Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 18 seconds.
This year, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 demo team has truly embraced the concept of community involvement at every airshow. A well-known example is the team encouraging people attending the show to take a selfie with the demo jet flying by in the background, and posting it on the team’s Facebook page.
At the Eastern Townships Airshow in Bromont, Que., last weekend, they took it a step further. Team technicians invited young children to act as the ground crew. Supervised at all times by their older counterparts, the children marshaled the aircraft into the stand, chocked the aircraft, and verified the Hornet to make sure demo pilot Captain Adam “Manik” Runge was okay to shut down. Once shut down, the children welcomed Captain Runge back to the ground, with high fives flying everywhere. The kids, young and old, were smiling as they walked from the jet to the waiting arms of their parents, with a truly unique experience to share with their friends and family after the show.
That experience may spark the dream of flying, maintaining or designing aircraft, or having a career in aviation. For the CF-18 demo team, getting the next generation to look skywards is probably the most important objective. The show in Bromont did just that.
