Vancouver Harbour Control Tower
Encyclopedia
Granville Square
Granville Square is a prominent tower located at 200 Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver's Financial District. Completed in 1973, it stands at 142 m or 30 storeys high, making it one of the tallest buildings in the city...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Built in 1973 it remains the highest air traffic control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
in the world, in the city with one of the world's highest levels of seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
activity.
In 2009 the tower handled 54,741 aircraft movements, the 32nd busiest control tower in Canada. It is also the 8th busiest airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in BC and the busiest water aerodrome in Canada. Itinerant aircraft movements (from one airport to another) for the aerodrome were 54,711 while local movements were 30. The small number of local movements is because float training and circuits are discouraged in the busy Vancouver Harbour
Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
.
The major floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
operators are Harbour Air
Harbour Air
Harbour Air is a scheduled service, tour and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The airline specializes in routes between Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Sechelt, Comox and the Gulf Islands, primarily with de Havilland Canada floatplanes...
and West Coast Air
West Coast Air
West Coast Air is a scheduled airline operating de Havilland Canada float planes, with scheduled flights from downtown Vancouver and the Richmond Floatplane base at Vancouver International Airport to Victoria, Nanaimo, Comox, the Sunshine Coast, and Whistler. The company also flies tours and...
. Both of these operators offer scheduled passenger service to Victoria Harbour and Nanaimo Harbour on Vancouver Island. In addition, they fly charters to many small communities and harbours along the BC coast
British Columbia Coast
The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....
. Other floatplane operators in Vancouver Harbour include Salt Spring Air
Salt Spring Air
Salt Spring Air is the only floatplane company based on Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled flights, charter air service and tours based in Ganges and specializes in routes between the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island...
, Whistler Air and Kenmore Air Services. Floatplanes commonly seen in Vancouver Harbour include de Havilland Beavers
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
(DHC2), de Havilland Turbine Otters
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...
(DH3T) and de Havilland Twin Otters
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
(DHC6).
Helicopter activity is also extensive in Vancouver Harbour with the floating Vancouver Harbour Heliport located on the waterfront, east of the control tower. One of the busiest public heliports in Canada, the Harbour Heliport is used by Helijet
HeliJet
Helijet International is a helicopter airline and charter service based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled services and has a charter division servicing the film, television, aerial tour and general charter markets, as well as air ambulance services...
and other helicopter operators such as Talon Helicopters and Blackcomb Helicopters. Helijet offers scheduled passenger service to Victoria Harbour Heliport using 12-passenger Sikorsky S-76
Sikorsky S-76
The Sikorsky S-76 is an American medium-size commercial utility helicopter. The S-76 is powered by two turboshaft engines, which drive both the main and tail rotors, each with four blades...
helicopters.
Aviation activity in Vancouver Harbour also includes many overflying aircraft. These include recreational scenic flights, photo flights, banner tows, traffic watch aircraft and police aircraft.