.  Painted to represent N6181 with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) named "Happy".  Sopwith were maybe the greatest British aircraft manufacturer of WW1 and this aircraft was originally named the Scout.  It was nicknamed the Pup as it was smaller than the "big dog" Strutter and the name stuck, in fact animal names were used thereafter.  It was a fine aircraft built betwewen 1916-1918 but quickly fell behind the German adversaries and was replaced by the far more capable Camel which was maybe one of the finest Allied aircraft of the conflict.  It soldiered on in a training and personal aircraft role into the early 1920's

The Canadian Museum of Flight advertising the Langley Air Fair on August 29th - last event of the summer with every airport having something apart from Boundary Bay

C-GKAB ~ 1977 Cessna A185F Skywagon ~ Private

C-GAUN ~ 2004 Van's RV-4 ~ 3ML Mark Miller Media Link ~ Mark is an acrobatic pilot, writer, film producer and journalist - reg is the former AC 767 Gimli Glider!

C-FKPM ~ 1977 Cessna 414 ~ 3ML Mark Miller Media Link ~ owned by the same Mark of the Van's above, it seems to be used as a commuter from Springbank AB.  From the mid 70's there was a large array of piston twin types for light commuter and air taxi work and Cessna produced quite a few models.  The 414 is basically a 421 fuselage with 401 wings, the original as this is had tip tanks whereas later A models had them removed and was named the Chancellor

C-GBMA ~ 1958 Cessna 182A ~ Private ~ essentially a tricycle gear 180, the very early model before it got the Skylane name and quite different from the models still in production 70 years later

      

 

C-GJTK ~ 1977 Grumman American AA-5A Cheetah ~ Private ~ a successful family designed by the American Aviation Corp, 80% was bought by Grumman in 1972.  The AA-5 is a four seat version of the original two seat AA-1 named the Traveler, when Grumman took over they implemented all sorts of improvements to the airframe and in maybe a nod to their own big cat names for their own aircraft, naming it the model A Cheetah, followed by the model B Tiger

    CF-WVV ~ 1942 Grumman G-44 Widgeon ~ Private [Chilliwack] ~ according to literature provided the artwork is inspired by the owners Hawaiian heritage.  A smaller 5 seat version of the earlier G-21 Goose many BC aviation enthusiasts are familiar with still in airliner service with Wildnerness Seaplanes out of Port Hardy.  It was designed as a civilian aircraft, but was first delivered to the US Navy as an anti-submarine aircraft.  This one was also delivered to the USN with BuNo 32939, coming onto the civilian market in 1958, arriving in Canada in 2012.

C-GTDD ~ 2017 Glasair II-S ~ Private ~ same as C-FPTB above, the S is the first model II, the S having a 30" stretch to the nose of the I.  The R above indicated retractable gear which is now standard and the SH former manufacturer Standard Hamilton, this one being made by NewGlasair

CF-LOK ~ 1946 Grumman G-44A Super Widgeon ~ Private [Boundary Bay] ~ as above, this was a post war delivery straight to the civilian market.  The A Super is re-engined with Lycoming or Continental engines, this looks like the latter with IO-470's and came to Canada in 2021.

C-GFBH ~ 2010 Barrows Bearhawk Four ~ Cardinal Aviation ~ one of the many Piper Super Cub homebuilt clones from Bearhawk Aviation of Fairview OK, designer is Bob Barrows

C-FQFD ~ 1969 Bell 47G-3B-2 ~ Private [Abbotsford] ~ one of the earliest and most successful mass produced helicopters over 28 years from Larry Bell, his company going on to be the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world to this day.  Massive kudos to the owner, who patiently welcomed hundreds of kids and their guardians into the cockpit and physically showed them - aided by the basic design and exposed architecture - what happens when they pressed the pedals and moved the controls.  I couldn't get any clean photos, but I like the images with the constant line of intrigued young and old alike and that is exactly what these events are about, it was obvious so many kids had their day made with the hands on experience provided by this wonderful owner.

C-GGUF ~ 1954 Piper PA-18-135X Super Cub ~ Private [Cooking Lake AB] ~ with huge tundra tires, this was the ultimate version of the first Piper design.  The first number after the PA- is the family designation and the second number denotes the horsepower of the engine.  The X denotes an owner made modification not necessarily approved by the manufacturer (but by the aviation authortity of course!!)

