In late 1947 an aircraft took off from a 3,000-foot-long grass airstrip, with a small terminal building, at the north end of Kelowna. It was the first flight to lift off from what was then called Ellison Field. The year before, Kelowna residents voted 466 to 460 in favour of purchasing the 320-acre Dickson Ranch, a tobacco farm, for $20,000 (nearly $300,000 in 2022) to make way for what is now Kelowna International Airport.
sa国际传媒淭he people who put the proposal together and fought for it were certainly visionaries,sa国际传媒� said Sam Samaddar, airport director. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e come a long way. When I first came here, Penticton, Kamloops and Kelowna were handling around the same number of people in terms of traffic. To see Kelowna speed ahead to become the tenth busiest airport in the country, and the second busiest in the province, wesa国际传媒檝e seen some amazing growth over the years.sa国际传媒�
YLW is celebrating its 75 anniversary this year. Samaddar has been at the airport for 30 years, becoming director in 2008, and sees a bright future for the facility.
sa国际传媒淚 think when we look at the next 75 years there will be lots of discussion about what happened over the last 150 years. Aviation in the Okanagan goes back to the early 1900s when they had triplanes and biplanes.sa国际传媒�
The anniversary theme is 75 Trips Around the Sun, and it will be a year-long celebration, including a visit from the world-renowned Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e confirmed with the Canadian Snowbirds that they will be here July 9 and 10,sa国际传媒� said Samaddar. sa国际传媒淭wo shows over the water which will be a great opportunity for the community to see the Snowbirds. Itsa国际传媒檚 been about eight years since theysa国际传媒檝e done a show here over Kelowna.sa国际传媒�
Other celebrations will include contests and flight giveaways, as well as community contributions.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l be asking them to share their photographs of going through the airport over time,sa国际传媒� added Samaddar. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l probably get some beautiful, historical photos out of that as well.sa国际传媒�
Samaddar also gave a nod to KF Aerospace, which started operation at YLW in 1970.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e got the KF Centre for Excellence which is a legacy project with KF, theysa国际传媒檝e been a partner with us for 53 years,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淎s part of that building is an exhibit that celebrates the rich history of aviation in the Okanagan. Itsa国际传媒檚 a beautiful piece of architecture with working vintage aircraft that will be stored in the wings of that building.sa国际传媒�
Samaddar added it also celebrates an opportunity to look at the future of YLW facilities and attract young people to aviation by showing them how an airport or airplane operates.
Read More: Kelownasa国际传媒檚 KF Aerospace launches passenger charter service
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gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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