Snowbirds preparing for busy season marking 100 years of the RCAF
CTV
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds are preparing for a busy 2024 season as the Royal Canadian Air Force marks 100 years.
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds are preparing for a busy 2024 season as the Royal Canadian Air Force marks 100 years.
Members of the team are ramping up training just outside Moose Jaw, practicing both group and solo flights before their first air show of the team’s 2024 schedule in Comox, BC on May 18.
“It can never be perfect, there’s always going to be small variations in how we fly our profiles, conditions of the day,” said Capt. Marc-André Plante, the pilot of Snowbird 8. “But the more reps that we can get in doing that, the more likely it's going to look as good as possible or near perfect for a show.”
While the team makes adjustments in the air, on the ground, a crew of technicians like Cpl. Justin Shantidatt keep the team’s Tutor jets show ready.
“Being an old aircraft, there's not a whole lot of sensors that tell you what's wrong so you gotta be able to figure out and use your troubleshooting ability,” Shantidatt said.
As part of the RCAF centennial celebrations, the Frecce Tricolori from Italy and the Red Arrows from the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force will appear alongside the Snowbirds at a handful of shows in summer 2024.
“It’s not uncommon for us to share some airshows in the previous summers with the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels,” Plante said, referring to the two demonstration teams based in the United States. “But having the Frecce Tricolori, the Red Arrows coming over, is going to be just like icing on the cake."
