Photography

Snowbirds

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We recently watched a Snowbirds air show: the Snowbirds are the Royal Canadian Air Force’s military aerobatics flight demonstration team. The show was delayed by a thunderstorm, but once it passed, they took to the air. Here are some highlights.

Seven of the team’s nine aircraft against a clearing sky …

… doing their close quarter, high speed passes …

… punctuated by fabulous starburst maneuvers …

… including a heart-shaped aerial attitude that I wasn’t able to capture as I wanted to watch the show as well as take pictures …

… among other fantastic maneuvers that are a wonderful demonstration of flying prowess. Here’s a short video.

It was a great show and brought a big smile to the face of this old pilot.

Happy Sunday.

42 thoughts on “Snowbirds”

    1. Thank you very much. I hadn’t seen them in a long time, either and really enjoyed their performance. Yes, there was a bird strike during a performance in Kamloops in 2020 that caused the death of the public affairs officer who was on board. Lightening and bird strikes are two things pilots are always concerned about.

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        1. I checked on whether there was a more recent accident than that one and found that there was a takeoff engine failure accident in 2022. That one didn’t occur during a show and there were no fatalities. Nothing since then though.

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  4. Such a thrill for you Lynette. I think the humidity in the air from the storm made it even more dramatic. Great captures. I missed their performance in Edmonton, after the Camrose air show. Now I wish I would have gone. Happy Sunday. Allan

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    1. Thanks, Allan. Yes, I really enjoyed seeing them again; it had been quite a long time. I agree that the remaining dark clouds made a dramatic backdrop. They unfortunately won’t be back to Alberta this summer as they’re going to Ontario and Québec after their performances in B.C. There’s always next year, though.

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  11. Wonderful views. Last time I saw an air display was in Brighton with the RAF “Red Arrows. They swooped so low over the sea, that one plane clipped the mast of a yacht. The pilot veered out to sea and ejected from the doomed aircraft. Always need to admire the pr3 ilion of these pilots!

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    1. Thank you very much. They put on quite a show. These military demonstration teams have quite a few more accidents than people realise, I think, especially from bird strikes and wingtip collisions. I hadn’t heard of a yacht mast collision before but it’s not surprising, really. Glad that the pilot ejected safely. There’s definitely a lot of chutzpah!

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  12. That video maneuver I’ve seen up close. I travel the highway just south of their base on a regular basis, and while it is likely frowned upon, every once in a while the highway drivers (few and far between on this very remote rural road) can get a fly by! I stopped the car with my 2 year old and we actually got out and they flew back by. It was super cool!

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    1. Yes, it must be wonderful to see them on a regular basis like that! I was driving past Moose Jaw years ago and pulled over to watch them practising. Yes, I probably shouldn’t have been distracted but it was definitely safer just to pull over!

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