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ISSUE
181 - August 2011
Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed
1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week
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Great
Lakes and Great Friends - Part I |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Roslin, Ontario, Canada |
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Canadian Air Force 2011 Demonstration
Team CF-18 Hornet. |
In Southwestern Ontario in the small
town of St. Thomas the Great Lakes International Airshow
takes place once every two years. Located and hosted at
the St. Thomas Municipal Airport, a former BCATP (British
Commonwealth Air Training Plan) base, it's a wonderful
venue for a small town airshow with a big line-up of aircraft. |
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Support for the
airshow came from Canada and the USA. In from Tulsa, Oklahoma
came four F-16 Fighting Falcons, one shown here in after-burner,
left. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration Team is
always a crowd pleaser, right. |
Spectators from across Ontario and
bordering US states make their way to the airshow to see
both Canadian and US aviation acts and aircraft. Some of
those attending this year included the Canadian Air Force
2011 display CF-18 Hornet, Canadian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration
Team, US Navy F-5's, US F-16 Fighting Falcons (3 from Vermont
and 4 from Tulsa), assorted warbirds and more. |
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SAR (Search & Rescue)
tech descending in a hazy, dull gray sky, left,
and nearing
touchdown in front of the airshow crowd, right. |
Despite the low ceiling and rain
on Saturday, the airshow went ahead with only a few relatively
minor changes in the program. Two SAR (Search & Rescue)
jumpers managed to jump from the CF CC-130 Hercules however
the Canadian Forces Parachute Team, the Skyhawks, were
not able to jump due to the low ceiling. As the day progressed,
the weather improved enough that no other acts were cancelled,
though some were modified to allow for the weather conditions. |
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Canadian Forces
CH-146 Griffon helicopter being put through its paces early
in the show, left. The 31st Canadian Brigade Group RCR, with
support from the Griffon helicopter, in a mock combat, defence
of the airport, right (Photo by Janice M. Boyd). |
Canadian Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopter
put on a nice solo demonstration and then returned with
the 31st Canadian Brigade Group, RCR (Royal Canadian Regiment)
in a mock combat in defence of the airfield. Operating
a pair of LAV's (Light Armoured Vehicle) and a Bison Armoured
Vehicle, several 'armed' troops exited the three vehicles
and took up position in a fire-fight against the enemy.
Support was requested and the Griffon arrived with additional
troops. The enemy was repelled and the airshow resumed! |
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One of the biggest
attractions is one of only two flying Lancaster bombers left
in the world, this one from the Canadian Warplane Heritage
Museum, left. Another favourite of airshow crowds and also
from CWH is their beautiful B-25J Mitchell, right. |
Always a highlight at airshows,
Canadian Warplane Heritage flew their Avro Lancaster Mk
X and their B-25J Mitchell, offering the crowd some super
views of these two vintage, World War II bombers. The airplanes
were flown in that morning and arrived to a nasty crosswind
that gave the Lanc crew a workout on arrival. However,
the winds settled during their official performance and
the take-offs and landings by the crews of both airplanes
were uneventful. |
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Three F-16 Fighting
Falcons from Vermont break overhead the field, left.
F-16
- Loud and proud, in full after-burner, right. |
Coming in from Vermont were three
F-16 Fighting Falcon's, burning up the sky with several
passes by all three jet fighters. Approaching individually,
gear down in landing configuration, they went to full after-burner
and accelerated over the runway, climbing away for another
approach. Loud! Fast! Exciting! |
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Canadian Air
Force 2011 Demonstration Hornet pilot Captain Erick O'Connor
pulls the CF-18 up in a full after-burner climb on take-off,
left. Top-side view of the paint scheme on the 2011 Demonstration
Hornet, right. |
Not to be outdone, CF-18 2011 Demonstration
pilot Captain Erick O'Connor settled into the cockpit of
his Hornet and put on an equally loud, fast and exciting
demonstration that started with a high "G" pull-up
on take-off. Putting the Hornet through its paces, Capt.
O'Connor showed the crowd what the CF-18 can do in the
hands of an experienced pilot. Sporting a paint scheme
honouring Canadian military families, the colourful aircraft
wowed the crowd when Capt. O'Connor performed an arrestor
hook landing completing his performance. |
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History in the
air, the only flying example of a Curtiss-Wright SB2C Helldiver
entertained the airshow crowd with several passes including
this top-side view, left. The Helldiver on final, just over
the threshold, right. |
Switching gears, the show turned to
some history by way of the only flying example Curtiss-Wright
SB2C Helldiver left in the world. The Commemorative Air Force
historic aircraft took to the skies and performed several
wonderful passes showing off the top and bottom sides of
the airplane. The Helldiver was fully restored in the late
1980s after an emergency landing nearly destroyed the airplane. |
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The largest
transport aircraft in the Canadian Forces is the CC-177 (C-17)
Globemaster III seen here in a high speed pass and turn out
over the airfield in a rainy sky, left. Max performance take-off
by the Globemaster III, right. |
Coming in from CFB Trenton, Ontario
was the CC-177 (C-17) Globemaster III. The big airplane
performed a high-speed pass, turning tightly over the airfield
and into a circuit for landing. This brute of an airplane
touched down and stopped in a distance that would rival
most Cessna 172's. The flight crew then backed the aircraft
up along the runway to perform a max performance take-off,
departing the circuit and airshow with a wave of the wings. |
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Canadian Harvard
Aircraft Association/Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team Harvards
landing after their performance. |
The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association's
team of Dave Hewitt, Kent Beckham and Pete Spence flew
an aerobatic display in the cloudy skies. Known as "CHAT" (Canadian
Harvard Aerobatic Team), the three aircraft are flung about
the sky in a graceful dance in their 70 year old airplanes.
The Harvard, or T-6 Texan in the USA, was a superb training
aircraft for the RCAF for many years. It flew in a variety
of countries under an assortment of different names and
Marks and many still fly today, worldwide.
The Great Lakes
International Airshow is a wonderful example of cooperation
between Canada and the United States of America. It's what
friendship is all about. Next week we'll return to St.
Thomas for Part II and more American and Canadian airshow
participation. |
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