Brantford Airport (CYFD) is located 4 NM southwest of the city of Brantford.
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It features 3 landing surfaces, a lot of hangar and apron space and a great FBO in the Brantford Flying Club (Full disclosure: I’m currently training at BFC so I may be a bit biased toward it). Before I go any further I’m going to throw up the disclaimer:
Disclaimer Please understand that each post in this series is meant to be educational and should not be used for any type of navigation. The information I am using is most likely outdated and incomplete (the Canada Flight Supplement that is in my possession expired in December 2007. No I do not actually fly with it). Always, always, always check the most up to date information available for your departure and destination airports and make sure your charts and CFS are up to date.
Here’s some basic info about the airport:
| Name | Brantford Airport |
| ICAO Code | CYFD |
| IATA Code | YFD |
| Elevation | 815 ft |
| Runways | 05/23, 5,000 ft 11/29, 2,600 ft 17/35, 2600 ft |
| Communications | ATIS: none Ground: none Tower: none UNICOM: 122.825 |
All runways are paved and runway 05/23 has ARCAL type K lighting. Brantford is an uncontrolled airport so you don’t get all the perks you would at an airport with a tower. It also means you need to brush up on your uncontrolled airport procedures to keep everyone, including yourself, safe.
As I mentioned, the FBO is the Brantford Flying Club and it offers a wide variety of services, including flight training. The BFC’s fleet consists of 4 Cessna 152’s, 3 172’s (one with retractable gear) a Piper Aztec and a simulator (not sure what type; I haven’t done any IFR training yet). There are 8 instructors there and the club offers Recreational, Private and Commercial licences as well as night, instrument and multi engine ratings. The planes and instructors are also available for charter flights.
Every year, the club runs an air show which features the Snow Birds and the Lancaster from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. COPA flight 148 also operates from the airport.
If you’re in the Hamilton / Kitchener / London area and are looking for a place to learn to fly or fly out of on a charter, I would definitely recommend Brantford Airport!
Hi Danny, I would like to ask you what would be your recommendation for taking air plain fly classes. My husband would like to learn, and I want to buy him some private classes for his birthday just to boost his dream! could you please give me some advice. We leave in Ancaster, On. I was looking and there are two potential places Brantford and Guelph, I didn’t find anything about Hamilton. I would appreciate any help
Thanks
Rocio
Hi Rocio,
Thanks for reading my blog!
Unfortunately Hamilton does not have a flight school any more. Three years ago Peninsulair closed and we’ve been without a flight school since. The closest (and in my opinion most convenient) one to go to would be the Brantford Flying Club at the Brantford Airport. I am training there now and can attest for the staff’s professionalism and friendly approach to training.
I would suggest giving them a call and discussing your situation with them as they’ll be able to do the scheduling for you. I would also suggest booking a familiarization flight first to make sure it sits well with your husband. It gets bumpy up there some times and for some people that’s enough to put them off flying. Also there was some construction that had closed Hwy 24 (which is the 403W exit that one would normally take to get to the airport) so make sure to ask if it’s completed.
I have a number of posts on my blog regarding the steps to go through to get a pilot’s licence which can give you an idea of what needs to be done to complete the licensing.
I hope this helps, if you have any other questions feel free to ask!