The 416-acre Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport (NCDRA), located on River Road in south Pelham, has roots that date back over 80 years. The main hanger is the original structure erected in the early 1940s by the Royal Canadian Air Force, when WWII pilot training was conducted on the site. In 2015, the airport was renamed to honour famed Canadian aviator and Pelham resident Dorothy Rungeling.
NCDRA has two paved runways (3500 and 2670 feet), one 2300 foot turf runway, and also has seaplane landing access on the Welland River. NCDRA can accommodate glider training and parachuting for its user groups, which include the 87 Eagle Squadron Air Cadets, Niagara Skydive Centre, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Flight 149, and the St. Catharines Flying Club.
The airport also serves a number of clients requiring inside hangar space, outside tie-downs, and private hangars, including Accipiter Radar Technologies (which has the most modern hanger on site, although several new hangars are in the process of being constructed.)
Unlike Niagara Regional Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is classified as an international airport, NCDRA has “aerodrome” status. Security is provided by cameras, not personnel. There is no control tower. NCDRA has a total budget of approximately $400,000, with about half of that amount contributed by the four sub-municipalities which manage it, Welland, Port Colborne, Pelham, and Wainfleet.
