RCAF Station Portage La Prairie first opened in July 1940 as a wartime training site of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Since that date, it has proudly served the aircrew training needs of the RCAF and the Canadian Forces, and has become an integral part of Canadian aviation history. In 1989, in support of the Government of Canada’s plan to reduce expenditures, it was announced that CFB Portage La Prairie, one of the oldest and busiest flying training bases in Canada’s Air Force, would close its doors by 01 September 1992.

The primary role for RCAF Station Portage during the first years of its existence was that of a wartime training facility, with No. 14 Elementary Flying Training School providing flying instruction with the venerable Tiger Moth aircraft.

Trained more than 5000 students before the end of World War II

In 1941, the Station also became the home of No. 7 Air Observer School (AOS), with a mandate to train Air Observers to be Navigators, Bomb-Aimers, and Photographers. 7 AOS flew mainly the British designed Avro Anson, and trained more than 5,000 students before the end of World War II.

After the Second World War, Portage was deactivated as a flying base and used as a recruit school until 1949. The Base was reactivated in September 1952, and established with No. 2 Advanced Flying Training School flying the Harvard. In 1953, the Base entered the jet age with the introduction of the T-33 Silver Star. Some years later, in 1959, the Flying Instructors School (FIS) relocated to Portage La Prairie from Trenton, Ontario, to train instructors on the Chipmunk, Expeditor, T-33 and, in the mid-60s, the Tutor. The FIS, which served as a detachment of the Central Flying School for several years, eventually became a full-fledged unit of CFB Portage in 1985, providing instructor training on the Tutor, Jet Ranger and Kiowa helicopters, and the Musketeer. The FIS was restructured in Apr 1992 as a result of Base Closure. The Musketeer Flight was disbanded, the Rotary Wing Flight was incorporated into the new 3 CFFTS structure, and the Tutor portion of the FIS – the only part remaining – moved to CFB Moose Jaw on 30 Apr. RCAF Station Portage served in 1966/67 as the home of the Golden Centennaires, Canada’s aerobatic demonstration team and the forerunner of today’s Snowbirds. It also provided primary support for the famous Red Knight, and later sponsored several formation teams including the Vikings, the Dragonflies, and the Musket Golds. The professional legacy represented by the formation display teams of CFB Portage is a proud part of its aviation heritage.

In July 1970, No. 4 Flying Training School from Rivers, Manitoba, and No. 3 Flying Training at Portage were amalgamated to form No. 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training school (3 CFFTS). 3 CFFTS has since conducted flight selection and primary flying training using the Musketeer, and helicopter training (to Wings Standard since 1979) using the Kiowa and Jet Ranger. 3 CFFTS will remain at Portage after closure, to provide Wings level training on the Jet Ranger and the new King Air (Beech 90). 3 CFFTS will also conduct quality assurance for the privatized training and selection to be done by Canadair with its new Slingsby Firefly.

Since its establishment in 1940, CFB Portage has been an effective and productive flying training base, and a key contributor to the Canadian Air Force’s worldwide reputation as a premier aircrew training organization. The Base has trained more than 15,000 aircrew over the 52-year span of its history, including the pilots of several other countries including Jamaica, Tanzania, Belize, the Netherlands, Cameroon, and Turkey. Although it will cease to exist as a military base after 31 Aug 92, CFB Portage will nonetheless continue to exercise its training mandate as a civilian aerospace centre.

The Portage site, soon to be known as Southport Aerospace Centre, will remain the home of 3 CFFTS. The school, as a satellite unit of CFB Winnipeg, will continue to train CF pilots under the new contracted Flying Training and Support Programme. In cooperation with Canadair and Southport Aerospace Centre, 3 CFFTS will therefore perpetuate the training legacy that has been left to it by CFB Portage, and carry on the spirit of flying training.

CFB Portage is in the final stages of the closure process, which actively started on 1 Jan 92 with the initial redistribution of the public assets of the base. It was accelerated in Apr/ May 92 by the disbandment of the Primary Flying School, the move of the FIS to CFB Moose Jaw, the closure of the Control Tower, and the subsequent establishment of an interim tower facility. The closure was punctuated by Manitoba Airshow 1992 (20-21 Jun), which was dedicated on its first day to the 6th Commonwealth Aircrew Reunion, and, on its second day, to the members of CFB Portage past and present. It was further marked by the handover of the airfield infrastructure to Southport Aerospace on 30 Jun 92, and the transfer of responsibility for airfield operations and 3 CFFTS support to Canadair on the same date. The final chapter in the closure will unfold on 31 Aug 92, when 3 CFFTS becomes a satellite unit of CFB Winnipeg, and the base infrastructure is formally transferred to Southport Aerospace Centre Inc. through Public Works Canada. The transfer of responsibility for 3 CFFTS will occur at 1000 hrs, 31 Aug 92, by a signing ceremony in the 3 CFFTS All-ranks Mess. Base Closure will be recognized by a certificate-signing and flag-lowering ceremony at 1100 hrs at Base Headquarters.

CFB Portage will close with the style, grace, and dignity which have always been the hallmark of its existence. Base Closure has been effected through the strong support of AIRCOM HQ and NDHQ, and the unselfish and dedicated efforts of every member of CFB Portage. All are proud to have been involved in this final part of the life of this very proud Base, and to have been instrumental contributors to the establishment of the contracted Flying Training and Support Programme. We wish it the best of success in the years to come.

It has been a privilege to serve as the Base Commander at CFB Portage in this final hour. I extend my deepest gratitude and respect to all the military and civilian members of CFB Portage who have served with me over the last two years, for the effectiveness of their support and their direct contributions to the success of Base Closure. They have done themselves, and their country, very proud.

Per Ardua Ad Astra.