The Abbotsford International Airshow is held annually on the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August at
Abbotsford International Airport in
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
It is Canada's largest airshow. In the mid-1970s, Abbotsford was designated as Canada's National Airshow by Prime Minister
Pierre E. Trudeau. It features both military and civilian aircraft from Canada and the United States, and on occasion has had military aircraft from other countries. These include Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands, Brazil, Chile and Ukraine.
History
The airshow was started in 1962 by the Abbotsford Flying Club.
The show experienced continuous growth through the 1960s and 1970s.
The 1986 show was conducted in conjunction with
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...
, the Vancouver world's fair. This saw the inclusion of several European teams like the
Patrouille de France
), 1st Commandant of the Patrouille de France as of the official Aerial presentation on 14 September 1953, Commander of the 13th Aerial Brigade, World War II Veteran with 165 war missions.
, identification_symbol=
, identification_symbol_lab ...
and the
Frecce Tricolori
The ''Frecce Tricolori'' (; literally "Tricolour Arrows"), officially known as the ''313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori'' ("313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frec ...
to the traditional participants ... as well as the Soviet-Ukrainian
Antonov
Antonov State Enterprise ( uk, Державне підприємство «Антонов»), formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov (Antonov ASTC) ( uk, Авіаційний науково-технічни ...
AN-124
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...
.
In 1989, the show set a three-day attendance record of 321,000 people. The
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
was represented by a large number of aircraft at
Abbotsford. Making their North American debuts were two
MiG-29 Fulcrums (a single and two-seater), an
Su-26M aerobatic plane, a
Ka-32
The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...
helicopter and the
An-225 Mriya, the world's largest aircraft. The
MiG-29 demonstration pilot was
Anatoly Kvochur
Anatoly Nikolayevich Kvochur ( rus, Анатолий Николаевич Квочур; born 16 April 1952) is a Soviet and Russian test pilot. Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR (1990) and Hero of the Russian Federation (1992).
Biography
Anatoly ...
, who had ejected out of a
Mig-29 at Le Bourget, France, just months earlier. History was made at Abbotsford on the last day of the show when Major Bob Wade,
Canadian Armed Forces CF-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...
pilot, became the first Western pilot to fly a modern fighter jet from the USSR. Wade took the controls of the Mig-29UB two-seat aircraft with Soviet test pilot Valery Menitsky. Other highlights at the show included the first appearance at Abbotsford for the only airworthy
Lancaster bomber in North America and the return of the USAF
Thunderbirds for the first time since 1981.
Post
Cold War defence cuts affected the attendance of military teams and aircraft throughout the 1990s. Poor financial management resulted in the annual show being canceled in 1998 and returning in 1999.
In 1994 Dan and Loretta Newall got married before the start of the show, the first wedding in the 33-year history of the show. The vows were almost inaudible due to the Harriers taking off six minutes ahead of schedule. The wedding cake was shared with people around the wedding site. CTV gave them five minutes of air time on the news.
In 1995, while the Abbotsford Airshow included an arms trade aspect, Project Censored Canada rated it as the eighth most censored news story of the year. The trade expo saw delegates visit from countries such as the United States and Saudi Arabia to inspect and purchase weaponry.
Celebrating its fortieth anniversary in 2002 was a significant accomplishment; it was a milestone year while airshows across North America were threatened with cancellation due to high insurance costs after 9/11.
In 2014 it was named one of the ten best airshows in the world, and also held a twilight show for the first time. In December 2014 the airshow won a prestigious Silver Pinnacle award from the International Council of Airshows.
In 2015 the airshow continued its successful twilight show and had the Breitling jet team from France perform its first Canadian show. In addition, the airshow hosted the USAF F-22 Raptor for the first time.
In 2016 two 5th generation USAF F-35A Lightning II fighter jets made history as this marked the first appearance of an F-35 in Canada. Although two aircraft were at the airshow only one was put on static display.
Present
The show is now operated by the Abbotsford International Airshow Society. It occurs annually in the Summer, and typically in Mid-August due to optimal weather conditions.
Performers
![Propeller plane at the Abbotsford air show](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Propeller_plane_at_the_Abbotsford_air_show.JPG)
Currently the duo consisting of Roy Hafeli & Ken Hildebrandt, more commonly known as H2A2 or Hafeli and Hildebrandt Airshow Announcers provide the Airshow announcing every year.
Roy Hafeli began announcing at Abbotsford in 1999, and is a recipient of the North West Council of Air Shows 2005 Showmanship award and the 2006 Eric Beard Memorial Spirit of Flight award. Roy also announces at many other airshows throughout Canada and the USA as well as at other special events.
Ken Hildebrandt is the newest voice at Abbotsford. He began announcing in 2007. Having attended every Abbotsford show since 1979, he noticed that while he was certainly enthralled by the many amazing flying machines that screamed over his head each summer, he became particularly interested in the people who announced the action over the loud speakers. Thus began a thirty-year interest in airshow announcing.
