Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rivercrest Airstrip (Main Street, RM of West St. Paul)

In 1951, First World War pilot Konrad Johannesson moved his Johannesson Flying Services to a half-mile strip of land in the Rural Municipality of West St. Paul next to the Red River that has been occupied by the River Springs housing development since the 1990s. The municipality fought the establishment of the airstrip and floatplane facility in court. In 1952, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Johannesson’s favour, establishing that federal jurisdiction applied to all matters pertaining to aviation. This ruling is still a landmark case in Canadian aviation. After Johannesson retired in 1967, the facility was operated by Gem Air until 1975.

Aerial view of the Rivercrest Airstrip (1955) Source: Brian Johannesson Seaplanes at the Rivercrest Airstrip on Red River (no date) Source: Brian Johannesson Seaplanes at the Rivercrest Airstrip on Red River (no date) Source: Brian Johannesson Aerial view of seaplane base on Red River (no date) Source: Brian Johannesson Aerial view of the former Rivercrest Airstrip (August 2019) Source: George Penner Aerial view of the former Rivercrest Airstrip (June 2020) Source: George Penner Site Location (lat/long): N49.99831, W97.04800 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Konrad Jonasson “Konnie” Johannesson (1896-1968)

Sources:

We thank Brian Johannesson for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by George Penner and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 September 2022

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