By Gary Watson | August 24, 2012 Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 41 seconds.
This year, the Abbotsford Airshow celebrated 50 years as Canada’s largest airshow and revelled in three days of sunshine, light winds and clear skies.
When the Abbotsford Flying Club decided to host its first airshow back in 1962, staff members researched weather patterns going back decades and found that the second weekend in August consistently had the best weather of the summer. So, the first airshow was held from Aug. 11-12, 1962. With the exception of a sequence of bad weather in the early 90s, the sun has almost always appeared; and, in some years, concrete ramp temperatures reaching 40C haven’t been uncommon. Spectators were relocated onto the grass infield in 1992, providing some relief from extreme temperatures.
A change in airshow rules required that the flightline be relocated from runway 01/19 to 07/25. Even with that change, however, homeowners on the south side of the runway must evacuate their property during the show, and the road is closed when the high performance jets are flying. The airshow puts the affected residents up in hotels, and this unique arrangement has allowed the show to continue.
The largest Abbotsford show was in 1986 during Expo 86, with an attendance of 300,000. In 1989, the bi-annual trade expo “Airshow Canada” (since discontinued) brought many Russian aircraft to North America for the first time.
Despite economic downturns, wars and diminishing military budgets, Abbotsford continued to host its annual airshow, with the exception of 1998, when the cumulative effect of a few years of bad weather, poor U.S. military participation and financial difficulties resulted in the cancellation of the show.
None of these issues were evident at the 2012 show. The static line was filled with large U.S. military aircraft, including a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, and a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. Also appearing was a Viper West F-16 Fighting Falcon and a P51 Mustang in a heritage flight, and a US Navy Super Hornet F-18F from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. The USAF Thunderbirds, frequent visitors at the show, also performed with their F-16s. In addition, the Royal Dutch Air Force also flew a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 from Holland just for the show.
The RCAF was in attendance with an Airbus CC-150 Polaris, a Lockheed Martin CC-130J Super Hercules, and a Lockheed CP-140 Aurora. The 2012 CF-18 Demo Hornet, several Tac-Air CF-18s from 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., and a host of smaller training aircraft were also present, along with the iconic Snowbirds aerobatic team. Vintage planes, warbirds, aerobatic aircraft and a variety of other acts entertained the crowd over a six-and-a-half-hour show.
One interesting act was a flyby of a North American B-25 Mitchell escorted by four Harvards and an A1-E Skyraider. This formation was literally designed overnight by the participating pilots to help fill a time slot reserved for Kent Pietsch, who had damaged his aircraft the week before. The Granley Family Airshows team was in attendance, with Ross Granley flying his Yak 18 and his father, Bud, flying the Fouga Magister jet trainer. In the Sunday performance, Bud had former 441 RCAF Squadron CO and current Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot, Billie Flynn, with him to critique his show.
All in all, the weather this year was ideal, with temperatures in the mid to high twenties with a light breeze. Attendance was up by 30 per cent compared to previous years, with an estimated attendance of 105,000 for the three-day show.
