Andrew,

very nice pics indeed… it shows that it’s been a while since my last visit when the Mustang and Buchon both shared space in the main hall with the Lanc.

indeed, it is finally nice to see the Beau under cover – as mentioned elsewhere, hopefully Mr. Potter of Vintage Wings could purchase TFC’s Beau (which I believe is for sale) get her airworthy and perhaps donate the ‘spare’ engines to CAM so they can finally do the Beau some justice.

another note that may interest some is that the Air Canada DC-9 did indeed fly in to Rockcliffe (3300 ft) when donated… as did the CF-188 Hornet (with arresting gear provided by 8 Wing Trenton)

not idle gossip (my source was one of the currators at the time) but there was a contingency plan to bring in one of the CC-137s (B707) when they retired – it would have involved landing at Uplands (YOW) and stripping the aircraft, refuelling with enough to make 2 approaches, and – wait for it…. positioning snipers to take out the mains. above all, what was required was an extremely deep frost to allow the runway to accept her weight. Fortunately/unfortunately the ‘137s were (IIRC) all purchased by the USN and incorporated into the E-8 J-STARS programme.

well, I can finally say I understand what everyone was going on about. pity this poor old ‘colonial’, but my hope is to one day spend a summer in the UK and do nothing but down some Bitter and hop from air show to air show… the north american air show is one thing, but from the pics/vids/stories I’ve seen and read, nothing outdoes the UK scene.

my deepest thanks and appreciation to any and all involved in putting the shows on and most of all keeping our beloved ‘beasties’ alive and flying!

JJ

I couldn’t guess a location but judging by the shadows – wing shape and exhaust appearing to be on the upper outboard portion of the cowling, I’d say she’s a Stirling.

JJ

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

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.

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

… or, not sure where they are today, but how about the beautiful red and white tails of the ‘Sundowners’?

Curious, a few years ago, there were several (6 I believe) ‘262 replicas under construction in the ‘States – some of which were pre-sold – IIRC they had Allison powerplants. Can anyone confirm if they were completed and where they may be today?

JJ