CYQS is operated by the City of St. Thomas although it is situated in Central Elgin Township.;
The airport was initially established in 1941 as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facility. The airport was operated as an R1 (Relief 1) facility for neighbouring Number 14 Flying Trainins School (Aylmer) and Number 4 Bombing and Gunnery School (Fingal). Neither the Aylmer or Fingal air training facilities are operating air fields at this time. Aylmer is now home to the Ontario Police College and Fingal is now the Fingal Wildlife Management Area and has a number of geocaches along with reminders of the previous air field which may be located while visiting that wildlife ares.
The St. Thomas air field was used by the Canadian Deparment of National Defence until the late 1940s as a relief air field for Aylmer and Fingal military air fields. While operating as a Royal Canadian Air Force detachment the air field had a small hospital, barracks, maintenance facilities and a hangar, which continues in use today.;
In 1970 the St. Thomas air field was purchased by the City of St. Thomas with major upgrades being undertaken in the 1980s and again in the early 2000s; and a few years ago a new hangar facility was added to better serve the business aircraft community.
The elevation of the air field is listed as being 779 feet/237 metres above sea level. What is the elevation at the location of the geocache? My GPS had an elevation reading of 762 feet at the location of the geocache.
Today the St. Thomas Municipal Airport is used for private aircraft operations and by the business aircraft community. Flight training and aircraft maintenance operations are also on site as well as a busy aircraft spraying operation and helicopter flight training as well.
The airfield has a 5,050 foot main runway and two shorter runways and is also rated as an instrument landing approved airfield. While placing the geocache I had the opportunity to watch an ag spray (some might call it a cropduster) take off. It required a very short take off, climbed slowly and certainly was not designed for speed; but was interesting to observe.
In addition, a very successful air show occurs at the St. Thomas Municipal Airport on a bi-annual basis.