EDMONTON -- Flying has always been a dream for Kieran Tookey.
“Having the ability to go wherever you want in the sky, it’s truly amazing,” the 23-year-old said.
And from a young age, Canada’s Aerobatic Team, the Snowbirds, were among his idols.
“That’s pretty much the ultimate goal for every young kid who wants to be a pilot. They’re your heroes flying around up there,” Tookey said.
He’s watched them perform many times, but Friday when the Snowbirds did a flyover Edmonton, Tookey had a unique opportunity to watch it from the air.
“We were flying about two thousand feet above them,” he said.
“It was spectacular. They’re really hard to spot without the smoke on, with the smoke on, yeah, once in a lifetime.”
Tookey earned his pilot licence a year ago. The man who taught him wasn’t surprised when he found out what Tookey did.
“Since licensing he’s found every opportunity to do interesting and challenging flights,” said Flight Instructor Attila Racz.
Tookey said they made sure flying above the Snowbirds was allowed before taking off.
“We let them know our intentions and what we were planning on doing and they said ‘Yeah, no problem’,” said Tookey.
The young pilot is now working on his commercial pilot licence but said being part of the Snowbirds will always be a fantasy.
“I’d love to do it. Honestly it’s probably not going to happen but that’d be cool,” he said.
