Totally OT photos!

[Popoki_Nui]

One (and best known) of the Canadian Forces' airshow ambassadors, 431 Squadron Air Demonstration Team "the Snowbirds" (http://www.snowbirds.forces.gc.ca/site/index_e.asp) at practice today over Comox BC.
We did a 6-hour, 500km road trip upisland to watch their twice-daily practice sessions prior to the airshow season. The weather was terminally dull, but the drive was worth every moment. Just a few pix of our day.

[shootingstar]

cool! I've always enjoyed watching the Snowbirds. Those aerobatic pilots are amazing. Such risks they take.

Have seen several air shows that included them. Frankly if they weren't in an air show, not sure I would even attend.

[7rider]

Interesting.
And great pix, as always....
Do you know what kind of planes they're flying?

[bmccasland]

Being an AirForce Brat, I grew up with annual air shows by the USAF Thunderbirds, and locally the Navy Blue Angels. I have to admit, I like the smell of jet fuel in the morning. My dogs on the otherhand, never did like their low level fly by's.

I remember riding my bike around the back side of the base to get closer to the runway to watch the Thunderbirds practice before an airshow when I was a kid living on base in Michigan. The trick was to not get too close and get caught by the MPs. (military police):cool:

[Tuckervill]

I love airshows, too. My son is a huge Blue Angels fan.

I just have to say, those planes look like almost like a group of little Cessnas in that first picture, not the scary fighter jets I was expecting!

Karen

[Starfish]

Oh, PN, thank you! I love these photos. My dad was an air force pilot, and I love the air shows!

[Possegal]

Add me to the list of air force pilot offspring. Though my daddy actually flew for the RCAF!! :) I get a little misty every time I see a military flyover. As a kid, any time a plane of any kind flew low, my father would say "someone has a sweetheart!". That was because as a young pilot, he would "impress" my mother by buzzing the trees at her parents house. He had no idea how unimpressed my mother was by that.

And from their website, they say they fly CT-114 Tutor jets. Since my dad was a WW2 pilot, I know nothing about them. :)

[Popoki_Nui]

Do you know what kind of planes they're flying?

They're flying Canadair CL-114 Tutor trainer. The Snowbirds chose the Tutor for its ruggedness and reliability, and because it is slower. They do extremely high-precision, close-quarter maneuvers using nine aircraft; the Tutor allows them to be more up close and personal in front of the airshow audience. Faster jets like F-16's and 18's (including our own CF-18 Demo Team) are certainly impressive, but the shows tend to take a much larger piece of sky.

bmc: lol. ex-airforce brat here too. I still love that kerosene smell. :D

S.

[Pax]

Being an AirForce Brat, I grew up with annual air shows by the USAF Thunderbirds, and locally the Navy Blue Angels. I have to admit, I like the smell of jet fuel in the morning. My dogs on the otherhand, never did like their low level fly by's.

I remember riding my bike around the back side of the base to get closer to the runway to watch the Thunderbirds practice before an airshow when I was a kid living on base in Michigan. The trick was to not get too close and get caught by the MPs. (military police):cool:

Same here! I still try to ID jets by sound. :p

I remember when my dad was lower level enlisted, we lived in the Base Housing at the end of the longest runway (aka the B52 runway)! Nothing could jump start the adrenaline like a B52 taking off a hundred feet over your roof.

[Tuckervill]

Hey, Queen, my husband tells the same story about his time as an AF brat in South Dakota!

Karen

[Brandi]

I have been to a few air shows myself. It is really a thrill. I got to see the SR-71 Blackbird fly at the last show I went to. OMG the flybye's were insane!

[DDH]

I would love to go to an airshow sometime. They don't have them often around here and when they have DH has always been working or something.
Those pictures look incredible.