To see the BIG PICTURE of the Dauphin Barker Airfield you need only to sit in your vehicle east of this cache with binoculars in hand and observed the whole airfield with airplanes taxing, taking off, circling overhead and landing. Care must be taken along this gravel road as it is a main north-south route for traffic to and from Dauphin.
The Dauphin (Lt. Col W.G. (Billy) Barker, VC Airport is located approximately 5.6 kilometers south of Dauphin, Manitoba. Formerly called the Dauphin Regional Airport it was renamed after the Canadian WW1 fighter ace is a public airfield. The main runway that runs NW to SE is paved and 1306 meters in length and is joined to the small terminal building by taxiways with other taxiways giving access to the runway ends. There is no tower but a beacon light and runway light is activated remotely when flights arrive. During World War II, this airfield was a busy place with several training wings and gunnery schools using it. Today, it is used by: military training flights that support a local air cadet squadron; medivac flights from northern Manitoba; and a few private aircraft. Previously there was an airline out of Winnipeg that flew almost daily flights but fuel prices and low usage caused them to withdraw their services. There is still talk about reinstating some scheduled flights to facilitate various government agencies accessing the Parkland Region of Manitoba.
Qba'g pebff gur srapr.