de Havilland Airfield / Downsview Airfield de Havilland Airfield or
Downsview Airfield opened in 1929 by
de Havilland Canada, the Canadian division of the British aerospace company,
de Havilland as a
general aviation airfield and one of two airports in the area apart from
Pearson Airport for testing aircraft at the site manufacturing plant. The airfield was expanded as a military installation during
World War II by the
Royal Canadian Air Force and renamed
RCAF Station Downsview, now CFB Toronto.
Downsview Airport Downsview Airport was developed in 1939 as an airfield next to an aircraft manufacturing plant operated by
de Havilland Canada. In 1947, the
Department of National Defence purchased property surrounding the airfield and expanded it, creating
RCAF Station Downsview to provide an air base for
Royal Canadian Air Force units. The base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Toronto (Downsview) in 1968 and retained this name until its closure in 1996. From 1998, the property was administered by a civilian
Crown corporation, officially known as
Parc Downsview Park, which co-managed the airfield with
Bombardier Aerospace (the successor to de Havilland Canada). The airfield was used to host the 1984 and 2002 papal visits by
Pope John Paul II, as well as to host the
Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert headlined by
The Rolling Stones to revive the local economy after the
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. The airfield has also served as a test site for several famous aircraft produced by de Havilland and
Avro Canada, including the
Beaver, the
Twin Otter, and the
Dash 8. The airport was available to pilots only with prior permission. Bombardier Aerospace at one time owned twelve
hangars in the southwest corner of the airport, where the Dash 8 was built and assembled. The
Bombardier Global Express and the variant
Global 5000 were also assembled here at the Downsview plant, as were the wings and
wingboxes of the
Learjet 45. The
Bombardier CSeries jet had landed at the airfield in 2015, but is assembled in Montreal. The airport had one operational runway, 15/33 at with a parallel taxiway. Runway 09/27 at was previously closed (east section removed), as was runway 04/22 at (north section removed and south part retained as taxiway into the Bombardier plant). Bombardier has an agreement to sell the Downsview Airport and its manufacturing plant to
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Under the agreement, Bombardier can use Downsview for up to five years. Bombardier signed a lease agreement with the
Greater Toronto Airports Authority to build a new facility at
Pearson Airport on where it would move the production of its Global series planes. Plans for Dash 8 production were not announced at that time. In November 2018, Bombardier sold the Dash 8 business and the DeHavilland name to
Viking Air, which has not disclosed its long-term plans for Dash 8 production beyond the existing already agreed-upon time frame for Downsview.
Farewell of De Havilland Canada On 11 June 2022, a private event was held at Downsview Airport, commemorating the farewell of
De Havilland Canada after 94 years at the airport. Many past and present employees and their families were invited to attend. The event featured showcases of various de Havilland Canada aircraft, with some arriving and departing from the airport during the occasion
Military housing A series of homes were built for
Canadian Forces personnel at the corner of
Keele Street and
Sheppard Avenue West and at the south end of the base property. Access to the north end housing on Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive was restricted to base personnel and fenced off from the neighbouring properties. After the military base being closed down, the housing was abandoned and torn down. ==Future development==