Update for Summer 2011: The Hamilton Airport will be hosting the 2011 Hamilton Airshow on Father’s Day weekend, June 18th and 19th, 2011. Check out this post for more information.
This is the first post in what I hope will be a series of posts taking a look at airports from around the world. This is intended to be an educational experience for both you, my readers, and me (practicing reading maps and the CFS is a skill I should practice more often). While I have some airports lined up for the spotlight, I am always open to suggestions. Drop me a line and let me know which airport or which areas of the world you would like to see featured here.
Disclaimer Before I begin 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 The information I am using is most likely outdated and incomplete (the Canada Flight Supplement that is in my possession expired in December 2007.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.
Now that, that’s out of the way, the first airport I will be taking a look at is John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario.
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Hamilton airport is where I first started my flight lessons, so it is somewhat special to me. I had the chance to land on each its runways and took a few trips up to the tower.
Here is some pertinent information regarding the airport.
| Name | John C. Munro |
| ICAO Code | CYHM |
| IATA Code | YHM |
| Elevation | 780 ft |
| Runways | 06/24, 6,000 ft 12/30, 10,000 ft |
| Communications | ATIS: 128.1 Ground: 121.6 Tower: 125.0 |
Its control area extends to Caledonia on the south side, and McMaster University on the north. The reporting points listed in my CFS are the Burlington Bridge (also known as the Skyway) and the town of Waterdown, Ontario. It is located about a half hour’s flight from downtown Toronto and St. Catherine’s Niagara airport. There used to be a training unit at the airport, however in November last year that came to an end (read more about it in this post).
Perhaps the biggest attraction is the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. The great thing about it if you’re flying by on a nice summer day is that you get to share the airspace with beauties like the one in the picture below.
Hamilton airport now has only commercial carriers like Cargojet and Flyglobespan flying out of it. There is a Tim Hortons in the main terminal building and a usually 24 hour one near the Transport Canada building on the other side, near the threshold of runway 24. Overall, if you’re looking for a stop over to grab a bite, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
Make sure to check this airport’s COPA page from some more information including landing fees.
I was wondering if there were any flight lessons for inexperienced flyers(my dad) and if so how much would the flight cost, what time of season would it be available, and where it would be held
Hi Evan,
Unfortunately CYHM does not have a flight school any more so flight lessons are not available from there. There are two schools in the somewhat immediate vicinity though: Spectrum Airways and Brantford Flying Club.
Spectrum Airways operates out of the Burlington Airpark (CZBA). You can find their site here. According to their main page, a half hour discovery flight is $59 + GST and they seem to have a ground school class starting on April 22nd. I’m not sure what they charge for flight lessons, you’d have to get in touch with them.
The Brantford Flying Club operates out of CYFD (Brantford Airport) and this is their site with all the contact information. I visited them this past Saturday and I will be flying out of there to finish my licence. They charge $117 / hour for a Cessna 172 and, I believe, $50 for the instructor.
I would suggest going in and talking with both schools before deciding. Have them show you around the planes too so that you can get a feel for what you (or your dad) will be flying.
Best of luck!