Air Traffic Control

Historical Detail

Comox Air Traffic Control Tower
Height to Tower cab floor - 148 feet
and yes, there is an elevator

Location - adjacent to golf course road, midway between runway 18/36 (5000') and runway 11/29 (10000'). The new control tower is located across the field next to the golf course. It stands 240 feet ASL and has the best view in the Valley. The old tower was demolished not long after the new one became operational and now is just a bare field area on the airfield.

RATCON/IFRCC - is still in the old building located across the field near the the bluffs above Kye Bay - right behind the old tower site. It is a TRACS era building with a similar layout to all other TRACS sites. There have been some renovations in the last couple of years but things remain pretty much the same as ever. It sometimes makes it difficult to get to know the other people that work in the section when they are housed on the other side of the aiurfield. The old RAPCON complex, near the Griffin Pub has been long abandoned, but a few remnant buildings remain for fire-fighter training purposes.

Personnel - The section is commanded by a Major. We currently employ seven tower officers (Lt/Capt) and one reservist; 4 ground controller/B-stands and 2 reservists. The PAR is STILL in use and has lived through several extensions of life. The mobile unit in Trenton (8 ACCS) has a new PAR system that they now deploy with and I am not sure if the intention is to convert all the units to this new PAR. The Radar section employs 10 IFR Controllers (Lt/Capt) but will diminish this summer with postings. There are 6 PAR/DSC and one reservist, also to diminish by a couple this summer.

Initial construction of what would eventually become the RAPCON facility at Comox began in 1952. The complex was constructed to house a Pinetree Line radar station. Unlike most of the other Pinetree Line radar stations which were located in remote areas, 51 AC&W Squadron became operational on 1 November 1954 and the squadron was physically located within the confines of RCAF Station Comox. The long range radar station had a very short life and it was closed down in June 1958 - less than four years after it became operational. It appears that the station functioned as a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) unit, was then downgraded to an Early Warning status, and was eventually passed on to the Air Traffic Control function - who operated the complex in a RAPCON (Radar Approach Control) environment. For those of us with a vivid imagination, we can envision where the Pinetree Line AC&W Squadron just handed over the keys of the buildings to the Air Traffic Control function and walked away.

While 51 AC&W Squadron was operational, they made use of the CPS-5D search radar, and they had two TPS-501 height finders - thereby explaining the existence of three radar towers in the immediate area. Many of these structures remained in position for communications and/or storage for many years after the Air Traffic Control function was in place.