CF-IYN ~ 1956 Cessna 172 ~ Private ~ first of a huge dynasty still in production today 70 years later, the early models had a straight tail compared to the swept tail today and there have been many modifications along the way

C-GRRX ~ 1972 Grumman American AA-5 Traveler ~ Private ~ as above, this is the earliest model of the AA-5 family.  For new spotters of GA aircraft, a telltale identifier is the arced nosewheel strut

C-GRNV ~ 2025 Van's RV-9A ~ Private [Boundary Bay] ~ a kit aircraft designed by Richard Van Grunsven of Aurora OR, which is where the Van's name comes from along with the RV designation.  There is now a large family of these light weight carbon fibre frames with a high power engine and many are fully acrobatic.  This one is not and is a two seat side by side model designed for fun touring more than pure fun!

C-GIOT ~ 1959 Cessna 172 ~ Private [Victoria] ~ as above, the owner flies it for the Big to the Rescue voluntary organization to transport wild animals in need of medical attention

C-FXOO ~ 1990 Dassault Falcon 900 ~ Influence Air ~ allegedly owned by some local Youtubers hence the owner name - influencer!  An early build of the second trijet model after the 50 which entered service in 1986 of the legendary Falcon family from the French company founded by Marcel Dassault (his real name was Marcel Bloch and his pre-war company was Bloch, the company merged with Breguet becoming Dassault-Breguest, but the latter name was later dropped).  The model remains in production, but is due to wind down by the end of this year.  This is probably the largest aircraft I have ever seen at Pitt Meadows and is certainly the largest based here, in recent years there has been a real uptick in bizjet movements.

C-FXBC ~ 1984 Beech King Air 300 ~ Liard Air [Fort Nelson] ~ a very early model of the first extended cabin of the Super King Air family from Beechcraft, which is still in production today under the Textron umbrela who also own Cessna.  The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop first debuted on the original model over 60 years ago and is the worlds most numerously produced turbine engine of all time.  Liard Air have a large hangar and terminal here as their southern base and use this aircraft to connect tourists up to their float fleet in Fort Nelson to the Northern Rockies lodge on Muncho Lake.  Their former Otter, Beaver and Twin Otter fleet - all lost in accidents, the first two in a hangar fire - used to operate out of YVR before moving to Pitt many years ago.  The aircraft is also available for charter and can be seen all over the province.

C-GOHN ~ 2010 Robinson R44 Clipper II ~ Sky Helicopters ~ one of the largest tenants at Pitt with their own terminal building, they had a stand and their Robbo was a hit with the kids.  They operate all sorts of scenic flights and charters and will be found regularly at the Canada Place heliport downtown, their fleet consists of a trio of these R44's and Eurocopter AStar's.  Frank Robinson's company of Torrance CA has become the go to choice for training and light helicopters.

CF-DRU ~ 1946 Piper J3C-65 Cub ~ Canadian Museum Of Flight Association [Langley] ~ an airworthy exhibit of the museum which will be moving to Pitt from Langley in the coming years, in fact the hangar is expected to be roughly behind this very photo.  The museum always support local events, their trailer is in the background which brings the Sopwith replicas and they also had a large stand selling models and all sorts of merchandise.  Support them and their awesome volunteers, give them a visit!  This is the first mass produced model from William Piper, setting on a huge dynasty of light aircraft.  The -65 designates the 65hp Continental air cooled engine.

C-FOAR ~ 1976 Cessna 182P Skylane ~ The Air Cadet League Of Canada, BC Provincial Committee [Comox] ~ another great supporter of local airshows, the cadet league are based at CFB Comox, but also operate from both here and Abbotsford and they use these events to recruit kids into a flying career with the armed forces, starting them off in gliders.  These aircraft are used as tugs to tow the gliders aloft, they have six in the fleet replacing earlier 305 Bird Dgs, which have been sent east.

