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The Royal Canadian Air Force 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (Snowbirds) will be seen at major airshows across Canada as well as performing at smaller communities with mid-week events.
It may not feel like it right now, but spring isn’t too far away. That means it’s time for Canadian pilots, museums and aviation enthusiasts to begin planning their summer events! 2016 looks to be another great year, with several notable airshows scheduled across the country.
The Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds air demonstration team and CF-18 Hornet demonstration team are currently training new personnel. On April 6, the teams will head to Comox, B.C., for the final two weeks of training. Since both teams spend a good portion of the summer travelling across North America and away from their home bases, they use Comox to test their self-sufficiency in the field.
The teams appear at many of the same events, and this year they will start their official show season with several appearances in the United States. In May, the Snowbirds and the CF-18 Hornet will perform at five locations in the United States, including Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and New York. Each year, the CF-18 Hornet is painted in a different theme. This year’s jet is a salute to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with the fighter painted in an attractive yellow and blue scheme.
Check out the official 2016 Snowbird show schedule here. And here is the official CF-18 Hornet demo schedule.
In June, the teams will appear at several airshows in Ontario and Quebec. Base Borden, CFB Trenton and St. Thomas are the three major Ontario events. It has been several years since these locations have held a full-scale airshow, so the events are highly anticipated. Quebec will see the Snowbirds and CF-18 demo at Quebec City for a mid-week show, and in Gatineau for Vintage Wings of Canada’s Hadfield Summit.
Pete McLeod, Canada’s only Red Bull Air Race pilot will perform at the Eastern Townships Airshow in Quebec in August.
In July, the Snowbirds and the Hornet will perform in Yellowknife, N.W.T.; Flin Flon, Man.; and in Cold Lake and Whitecourt in Alberta. The Snowbirds will finish the month with two performances at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., the world’s largest airshow.
Abbotsford will host its international airshow from Aug. 12-14. The teams will them move east for shows at Bromont, Que., and Charlo, N.B., during the last two weekends of August. The Snowbirds and CF-18 Hornet will return to Brantford, Ont.for a mid-week airshow just before the Canadian International Airshow in Toronto on Labour Day weekend. London will host the last full airshow in Canada from Sept. 17 to 18.
Many of these shows will feature Canadian civilian airshow acts such as Canada’s only wingwalker, Carol Pilon; Red Bull Air Race pilot, Pete McLeod; and glider aerobatic pilot Manfred Radius.
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) in Hamilton, Ont., will hold several events over the summer. On May 28, the museum will have a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan fly-in featuring Second World War training aircraft. Flyfest will be held on Father’s Day weekend in June, with the museum offering rides in its aircraft. As well, the organization will debut a new temporary paint scheme for the Avro Lancaster, which will be marked as Lancaster “Lady Orchid” for the summer. During the first weekend in August, the museum will hold its Hamilton Airshow. For a complete list of CWHM events, visit this site.
Mark these dates on your calendars! The snow may be here now, but soon it will be airshow season once again.
