A report from yesterday
When I arrived around 3h30, the escort planes (a Mustang and a KittyHawk) were on the tarmac (?) a few feet away. The pilots arrived in a jeep, climbed into the aircraft, started their engines and took off. Just that sound/sight/smell (engine fumes.they were that close to us) experience was worth the ‘hassle’ of going there!
It was a beautiful warm, cloudless autumn day. The forests of the nearby Gatineau hills, dappled with splotches of early fall colours, provided a great background and made the wait enjoyable.
After a half hour, the three planes were sighted a few miles away. They were doing a circuit around the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
They came back after about 20 minutes and did a fly-by over the landing strip, giving everyone a good look and listen. The two escorts then peeled away into a steep climb, engines roaring. What a scene!
The whole proceedings from the take-off of the fighter escorts to the opening of public access to the Lanc stretched over more than two hours.
Public access was very generous. When the Lanc was towed by the tail to its parking space for the night, its left wing passed about 2 feet directly over my head!
The crew then mingled with the public.
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Report and picture by Andre
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