About This File
FS2004 Scenery--Lake Athabasca Airfields in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. These are four airfields around or near Lake Athabasca, in Alberta and Saskatchewan. This replaces the previous individual airfields, which had missing parts. My goof. Fort Chipewyan CYPY is at the southwestern end of the lake and the direct recipient of spillage that flows north in the river from the Tar Sands to the south. The population of around 850 lives in one of the earliest European settlements in Alberta, founded as a trading post by Peter Pond of the Northwest Company in 1788 and named for the Chipewyan people who lived in the area. The runway is aligned 03-21 and 5,000 feet of asphalt, with PAPI at both ends. Charlot River CJP9 is on the northern shore at the western end of the lake, in Saskatchewan. It serves a nearby hydroelectric project and is used to transport technical staff in and out. The gravel runway is aligned 04-22 and just over 3,200 feet long. Fond-du-Lac CZFD is on the northern shore in Saskatchewan, at the narrower eastern end. The population is around 900 and is remotely situated with no road access. It is a village that has existed for over 150 years and where "living off the land" is a normal way of life. The runway is 3,800 feet of gravel aligned 10-28 with PAPI at the western end. Stony Rapids CYSF is east of the end of Lake Athabasca, on the Fond du Lac River. It has a population of around 250 and is only semi-connected to the rest of Canada by a rough gravel road which has to be driven slowly. The airport, therefore, is of some importance for anything that has a degree of urgency. By Roger Wensley.