Friday I went out to the Carp airport to look at the new hangars that are going up out there. Originally I had planned to base the aircraft at the North Field at the Ottawa International Airport (CYOW). CYOW is a very strange airport - it is actually two airfields in one. The North Field has two short general aviation runways in one corner of the airport property. I drive right by CYOW on my way to work, and the North Field is less than 20 minutes from our house. There aren't any hangars available now, but there was a plan to build some. But that plan has stalled, and the airport seems to wish that general aviation would just go away.

Then I was planning on building a hangar at Smiths Falls. But it seems that there are only two hangar lots left, and people who have been members of the Smiths Falls Flying Club will obviously get priority for them.

So, that leaves Carp, Rockcliffe and Gatineau. Rockcliffe is buried a bit too much in Ottawa's built-up area for my liking and it doesn't have an instrument approach, so I wrote it off. Gatineau is on the other side of Ottawa, across the Ottawa river in Quebec. It is a bit father than I want to drive, so it is out.

Carp is about the same driving time as Smiths Falls from our house (about 35 minutes) and it is quite a bit closer to where I work. And there are hangars available, but there are only three left in this phase of the development, and I need to make a decision ASAP. I'll probably buy a hangar and rent it out to someone over the winter.

I feel quite fortunate to have so many choices in airports. I haven't even mentioned several other ones that don't have winter runway maintenance, as I want to be able to fly year round.