Last Canada Remembers Airshow

[Low-n-Slow]

Sitting at my desk (about a mile off the end of the local airport's main runway) when I hear the growl of big radials. Run outside to watch Miss Mitchell (B-25) turn low overhead onto final. Must be doing media runs - carrying print and TV reporters on promotional bumps prior to the Canada Remembers airshow this weekend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. http://www.canadaremembersairshow.com/index.php
Gonna be a sad one as it has been announced as the last - new housing development is encroaching on the show box (why the ##$!%!! would anyone want to build a housing development right off the end of a busy commercial runway??!).

The show has been downsized from previous years, but the Snowbirds will be up (just a 20 min hop from their home base), along with the CF-18 demo flight, a restored CF-86 Golden Hawk (RCAF demo team predecessors to the snowbirds), the Pietsch dog and pony show, Julie Clark, a local collection of Tiger Moth/Gypsy Moth/Harvard trainers and others. Static displays are coming in from the U.S. Air National Guard F-16/KC-135/C-130 - (thanks for coming up Guys ), NATO trainers (same base as Snowbirds), Canadian Military and civilian aircraft.

The show has been billed as Canada's largest annual Salute to Veterans so will be doubly missed. Each year the veternas parade into show center at the beginning of the show for a salute from the crowd and are on hand all weekend with a diplay tent where people can view memorabilia and talk to veterans about their experiences. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Lancaster flew over for a few passes in tribute last weekend but unfortunately couldn't stay the week for the show. Going to be a long treck to find an airshow next year.

Oops here come those R-2600's again - gotta run. I'll try to get some pix up after the show.

cheers
Scott

[Stevo]

Re: Last Canada Remembers Airshow

I remember flying FRED (the C-5) into Saskatoon a bunch of years ago for that show. You guys really knew how to make us southerners welcomed. When we departed on Monday I think half the city lined the airport fence just to see us take to the skies. Good times.
Sorry to hear the air show will be no more after this year.

[3dWrightBrother]

Re: Last Canada Remembers Airshow

Here's a poster from one of the Canada Remembers Air Shows- believe it's from 95 but I'm not sure. Didn't actually get to attend any of them, moved to Nevada before they started, but saw this poster in the restaurant my sister worked in back home and she saved it and sent it to me. Most of my family is still there. Show was pretty much rained out this year from what I've heard.
Russ

[Low-n-Slow]

Re: Last Canada Remembers Airshow

Yup, great weather Friday, record rainfall Saturday and Sunday, sunny skys on Monday. The parking and unpaved display areas were under several inches of water all weekend. Zero to a few hunnert foot ceilings.

The organizers and sponsors got together and rented the arena across the highway from the airport and despite the rain several thousand people came out and filled the place to salute the veterans.

Then we trooped outside into the pouring rain and Miss Mitchell went up into the soup for a flypass. I got a couple of fuzzy shots before both me and the camera were drenched - Hey I got prop blur (well, OK I got everything blur).

I thought that was the windup - who could possibly be crazy enough to fly in this stuff? Jumped in the car and headed out... forgot the Pietschs were here ... rookie mistake. So as I'm headin down the highway here comes a pair of planes at about a hundred feet off the deck with smoke on! Rock on guys.

I remember flying FRED (the C-5) into Saskatoon a bunch of years ago for that show...

Hey Stevo maybe you're in one of my favourite flying memories. I use to go up occasionally with a friend who was just gettin a few hours to keep his license current. So one Monday after the arishow he ask's if I want to do a few bumps? Sure thing! So we toodle out the taxiway in our C-152, pull up on the ready pad and call into the tower for clearance. It's usually really quite midmornings (Saskatoon airport ain't exactly O'Hare) so are a but surprized when control asks us to hold. I'm right seat and the runways off to our left so my freind Steve says "take a look and see if you can spot anything comin?"
I look.
Pause.
"Uh, yeah, for sure we wanna hold here Steve".
About 5 seconds later the C-5 that had been at the show blows past our nose and down the runway on the deck in a departure salute. We waited a looong time before puttering the mighty Cessna out for our takeoff roll. But BIG grins!
Thanks for comin up Stevo, I always took the tour through the heavy lifter when she was here.

cheers
Low

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Last Canada Remembers Airshow

My heart goes out to you. I know your pain. Never been to Canada, but this totally brings back sad memories of the last airshow at Moffett Field, California in 1992, a show I had been attending since I was a child in the 60's.

Sponsored by the Navy, it was always free, yet you were almost guaranteed an excellent show, with the Blue Angels, Several NASA experimentals (like the XV-15 tilt rotor and the QSRA*), awesome military displays and fly-bys of heli's, jet AND multi-prop aircraft (where else to see TWO C-130s doing near-aerobatic maneuvers head-to-head) and famous civilian performers.

The list of performers of the latter type in the last official program reads like a who's who of aerobatics...Patty Wagstaff, Sean D. Tucker, The Red Baron Pizza Stearman Squadron, the late Rick Brickert in his crimson T-33 "The Red Knight" and so on...even famous announcer Gordon Bowman-Jones was there. The ability to visit the Macon's monstrous zeppelin hangar was noteworthy too.

Next to the Stead races/airshow, this was the best air show on the west coast, IMO. The variety of aircraft & pilots was just wonderful. Danm, I miss it...

Still have my program too.

Here's a few scans if interested (pardon the quality...cheap scanner ):

Click on thumbnails for the full size image...



NOTE: A few civilian-sponsored airshows/fly-ins were tried in the late 90s/early 2000s, but they were far smaller and never as popular, and soon disappeared.


*QSRA = Quiet Short-Haul Research aircraft, a blown-flap demonstrator that almost seemed to defy gravity.

[3dWrightBrother]

Re: Last Canada Remembers Airshow

Thanks for the pics Low-n-Slow, hoped my brother might get some for me but turns out he went to the races in Minnesota- Brainerd I believe,
so nothing from him.
I see an article in the Star-Phoenix that possibly they might try again next year because of the way things turned out this year- won't hold my breath but hey, a guy can dream, right ?
Russ