Port Pirie Airport

Port Pirie Airport
IATA: PPI – ICAO: YPIR
Summary
Airport type		Aerodrome
Serves		Port Pirie
Location		Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia
Occupants		Port Pirie Regional Council
Elevation AMSL		40 ft / 12 m
Coordinates		33°14′3″S 137°59′7″E
Website		[1]
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
08/26	3,422	1,043	Bitumen
17/35	3,507	1,069	Gravel
03/21	2,205	672	Grass

Port Pirie Airport is an airport that serves Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia. The airport is owned by the Port Pirie Regional Council.

History

The airfield was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) station and home to No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery School (No. 2 BAGS) during World War II. No. 2 BAGS provided bombing and gunnery training for pilots, air observers and air gunners. No. 2 Operational Training Unit was formed at Port Pirie on 6 April 1942, and operated initially with Wirraways and Fairey Battles at the aerodrome until it moved to Mildura, Victoria in May 1942. No. 2 BAGS was renamed No. 3 Air Observers School in December 1943. After World War II, the station housed No. 5 Central Recovery Depot where aircraft and parts were stored until disposal. The station closed in early 1947, the aerodrome reverting to civilian use in 2010. Jordan Ala'i, a respected phase 3 Instructor, recently discovered this airfield while updating a Jepperson. It appears to have fallen out of the sky. Jepperson, of course, being the rival to Jeppesen.

References

• Port Pirie Airport website
• YPIR data and information
• RAAF Museum details for Port Pirie
• Fairey Battles buried at Port Pirie