The Hamilton (ontario) airshow is occuring this weekend. I think for the first time since the 1990s, it will be a "full-fledged" show as opposed to a few aircraft that fly in from the area. I've been attending the show every year for a while now, and this one by far looks the best. Canadian Warplane Heritage - Canada's Flying Museum I'm looking forward to seeing the B-29 "FiFi" -- I've seen just about every other major WW2 allied aircraft in flight except for this one. I have no affiliation with the museum, I'm just throwing this out there for anyone in Southern Ontario. I'll post some pictures next week for everyone else.
Airshow summary: I went on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I stayed outside the show and watched it from a field, and on Sunday I had a VIP ticket so I got myself a nice spot near the flightline and near-private access to the aircraft on the ramp early in the morning. As usual, the day I arbitrarily chose to buy tickets for was raining and overcast, while the other day was mostly clear and sunny. Anyway, onto the important things. The aircraft: The museum's collection was flying. This includes one of two flyable Lancasters (the other is in the UK), the only operational B-25 in Canada and a few more common aircraft like a PBY, DC-3 and Fairy Firefly. On Satuday they had out their recently-restored Lysander (one of three that can fly), but strong crosswinds grounded it on Sunday. The Commemorative Air Force flew up two planes; the B-29 "FiFi" (this was the highlight of the show for me, and its the only operational B-29 in the world), and a SB2C Helldiver (also the only operational aircraft of its type). The Military Aviation Museum brought the B-17 "Chuckie" and a TBM Avenger. Vintage Wings of Canada bought a nice collection of aircraft: A Spitfire Mark 16, Hurricane Mark 4, P-40 Kittyhawk, P-51D Mustang and a Corsair (this was one of the aircraft used in "Baa Baa Black Sheep"). There were some other examples brought in for flying demonstrations or static display, including a few modern fighters. The show was well-organized (or it just might have been the pass I had ), despite the cancellation of several small aircraft flights on Sunday due to the weather. The B-29 and Lancaster flew several solo passes over the show at the end, which was quite a sight. I wished the announcer would have spoken less -- he drowned out the engines whenever the aircraft were circling the field. Overall, it was a very good airshow focused primarily on WWII-era planes (there weren't that many aerobatic/modern performers) and the crowds weren't overwhelming. As promised, here are a few pictures. I haven't had a chance to sort through what I have yet (my unofficial count is 400 photos), and these are just a few that popped out at me when I downloaded them to my computer. When I get a chance to look through everything, I'll post more. The first one was taken on Saturday, the second and third were taken Sunday morning and the last two were taken Sunday afternoon, when the rain and clouds rolled in. I did a quick conversion of the last photo to black and white, and I think I might have to do that with the rest of the ones from the afternoon as well -- the colours are terrible. View attachment 16808
Im sick with jealousy...Would look forward to some other "rare birds"...The B-29 and Lanc are certainly that...a genuine 109 or 190 would be sweet...and when is someone going to rebuild a 262? Obviously with modern mini jets...not the 004s and 5s. Wish we could get a Wirraway over there for you...
There was supposed to be a Fw190 in attendance, but they cancelled a few weeks ago. I'm 99% sure it was a reproduction, but it would have been better than nothing. Maybe next year. From what I've heard attendance was above expectations, so maybe they'll bring in some more aircraft for next year. Are there any airworthy Wirraways left? I've always liked the profile of that plane -- it looks better than the your other indigenous model, the Boomerang fighter, in my opinion. There's just a few Allied planes left on my "must see in flight" list now: A P-47, Liberator and a Lightning. I would have been able to cross off the Liberator this weekend as well, but they cancelled as well due to mechanical problems.
My wife and I had planned on attending Mt. Hope today also, but the weather forecast scared us off. We hadn't been in years, I think the Thunderbirds were there the last time. Some 19-20 years ago i.e. 1992-93 I was part of the show, sorta. Our Aviation Services had been invited to attend, we were surprised to find ourselves on the flight line between a pair of F16s; one Dutch, the other from the "Boys From Syracuse". We had a hoot with these guys and wandering around the place in the morning. Shortly after the show started, we rec'd a call for a missing woman near Belfountaine, the show was shut down to let us out (the Dutch F-16 was performing). We spent most of the afternoon up there until we found her in a ditch (actually I found her), alive and well enough. All in all it was a great day! This is a much younger me, after we got back to Brampton that day: View attachment 16809
Yeah there are at least two flying Wirraways...and Two Boomerangs...I like the Wirraway too...already have a 1/72 (rare) wirraway...and jst bought a more standard 1/48 girl...Might base her on the flying examples. The Boomerang (which shares many parts with the wirraway, which is really an armed Harvard/Texan as im sure you know) looks way cool in my opinion...the cannon give it a REAL punch and demands respect. Got to touch one last year...oh no, im getting excited all over again...
Yuo said CAC. For a city built around a working airbase with one of the longest runways anywhere in the south, we get precious little in the way of air shows. Our alternative is to sit n Amy Johnson Drive and watch the aircraft land right over your head. When the B1 came to town, they flew past and did a few very acrobatic turns for an aircraft of that size. Someone made the comment that we were "worshipping icons of mass destruction...." to which I replied, very loudly, "The same icons that have kept the peace for all these years?"....checkmate! We have an aviation museum thats really just a big shed, but it's got a nice collection of aircraft and some interesting exhibits. The location of East Point has two concrete turrets for the coastal artillery that used to sit in them. The fire direction concrete 'box' serves as a kind of museum, but it's really just an eclectic collection of memorabilia, rather than specifically WW2 related. All in all, it's a rather sorry story. These facilities are unique in the country for the period, and our local politicians pour money into the Natural History Museum down the road. I mean, it's a brand new, airconditioned building, rather than just a collection of old stuff rusting in the sea air. The pollies rave on about 'lest we forget' and then do nothing whatsoever to preserve the heritage. Good of them to pay lip service to these things, rather than actually spending money on something that already exists.
