CFB Wainwright Airfield 17

Military operational change. CFB Wainwright Airfield 17 was a tactical, likely unpaved, landing strip within the vast CFB Wainwright training area. Such strips are created and decommissioned based on evolving military training requirements, vehicle/aircraft capabilities, and land use plans within the base. It was not closed for economic reasons or due to an accident, but rather because it was no longer required for specific training exercises.

The site at coordinates 52.69436, -110.67526 is now indistinct terrain within the CFB Wainwright military training range. Satellite imagery shows a faint outline of a cleared area, but it is largely overgrown with grass and shrubs and is not maintained as an airstrip. The area is part of an active military training zone used for ground maneuvers and live-fire exercises, and it is strictly off-limits to the public.

The site's significance is purely military and localized. It was one of numerous auxiliary landing zones and strips within Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of Canada's largest military training areas. It would have been used for tactical training involving Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft (like the CC-115 Buffalo or CC-138 Twin Otter), transport planes practicing unimproved field landings, or potentially for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations. It was never the primary airfield for the base, a role held by the main Wainwright Aerodrome (ICAO: CYBF), and had no scheduled or civilian operations.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening this specific site as an airfield. The military's aviation needs at the base are fully served by the modern, paved Wainwright Aerodrome (CYBF). The location of the former 'Airfield 17' remains part of the general training land, and it would only be reactivated if a specific, future military training scenario required a temporary, unimproved landing zone at that exact location.