CF Snowbirds, CF-18 demo jet in Camrose for 'loud and fast' show
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will perform the first show of their 50th year in Camrose, Alta., on July 24 and 25.
"We are so excited about it," Maj. Brett Parker, who will fly the No. 7 aircraft during the Camrose Drive-In Airshow.
The show will feature not only the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, belovedly known by Canadians as the Snowbirds, but also demonstrations by the Canadian Forces CF18 Demo Team and CH-146 Griffon Tactical Helicopter.
"It's going to be a great show, actually. A lot of people have seen the Snowbirds," said Doug Lindseth, of Iron Cree Flying Club, which partnered with the Camrose Flying Club to organize the show.
"But this year we actually have a different helicopter coming along as well: the F18 Super Hornet, which we're all excited about. It's going to be fantastic. Lot's to cheer about."
The twin-engine fighter aircraft will be flown by Cpt. Dan Deluce, who served the tactical fighter squadron in Cold Lake, Alta., for three years and later instructed in the NATO flying program.
He was selected to pilot the 2020 show before it was cancelled.
His solo performance will last about 15 minutes, according to Cpt. Rachel Brosseau of the CF-18 Demo Team communications.
"He really just shows off the capabilities of the Hornet. So there's lots of different maneuvers he comes in and does over the airshow display area, things like the high speed pass, high alpha pass where he goes with the jets and goes really slow, different looping capabilities and 360 turns," Brosseau said.
"It's loud and it's fast."
The shows are the result of months of work – roughly half a year.
"Practice makes perfect," Parker explained.
"Over the course of that six months, we move around the formation, we move the players around to put together our show. And hopefully at the end of April when we put together our acceptance show that we'll take out onto the road to show all the Canadians, we're at our show spacing – which is roughly four feet – away from each other."
Months of prep work by organizers and volunteers, too.
The flying clubs are selling three kinds of tickets online by carload. They expect about 1,000 vehicles to attend.
"Fill the car up as much as you can. Bring Grandma, bring the kids, bring the cousins, bring your neighbour," Lindseth said.
Camrose Flying Club's Ron Grue added, "We're so fortunate to be able to host them in their 50th year and it's a great opportunity for kids.
"That's where all the pilots come from. They went to their show, they got inspired about flying, and that's why they're pilots in the Snowbirds."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.