Earlier this year, the Alberni Valley Regional Airport hosted an open house to celebrate the airport’s expansion.
READ MORE: Airport open house in Alberni Valley draws hundreds
But 100 years ago, air travel looked very different in the Alberni Valley.
Historian Jan Peterson recalls in her book The Albernis: 1860-1922 that the Alberni Valley entered the age of flight in May 1920, when a Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” flew into Port Alberni on a Saturday afternoon and landed on Lupsi Cupsi field (where Catalyst Paper is now located).
“The visit was sponsored by the Victoria Branch of the Aerial League of Canada,” said Peterson. “Pilots W.H. Brown and N.A. Goddard took fifty people in flights over the Alberni Valley.”
READ MORE: Author collects stories of commercial aviation in Port Alberni
This photo shows a man in front of the biplane, hand-cranking the propeller as a crowd watches.