Demonstration teams
*
Snowbirds
The Snowbirds, officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (french: 431e Escadron de démonstration aérienne, links=no), are the military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team is based at 15 Wing ...
, Canada, 1971–present (
CT-114 Tutor
The Canadair CT-114 Tutor (company model CL-41) was the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and later Canadian Forces, standard jet trainer between the early 1960s and 2000. It was designed and produced by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Canadair ...
)
*
SkyHawksbr>
Canada (parachute team)
*
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds, USAF, 1969 (
F-4 Phantom
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...
), 1977, 1979, 1981 (
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces.
The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...
) 1989, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2019, scheduled for 2022 (
F-16 Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
)
*
Blue Angels
The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy. , US Navy, 1967 (
F11A Tiger) 1970 and 1972 (
F-4 Phantom
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...
) 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986 (
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed ...
) 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2003, 2018 (
F/A-18 Hornet)
*
Smoke Squadron
The Aerial Demonstration Squadron ( pt, Esquadrão de Demonstração Aérea), popularly known as Smoke Squadron (Portuguese: ''Esquadrilha da Fumaça'') is the Brazilian Air Force's air demonstration squadron.
History
Its first display was on ...
(Esquadrilha da Fumaca), Brazil 1985, 1986, 1987, 1995
*
Patrouille de France
), 1st Commandant of the Patrouille de France as of the official Aerial presentation on 14 September 1953, Commander of the 13th Aerial Brigade, World War II Veteran with 165 war missions.
, identification_symbol=
, identification_symbol_lab ...
, France, 1986
*
Frecce Tricolori
The ''Frecce Tricolori'' (; literally "Tricolour Arrows"), officially known as the ''313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori'' ("313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frec ...
, Italy 1986
*
Escuadrilla de Alta Acrobacia Halcones, Chile 1995
*
The Russian Knights, Russia, 1993
*
Golden Centennaires
The Golden Centennaires were a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aerobatic flying team that performed in 1967, the Canadian Centennial year. The team was created to celebrate the Canadian Centennial.
The eight-plane formation team, commanded by Win ...
, Canada, 1967
*
Breitling Jet Team
]
The Breitling Jet Team is the largest civilian aerobatic display team in Europe. Based in Dijon, France, it flies seven Aero L-39 Albatros jets.
The team flies a display lasting 18–20 minutes that includes formation flying, opposition passes, ...
, 2015, 2016
Accidents and incidents during aerial display
* August 8, 1969 At noon a
Boeing 747 airliner flew the 75 miles from
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
in
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
to make its first public airshow appearance completing three left to right flybys including a final low level slow pass to open the first day of the three day airshow. Immediately after a Mini Mustang entered the flight line from the left for a low inverted pass. Near midfield the Mini Mustang gyrated violently and dove into the ground killing the pilot, 20-year-old flight instructor Scott Nelskog from Washington State. The determination was that the residual wake vortex from the 747 pass rolled the Mini Mustang resulting in the fatal crash.
* August 12, 1973: During a four plane formation display a
Canadian Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...
CF-101 Voodoo
The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for ...
entered 'inertial roll coupling' which overstressed the aircraft leading to a mid-air disintegration into several balls of flames. Both crew members ejected safely through the fireball. No injuries occurred as debris landed in Washington State south of the Abbotsford Airport.
[Dempsey, Daniel V. ''A Tradition of Excellence: Canada's Airshow Team Heritage''. Victoria, BC: High Flight Enterprises, 2002. p. 386. .]
*August 11, 2018: At approximately 5:30 pm, after the show had finished for the day, a recently restored 1930s era
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rel ...
crashed while taking off. The Dragon Rapide was offering rides in the historic aircraft to those who had purchased tickets. It was carrying 4 passengers and a pilot at the time of the incident. The pilot, John Sessions, was seriously injured and required a foot amputation after being airlifted to
Royal Columbian Hospital
Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) is the oldest hospital in British Columbia and one of the busiest in the Fraser Health Authority. It is located in New Westminster overlooking the Fraser River and is the only hospital in the Lower Mainland that is ...
. The other passengers made it out with various injuries that ranged from mild to serious.
Criticisms
The Abbotsford Airshow has been the subject of criticism throughout its history, partially due to the glorification of war as seen through some of the stunts performed and weapons displayed, and partially due to its associated defense trades expo. In 1995, Project Censored listed the Abbotsford Airshow as the 8th most censored news story of the year, largely due to the related arms trading expo. The airshow itself was also often a venue at which international dignitaries could view some of the defense technologies available. The expo component of the airshow ended for several years shortly after, but has continued again as the Aerospace, Defense and Security Expo (ADSE).
References
External links
Official website
{{International Airshows
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Air shows
Aviation in Canada