Page 19)
The Department of Transport agreed to
construct a new airport which would be operated and maintained by The City of
Saint John. The agreement was signed on March 20, 1950, but the actual
construction began in March 1949. One year later runway 05-23 was completed
measuring 5500 feet long and 200 feet wide. Soon after, runway 14-32 was
completed measuring 5100 feet long.
)
The first aircraft to land was actually
during construction on runway 05-23. Pilot James Wade landed his Cessna plane
on a rough gravel surface. His passengers included Senator Riley and V.I.P.'S.
In February of 1950, the first night landing was made by the RCAF Dakota. The
actual first scheduled flight to the new Saint John Airport was a Maritime
Central Airways DC-3 piloted by Captain Jones of Apohaqui, N.B. on August 11,
1951.
)
The terminal building started
construction in 1951 and a mobile ticket unit was used during construction. The
official opening of the airport was the same day the Air Terminal Building was
opened, January 8, 1952. The facility came to be known as the Turnbull
Airfield. Mr. W.R. Turnbull of Rothesay, N.B. was a pioneer in the aeronautical
research and invention fields.
)
Wallace Rupert Turnbull
was born in Saint John , studied engineering at Cornell and Heidelberg, and in
1901 established his own business in Rothesay as a consulting engineer. In
order to conduct his extensive aeronautical research, Turnbull built a wind
tunnel - the first in Canada - in his own workshop.
)
His research eventually
led him to invent the first practical variable-pitch propeller in the world.
The variable-pitch propeller was a significant development, as it allowed for
in-flight adjustments of the propeller blades to the different angles required
for efficient take-off, climbing, cruising, and landing.
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