Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/169581
Allied Wings (above) operates pilot training out of Southport (left), which was originally established as CFB Portage in 1940. Submitted photos Southport – Past and Present S For the Free Press outhport Airport & Commercial Properties was founded in 1992 as a non-profit organization to take ownership and manage the assets of the former Canadian Forces Base Portage la Prairie. Located five kilometres south of the city, CFB Portage was originally established in 1940 as a training base for military pilots. After the transition from CFB Portage to Southport occurred, military pilot training continued through the 3 Canadian Forces Flight Training School, which was being operated by Bombardier and succeeded by Allied Wings in 2005 until present. Since CFB Portage became Southport, it has re-invested into its assets and diversified to include property management and development specializing in aerospace, commercial and residential industries, equipped with a privately owned public airport (Portage/Southport CYPG). Southport's commercial tenant base has grown to include educational/ training institutions, manufacturing and health-care administration. For its tenants as well as the general public, Southport also offers a community-like environment with a full recreation centre, nine-hole golf course and walking paths. In the area of aerospace education and training, Allied Wings (Canada Wings) operates out of Southport and services the Canadian Forces' primary flight training program. It operates and maintains a fleet of 39 aircraft/helicopters utilized for training including fixed wings Grob 120 A and King Air C-90B, and rotary wings Bell 206 and Bell 412, 18 Manitoba Aerospace Week September 9 - 13, 2013 in combination with flight simulators. In addition to flight training, Canada Wings also operates Southport's entire airfield including air traffic control, navigation services and runway maintenance. For students training with Allied Wings, Southport offers onsite food and accommodation services, which are designed specifically to meet the flight requirements these students have. Red River College's Stevenson Aviation Program operates its Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Apprenticeship Program out of Southport. Stevenson Campus was originally established in 1984 to provide skills training and upgrading within the Canadian aviation industry. Following CFB's conversion to Southport in 1992, the campus moved its operations to the former air force base that same year and eventually merged with Red River College in 2002. Today the program is designed similar to trades training and certification. Southport offers students long-term accommodations on site at its primary student residence, Mynarski House, which is currently undergoing renovations to upgrade and improve the rooms to include private washrooms, among other amenities. In the field of aerospace manufacturing, Airport Technologies Inc. (ATI) specializes in the restoration and refurbishment of airport maintenance equipment, such as self propelled snow blowers and high-speed runway sweepers. Since then it has grown into manufacturing its own designs out of its plant in Southport, in addition to being a Re-Life specialist for runway snow blowers and sweepers. ATI manufactures the fastest (up to 25 mph) Airport Plow Vehicle in the world – the Snow Mauler – and its High Speed Airport Snowblower, the Snow Wolf. ATI's Canadian customers include the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, the Department of National Defence, Saskatoon John D Diefenbaker International Airport, Regina International Airport, Allied Wings, Cranbrook Airport, Brandon Airport, Edmonton City Centre Airport, Nanaimo Airport and Abbotsford Airport. Its U.S. customers include Dulles International Airport, Dupage Airport, Pittsburgh Allegheny Airport, Reagan National Airport, Chicago O'Hare Airport and Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City Michigan. Southport is currently looking into exploring and servicing the developing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry. They were the host of the 2012 Unmanned Systems Canada Student UAV Competition and have been chosen again as the host for the upcoming 2014 competition, May 2-4. Southport's manager of marketing and business development recently attended the largest UAV trade conference in the world in Washington, D.C. What Southport can offer not only to Canadian UAV companies but to international ones as well, is the ability to conduct commercial test flights with its 62 acres of airspace, in addition to airside workspace facilities, the potential for the new development of an indoor test flight complex or Hangar, onsite food and accommodation services and competitive usage rates. Southport's site and facilities also offer Maintenance Repair Overhaul companies various benefits as a more cost-effective alternative than other airports.