C-FXLM ~ 1968 Cessna 172I ~ Private ~ parked next to the CASARA tent - Civil Air Search And Rescue Association - made up of volunteers who volunteer their aircraft and time offering SAR support services, usually in conjunction with the forces and police.  Their slogan is "That others may live", I have a friend who volunteers with them, they are truly a great organization

C-GACQ ~ 1972 Cessna 172M Skyhawk ~ Aero Club of BC ~ another local flying school, this one with just two aircraft and they had a stand recuiting new pilots.  Models with a deluxe interior are called the Skyhawk and they are identified with a hawk logo on the tail.

C-FOBZ ~ 1948 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver I ~ Blue Sky Aviation Enterprises ~ a very early example of the great Canadian bushplane, this one is highly modified with an extended cabin, pop out windows, long nose and Wipaire Wipline amphibious floats.  The huge wingspan and flaps are visible here which is the secret to it's amazing Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) performance.

D6289 ~ 1985 Sopwith F.1 Camel (replica) ~ Canadian Museum Of Flight Association [Langley] ~ a non flying replica built by the museum painted as D2689 in period colours of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) - the predecessor to the RAF - and travels in the trailer behind.  As mentioned above, it replaced the Pup from summer 1917 as it was faster and more agile and continued in combat service in post WW1 conflicts until 1920.

C-FTLA ~ 1965 Cessna 172F Skyhawk ~ Private ~ carriers RENT ME mwa.club titles, the billboard advertises Mountain Wind Aviation, it seems from their website this is the sole aircraft but there is a Piper PA22 on floats coming next year

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To complete the aircraft, the residents that remained were crowded in to the west end of the ramp plus the taxiways into the hangars, which remained operational and some flew through the day offering pleasure flights as well as normal flight training, along with some helicopters.  Many persons unfamiliar with general aviation may be surprised to learn the age of most of the training fleet, 40-50 years young is quite normal.

C-GAMP ~ 1975 Cessna 172M ~ Vancouver Aviation College

C-GJGF ~ 1960 Cessna 210 ~ Private ~ this is a very early model with fixed wheels and 4 years before it took the Centurion name

C-FYPK ~ 1974 Cessna 150L ~ Andy Naef Holdings ~ note the aircraft carries the airport code YPK as part of its registration.

C-GQEE ~ 1976 Rockwell Commander 114 ~ Private ~ Rockwell are best known for their B-1 supersonic bomber and military projects, missiles and systems, Aero Commander was their general aviation division

C-GHNX ~ 1975 Cessna 150M ~ Amy's Flying School

C-FVEF ~ 1977 Cessna 172N ~ Pacific Rim Aviation Academy

C-FEFY ~ 1973 Cessna 172M ~ Island Coastal Aviation

C-GMUF ~ 1979 Cessna 172N ~ Island Coastal Aviation

C-FJEN ~ 2000 Eurocopter AS350B2 AStar ~ Sky Helicopters ~ the rest of the Robinson R44 fleet is black.  French aviation history is as complicated, political and consolidated as British.  The helicopter family tree came from Sud Est Aviation where many companies were consolidated after the ravages of WW2 into four government run entities based on the four geographical quarters Nord, Est, Sud and Ouest, Sud and Est merged and very basically they and other independents too were all further consolidated into Aerospatiale in a similar amalagation as British Aerospace in the UK, both of course becoming the lead partners in the multinational European Airbus project.  The helicopter division was merged with German MBB to form Eurocopter as was the case when this one was built and they have since re-branded Airbus Helicopters in line with the parent.  This AS350 model is the second most popular light utility single engine helicopter in the world after the Bell 206 family, it was called the Ecureil, which is French for Squirrel which is it more commonly known in the UK and English speaking countries.  In North America, it was marketed as the AStar, it is still being built 50 years later but now rebranded the H125 under the Airbus branding, replacing it's original Aerospatiale originated AS designation.  There is also a twin engine version which was the Ecureil 2, the Twin Squirrel in the UK and TwinStar in North America.

