Snowbirds fly on tired wings??

Snowbirds’ Future

Airic – I sure hope you’re wrong. We see a lot of the Snowbirds at airshows down here. Here in the South-East we probably see them perform along with the Blues more than we see the T-birds perform, often in the company of the Skyhawks, the Army Parachute Team.
There’s also much to celebrate about with news of the new government’s policy to fund new equipment for the Canadian Forces – C-17s, new heavy choppers, new trucks for the Army and a push for recruiting in an effort to put more boots on the ground in Afghanistan – all this coming after decades of neglect.
As a former CF Infantry/Airborne officer myself, I’m hoping that this trend continues. The Canadians are among the best disciplined and highly trained soldiers and airmen in the world. Now they’re finally beginning to get some support from home. Personally, I believe that the Snowbirds will still be around, perhaps with new mounts in the near future. You’ve got to admit that they put on a spectacular show. Great for recruiting!
BTW, the last time I was in Picton, all the Tutors and T-Birds were lined up on the tarmac at Mountainview. In a way, it was a sad scene, an end of an era.

There’s only one Vancouver.

You are right, but it’s got ALL of BC’s rain. 😀 Maybe the rainfall is the reason the Brits like it so much?

But seriously folks – Vancouver’s a great city, and a great place to end up. Interestingly listed as No.1 or 2 of places to live in the Economist poll in the last few years. Smart move Jerry. Your local air museum is at Langley, and there’s flotaplanes in that thar Vancouver harbour.

Chop the Snowbirds and fund the CWH Lanc across the country. (Runs and hides…)

Lets hope in 5-10 years there are a few Canadian airshows left to warrant the Snowbirds existence. I doubt we will see the Snowbirds fly anything but the Tutors for the next 10 years.

Eric

Vancouver, BC

Hey, Brewerjerry, you’ll love Vancouver – my hometown!
Prettiest city in North America. Salt water in front of you and snow-capped mountains behind!
Now, there are many retread Brits in Victoria, on the Island, which is also beautiful, but nothing like Vancouver. There’s only one Vancouver. You’ll love it there. Good luck!
When you get a chance, drive across the Rockies or take the train to Calgary, Edmonton, or Banff. It’s a wonderful trip with majestic scenery, vastly different from the UK.
Or hop in an airplane and fly. It’s awesome from the air.

keep em flying

Hi,
they can’t retire them yet, I don’t emigrate to vancouver until next week..
cheers
jerry

Snow’s Hawk

That’s one cool profile, eh!

(Transplanted Canuck)

Looks pretty certain that this will be a reality then and makes sense all round! :rolleyes:

I think it would be a serious mistake to go with Hornets. The beauty of the Snowbirds, like the Red Arrows and other teams with trainer-types, is that they are always in view of the airshow audience. Not to take away from the skill and bravery of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, but the transition to the fast jets was a big mistake… they have a quick whiz by, and are gone for ages before they can turn back onto show center. The Snowbirds, like all of the other teams with trainers, are always on view and totally captivate their audiences. Keep with the trainer types!

Cheers,
Richard

Aren’t the current Hawk fleet leased aircraft? If so, they could not use these aircraft unless the CAF bought them outright or bought a new batch.

As I’m led to believe, there would be a ‘priority’ purchase by the Government for the Canadian Forces of up to 16 Hawks to serve as the dedicated mounts for the Snowbirds. General maintenance would be then handled through NFTC (Bombardier-Canadair) who hold the lease and ‘operate’ the current Forces ‘inventory’ of Hawks.

The F-5 would have been beautiful if they weren’t so prematurely (IMHO) retired… all were to receive comprehensive upgrades (some did) the only beneficiaries in their retirement were Botswana and various Canadian aviation museums. But (and there is always a ‘but’) one must remember that our ‘5s (CF-116) were introduced from 1968 and by now (given their previous role as Tac Fighters) would hardly be able fulfill a need.

