Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport

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Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport
IATA: YKZ - ICAO: CYKZ
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Toronto Airways Limited
Serves Buttonville, Ontario
Elevation AMSL 650 ft (198 m)
Coordinates 43°51′44″N, 079°22′12″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
03/21 2,693 821 Asphalt
15/33 3,902 1,189 Asphalt
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft Movements 147,705

Buttonville Municipal Airport or Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport, (IATA: YKZ, ICAO: CYKZ), is a medium-sized airport in Buttonville Ontario, Canada, within Markham and 29 km north of downtown Toronto. It is operated by Toronto Airways Limited. Due to its proximity to Toronto's suburbs, there are several strict noise-reduction procedures for aircraft using the airport. Buttonville is an airport of entry, with customs services available for flights from the United States. There is a weather station located at the airport. The airport is open and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Contents

[edit] Navigation

Multi-IFR trainer belonging to the flight school
Enlarge
Multi-IFR trainer belonging to the flight school

There are three non-precision instrument approaches available: a Global Positioning System (GPS) approach to runway 33, an Non-directional beacon (NDB) approach to runway 21, and a localizer approach to runway 15. Since the airport is inside the busy Toronto terminal area, the availability of approaches depends heavily on traffic flow to other airports.

[edit] Radio

The airport has a control tower using the frequencies 127.10 MHz for Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), 121.80 MHz for ground control, and 124.80 MHz for tower (with a backup frequency of 119.9 MHz used during busy periods). When the tower is closed, 124.80 MHz becomes a mandatory frequency. The London, Ontario Flight Information Centre has a Remote Communications Outlet at the airport operating on the frequency 123.15 MHz. Toronto Terminal handles Instrument flight rules (IFR) arrivals and departures on 133.40 MHz.

Flightline is available on 123.50 MHz.

[edit] Navigation aids

CYKZ main terminals at the north end
Enlarge
CYKZ main terminals at the north end

There are three ground-based navigation aids attached specifically to the Buttonville airport:

  • a low-power NDB on the frequency 248 kHz with the identifier "KZ", located 4.4 nautical miles northeast of the airport
  • a Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) on channel 48 (111.1 MHz) with the identifier "IKZ", located on the airfield
  • a localizer for runway 15 on the frequency 111.1 MHz

[edit] Airport Operating Restrictions

  • No practice circuits outside of YKZ control Tower hours of operation.
  • No practice IFR approaches outside YKZ Control Tower hours of operation.
  • No practice Engine Failure on Take Off procedure (E.F.T.O.'s) in the YKZ Positive Control Zone.
  • No touch and go circuits by excessively noisy aircraft.

It has been agreed with the Airport and the Town of Markham that no circuit practice will occur during specific hours during a long weekend holiday (Canada Day, Victoria Day, Labour Day, etc..)

[edit] New Air Traffic Control Tower

One of 30 training aircraft belonging to the flight school
Enlarge
One of 30 training aircraft belonging to the flight school

On January 17, 2006, NAV CANADA announced plans for the construction of a new air traffic control tower at Buttonville Airport.

The new tower, representing an investment of over $2 million, will replace the existing facility which was built in 1967 and is reaching the end of its useful life. Construction began in Fall 2006. The tower structure has been completed, with the facility scheduled to become operational by June 2007.

The new tower will provide expanded operational space, optimal visibility and the latest in air navigation equipment and technology for 12 air traffic controllers and two support staff who provide service to some 150,000 aircraft movements per year at Buttonville Airport. It will be located on the south side of the airport – the opposite side of the old tower.

The new tower will be designed and built using a modular design enabling the facility to be relocated in the future. New equipment and technology will include the NAV CANADA Auxiliary Radar Display System and the Company’s state-of-the-art voice communications switch. Buttonville Airport is one of the busiest in the country, consistently ranking in the top 11 for air traffic volumes.

[edit] Tenants

[edit] Future

The new control tower's modular design is speculated to be because the airport's licence expires in 2010 and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority planning document for Pickering Airport assumes its closure by 2011 when GTAA funding of Buttonville (which replaced a Provincial subsidy) ceases. (See pages 6, 14, 17 of the GTAA Planning Document).

However, Buttonville Airport is still privately owned and the GTAA has no jurisdiction to force its closure. As of yet, no plan to close the airport has ever been announced. Given the GTAA's reputation for charging high fees for using its facilities[1], it is possible that tenants of Buttonville will not want to move to a new Pickering airport.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Concil, Anthony and Eugene Hoeven: "Toronto Airport Inefficiency Hits Passengers With 25% Hike in Airport Improvement Fee", IATA. http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/2004-08-03-01

[edit] External links


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