C-FAUC ~ 2018 Airbus Helicopters H125 ~ Librico Helicopters [Chilliwack] ~ 18 years younger than the one above, this one is the now rebranded Airbus H125 as above

C-GMXV ~ 1974 Cessna 172M ~ Harbour Air [Vancouver] ~ better known as the largest floatplane operator in the world, Harbour Air have had scheduled service from the float dock on the Fraser River to Victoria Harbour from September 2014 until Covid in March 2020, it resumed in October 2022 but quietly ceased not long afterwards, though charters may be seen.  They have had this little Cessna though for 23 years and seems to be used to ferry around pilots, staff and parts and can usually be found here moreseo than YVR where it once lived full time.

C-FCUY ~ 1972 Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee ~ Classic Aviation ~ basically equivalent to Cessna's 172 family, from personal observation is not as popular in Canada.  William Piper's designs all were named after native American Indian tribes or related items like the tomahawk, the 28 family is the fourth most produced aircraft in history with around 33,000 units.  The -140 designated the horsepower.

C-GEJK ~ 1975 Cessna 150M ~ Island Coastal Aviation

C-GKNH ~ 1976 Cessna 172M ~ Island Coastal Aviation ~ they have 10 various Cessna's and also offer float training off the Fraser River

C-FUMI ~ 1962 Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub ~ Private [Langley] ~ heading up a line up of Montair aircraft

C-FSOF ~ 1998 Cessna 172R ~ Montair Aviation

C-GCMQ ~ 1974 Cessna 172M ~ Airborne Management

C-FBZQ ~ 1972 Cessna 172L ~ Pacific Rim Aviation Academy ~ this aircraft subsequently was involved in a midair collision over northern Chilliwack on 3rd August, it crashed into a lagoon and fully submerged in the Skway 5 First Nation

C-GWVA ~ 2025 Cirrus SR20 ~ Airborne Management

C-FPDK ~ 1974 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain ~ Cascadia Airways ~ a lot of the old hangars have been demolished and many old aircraft have been put outside along with this former Cascadia machine.  Many YVR spotters will remember it when with KD Air who operated scheduled service from their home base of Qualicum Beach with a bus link to Port Alberni and a summer link to Gillies Bay on Texada Island.  They got taken over and ceased operations in February 2019 and relaunched rebranded  as Cascadia and moved to Pitt the following Fenruary 2020.  They continued the services and added tags to Pitt and Abbotsford from YVR as well as Victoria and Penticton, but they ceased operations on 11th January 2023 compounded by Covid

The Coast Dog Aviation hangar, a great company who overhaul light aircraft and a sponsor of the event

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Finally, here are some images of the general show covering the stands, attractions, local exhibitors and all sorts of things to attract the local community for a fun day out even for those with no interest or knowledge of aviation, the weather co-operated spectacularly and there was a great vibe to the event.

Canadian Museum Of Flight gazebo where they are selling merchandise, models, clothing, prints and toys and promoting the museum and foundation based at Langley airport (they had their own open day including the museum which was the final event of the summer - post to follow on this when I get time).  They are due to move to Pitt Meadows in the coming years.

An overview of the exhibits on the north side of the east apron

The Air Cadets and CASARA gazebos mid apron

Pitt Meadows Fire Department with a Ford Explorer chief car and Freightliner Business Class tender

The western edge of the display looking north toward the Thompson range, Golden Ears Park and Coquitlam Ranges.  The half truck float dolly demonstration was popular.

Various sponsor gazebos outside the terminal building BC Hydro, The Banana Bike, face painting, Kids Sport, Pitt Meadows RCMP and local MLA Lisa Beare who was handing out ice cream and doing a good job with her staff interacting with her community

A great bouncy castle fun run and a trapeze for the big kids who want to let off steam

Kids trapeze on trampolines

Overview of the kids attractions on the main apron outside the terminal building

Eastern edge of the aircraft display with gazebos from MAC, BCIT and Whistler Wings

Local artisans

Live band

Beer garden

Overview of the artisans and food stands

CB Construction stand with Rhinoceros RH925 and other equipment

Eastern end of the display

Kids entertainment

Overview of the entertainment and stands on the main apron outside the terminal building

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WELL DONE YPK AND THANK YOU FOR A FUN AFTERNOON OUT!!!

If you enjoy my content, please share and why not check out my weekly news roundup, latest update of operators at YVR for the winter season and some travel blogs.

Very best regards to all ~ Vernon Harvey