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St. Stephen Municipal Airport The St. Stephen (Giddens Memorial) Airport is owned and operated by the Town of St. Stephen. It is located on 44 acres one kilometre from Town limits and has a 3000 x 75 feet lighted runway. The Airport is used by a number of Federal and Provincial agencies including the RCMP, Air Ambulance, Forest Protection, Coast Guard and Search and Rescue, as well as several charter services, the St. Croix Valley Flying Club, and tourists and private pilots. The economic potential of the airport, not in terms of its being self-supporting financially, but in terms of benefit to the Town and Charlotte County, is being analyzed as a realizable possibility. This, however, will always be impeded by the shortness of the runway, which, to accommodate larger aircraft, would need to be lengthened by some 1000 feet. A runway of 4000 feet is deemed by many informed studies to be the minimum suitable for stimulating usage, and thus increasing passenger, and, more importantly for a small airport, cargo levels. The soil fill for the proposed extension site has been completed, but testing of this soil as suitable for runway base is mandatory in advance of proceeding to any consideration of preparation of the runway site, and the necessary paving and re-paving. No funds currently are available for this purpose. Further information regarding background papers, relevant Canadian research, and potential benefit to the Town and County can be obtained through the undersigned. H. Slegtenhorst
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