Value: Very Good

The “new” part of the air show was Friday’s evening of ‘Hour of Power’, a combined Army and Air Force demonstration by the Canadian Armed Forces on Saturday and Sunday, a dedicated photo pit area (for an extra fee), private chalets, VIP tent, children’s play area, and more security. These were all positives. Unfortunately, some of these new changes essentially cut down the general public’s viewing area of the flight line, by as much as 50%. The St. Thomas airport is a relatively small airport, with limited space, therefore, there was no onsite parking either for the attendees. They had to park off site for $5 with a free school bus shuttle, which towards the end of the show, created long line ups, although it was handled well. Parking on site was available only for persons with the special photo pass, media, performers and airport operational staff.

Attendees could choose from several food vendors selling typical fast food items at the usual inflated rates one finds at air shows, the only exception was water at $1.50 per bottle. The line ups to buy food were anywhere from 10 to 35 minutes, however, sanitation facilities were plenty and well dispersed with only minor line ups.

The weather was not favouring the air show. On Friday it was overcast, with low ceilings and the scheduled jumps by the SkyHawks were cancelled due to the low ceiling. It also rained on and off, including during the ‘Hour of Power.’ Saturday’s weather was a bit better; only sprinkled a bit now and then, but the dark clouds remained with low ceilings again that prevented the Skyhawks from jumping and performing their fantastic show. When it was time for the Snowbirds to perform, the sun finally broke through and remained sunny with perfect skies for photography. Since ASR did not attend on Sunday, we cannot comment as to the weather or on performances that did or not occur.

The air displays were quite dramatic with the darker clouds. I enjoyed especially the flying of the ANG F-16C Vipers, who swooped down low, thundered over the flight line making several close fly-by's giving ample opportunities for photography. The US Navy F-5N Aggressor Tigers, in desert camouflage scheme flew by fast a couple of times, but remained relatively high without a true photo pass. The CF-18 Demo is back after last years cancellation, and this years paint scheme is quite colourful. In the evening show, one could see the afterburners much better than during the day, and that made interesting shots of Capt. Erick O’Connor in the CF-18 Hornet. The iconic Snowbirds are always favoured by the attendees. There were several no shows, which is typical at events like these.

I wish to thank from the CF-18 Demo Team: Capt. Erick O’Connor, Capt. Andrew Faith, and Capt. Holly-Anne Brown PAO, and Indira Thackorie, PAO of the SkyHawks for their valuable assistance. A big thank you goes also to Mr. Hugh Shields, the Director of GLIAS for his assistance in establishing a ‘Media only’ area during the show.

Over all, the show from a spectator’s point of view, it was good if they came early and found a spot along the public area of the flight line, or paid for the photo pit and bleachers. For the ones who came later the flight line areas were already filled up, and it was difficult for them to see the combined CAF demo.