Such ‘one-off’ purchases are not unheard of (Albert, you know of which I speak).. i.e.; Venezuela and the purchase of Pitts S.2s for their ‘Halcones’, Chile and their Pitts, and Extras for their ‘Halcones’… neither of whose air forces operated the type. While I recognize that Hawks v Extras/Pitts is like the proverbial apples and oranges comparison, the current state-of-affairs in the Canadian Forces almost dictates that the Snowbirds receive Hawks.

JJ

What about F5 Tigers? The Swiss use theirs to great effect, why not the Snowies!!

One slight problem – the CAF don’t operate F-5 Tigers and as the type is now out of production, they are not going to buy some second-hand just for the team! 😮

What about F5 Tigers? The Swiss use theirs to great effect, why not the Snowies!!

Aren’t the current Hawk fleet leased aircraft? If so, they could not use these aircraft unless the CAF bought them outright or bought a new batch.

The idea of fielding a 4-ship Hornet team has been ‘tossed about’. However, that could lead to a level of alienation within the Forces, since currently the Snowbirds are open to all ‘winged’ personnel to apply – whether from TacHelo, SAR, Transport or Hornet. A Hornet team would be strickly limited to those with Hornet experience.

The Hornets aren’t necessarily ‘stored’ – its more a matter of airframe rotation, where those not in active service are being rotated through for upgrades and maintenance and the older ones are being placed with museums. Our Hornets almost qualify as ‘Classics’ – this year’s ‘Demo’ bird from 425 Sqn is a ‘Legacy bird’ – she’s still original.

Here’s today’s editorial from the Ottawa Sun…
http://ottawasun.com/Comment/Editorial/2006/07/11/1678304.html

Any chance of them using F-18s? A long shot because of costs, but don’t they have some in storage?

8 plus 1 would be a good idea take out the second seat in the 9th plane and use it as a transport for spares.

replace them by hawks and make a smaller team of about 7/8 aircraft + 1 transport

agreed on the Hawks… Hornets would be pretty cool, but realistically thats not ‘fiscally feasible’ with a schedule of close to 60 performances per year. We saw the national hew and cry when the government made moves to shut down the ‘Snows’ several years ago, and I don’t think the Canadian public would mind too much seeing a reduced team – perhaps 7 Tutes – but it is the number of aircraft in the sky together which is one of the keys to their popularity.

One thing about the possibility of a ‘reduced’ team that shouldn’t be overlooked is how would they support themselves on the road. It’s my understanding that the current 12 aircraft deployed for shows are all required, not only as spares, but also as transportation for the ground/maintenance crews and the ever present stockpile of spare parts… tires, fuel pumps, electrical etc. – there’s no ‘big bird’ following the ‘Team’ around.

If I had the bucks, I’d chase down a few Sabres and form a civilian reincarnation of the ‘Golden Hawks’ – now that would turn heads at a few shows.

Nice bit of history there contrailJJ thanks. Yes it does seem strange they are historic now.. Still think they should replace the “toots” with the hawk.

Peter,

I read the same article in Sunday’s Ottawa paper… it still strikes me as strange that we discuss the present day Air Demonstration Squadron on the Historic Board.

I still had to shake my head at the possible mis-interpretation of the article… It should have been made clear that while the Tutor was introduced in 1963, the Snowbirds have only been in existence since 1970-71.

Oh well, with the new ‘mood’ on the Hill, at least we can now hope for a prioritizing of funds for a replacement – most likely Hawks since they are ‘in service’ – I certainly wouldn’t want to see the ugly step-sister of the PC-9 as our national display mount.

Some of the original ‘Snowbirds’ had flown with the ‘Golden Centennaires’ in 1967. While in 1970, the majority of the Tutors in CAF service were bare-metal, corrosion issues on the former gold and blue-painted Centennaires necessitated a coat of paint to protect the airframes – hence a lead-n to the great ‘Snowbird’ name.

James