@movernie
Special Contributor: Jay Chan
This year’s Airshow London, also known as Sky Drive, took place over 3 days from September 9th to 11th. Voted the best airshow in North America by readers of USA Today, this year’s show was another huge success!
First and foremost, Airshow London takes on the drive-in format — think drive-in theatres for movies, but instead this is for a live airshow! Each ticket holder is assigned a designated spot for a vehicle, and up to 6 occupants are welcomed per vehicle. It is a format that started during the pandemic, but it has proven to be so popular that it continued post-COVID. Each spot has plenty of room to comfortably accommodate your own lawn chairs, coolers, and other picnic gear that you might wish to bring. The best part is you no longer need to deal with people that would crowd over your back in the old airshow days. It makes a huge difference to the way the show is enjoyed!
On the ground, the show offers many static airplane displays where kids and adults alike are welcomed to get close and personal with planes from different categories and the pilots who fly them. Some of my personal favourites include the F-16C Fighting Falcon, F-15C Eagle, and the MV-22 Osprey. The Osprey is especially interesting as it is a hybrid between a traditional airplane and a helicopter. The crew that flies this unique aircraft came from North Carolina, and was generous to share their experiences and stories about this one-of-a-kind transport vehicle. As for the F-16C Fighting Falcons, the friendly pilots were happy to pose with little children for memorable photo ops, no doubt inspiring at least some of them to become the next generation of fighter pilots!
While the ground displays were great, the show in the air was even better! On Sunday, the air performance started with a bang when the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber made a rare and much sought after appearance. It is only 1 of 20 such aircrafts in service in the United States Air Force today. It flew directly from the US, made a number of flybys to wow the crowd, and then flew right back home to the US without landing on Canadian soil. That is fully understandable considering each B-2 bomber is valued at over USD$2 billion! Seeing such a wonder of modern engineering is definitely one of the highlights of the show.
Other memorable performances include a demo from the RCAF CF-18 fighter jet, the aforementioned MV-22 Osprey airplane/helicopter hybrid, a team of F-15C Eagles, and the ultra-modern F-22A Raptor stealth fighter. Each performer wowed the crowd with awesome flybys and maneuvers and left everyone wanting more! With the aircrafts flying so close to the spectators, the thunderous roar of jet engines literally gave everyone a full-body experience as you could feel it inside and out! That’s truly what airshow buffs live for!
The final performance of the show came from the famed USAF Thunderbirds. This is a team of 6 F-16C Fighting Falcons performing precision formation flying and various high-risk stunts. If you have never seen the Thunderbirds in action before, it is most certainly a sight to behold! The tight formations that they flew left everyone wondering how much training must have gone in to making it possible. With the RCAF Snowbirds cancelling their appearance at the last minute this year (due to safety concerns), the performance by USAF Thunderbirds more than made up for the Snowbirds’ absence! Having seen both teams perform, I can say there is a notable difference in the style of stunts that the two teams deliver. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other; both are great, and one should try to catch either team’s performance when the chance presents itself.
All in all, congratulations to the Airshow London team for another successful show this year! If you enjoy the sight of airplanes and things that are fast and loud, it is totally worth the drive to London to participate in Sky Drive. You and your loved ones will not be disappointed!
Airshow London (Sky Drive)
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