What to do, what to do….. on a warm, sunny summer weekend? You could sit around the house hiding from the sun and heat, cut your grass or work in your garden. Sure. You could do that… but why would you when the weather is prime for an airshow and if you want an airshow with speed, thrills, excitement and noise then the Waterloo Airshow is the place to be!

Held in Breslau at the Waterloo Regional Airport, this annual event attracts performers from Canada and the United States including supersonic fighter jets, high-speed aerobatics, warbirds and much more.

The airshow has grown from an aviation expo, a static aviation event, into a full-blown, high performing spectacular show that draws crowds in from all over Southern Ontario and even a few of the states surrounding the Great Lakes region.

So, how does one tell when they're at an airshow that's going to be a successful and enjoyable one? Often, it's by the people who work and volunteer at the event and you'll not find a nicer group of people than the folks at the Waterloo Airshow. From the Director of Communications for Waterloo Airshow, Diana Spremo, to the ground crews that put up the tents, garbage bins, refuel & park airplanes, and all the other duties that have to be looked after before, during and after the airshow.

In the skies above the airport flew a wonderful assortment of aircraft including a USAF F-16 Viper East demonstration aircraft flown by Major Ryan “Rider” Corrigan in a spectacular and loud display that burned up the sky. Maj. Corrigan put the F-16 through its paces from high speed passes just below the sound barrier to the complete other end of the speed scale with a "down and dirty" slow pass. It was loud. It was fast. It was tremendous!

Not to be out-performed RCAF pilot Capt. Erick O'Connor took the controls of the CF-18 2011 Demonstration Hornet and burned up the sky with the specially painted fighter jet. From his high-speed "banana pass" to the vertical climb in after-burner, Capt. O'Connor showed his fellow Canucks, and his USAF counter-parts, what this frontline fighter can do. It was loud. It was fast. It was brilliant!

Slowing things down a bit was American aerobatic pilot Kent Pietsch who put on three different demonstrations showing off his impressive flying skills and the aerobatic performance of his 1942 Interstate Cadet aircraft. From an aerobatic display, literally to ground level, to his high altitude ballet with the aircraft engine shut off, and his finale where he puts the little airplane down on the top of a moving RV, it is, bar none, one of the most impressive aviation exhibitions you'll ever see.

Also showing the crowd what a high performance biplane can do in the hands of a professional aerobatic pilot, Michael Wiskus flew a high adrenalin, heart stopping, stomach turning show in his bright orange Lucas Oil Pitts. Tossing the airplane about the sky in G-pulling, blood pumping manoeuvres, Wiskus made it look easy, if not dangerous. One of the most impressive parts of his show is a ground level, cross-controlled, top-side pass that, with one wrong flick of the controls, would send the airplane tumbling down the runway.

Since you've read Part I, be sure to return to Barnstormers.com e-flyer next week for Part II of Waterloo's Captains of the Clouds.

Return to eFLYER