Abbotsford International Airshow 2018

[cf18hornet]

There were 3 CT-155 Hawks. I thought we only had 1 here.

There were actually four CT-155’s here this weekend. Two were on static display while the other two were parked in front of Cascade all weekend. One left after the show yesterday while the other three left today.

[Viper93]

Pretty interesting departure day. I missed the Hogs and Super Hornet's flyby, but was able to catch them from my home. I got to Huntington at 8:30.

I got it all on video this morning and will post a short departure video as quickly as possible.

Oooooh, can't wait to see it. Your videos are always the best.

[Bokimon]

Yeah, the airshow was ok though I just went to the Friday edition.
The car lineups and marshaling off Mt. Lehman road was indeed horrific! Could of been the timing of the event and how the blues were going up so soon which puzzled me. A few years ago the Brietling team came and they went up during prime time of the evening so why 430pm?! Might of been a factor to all the cars cramming their way into the main entry. I also felt that a single lane of traffic flow between the entry gate to the parking should of been tripled at least! So I missed the blues which sucked and instead just started cursing loudly in my car each time they did their passes and splits thinking I could of been there to take some sick shots.

The grandstand viewing was actually quite nice after I finally got in. I loved the elevated position and being at airshow center. I heard the photopit was crap this time around position wise despite Nikon being there to load out some of their big lenses.
The foot security was indeed too light and should probably be tighter like in other years, a small delay is ok with me.

I didn't bother with the static haha, not much to see anyway from my vantage point.
NORAD passes were meh, no different than a typical heritage flyby and the fuel burning timeouts was confusing too of why it took so long for them to get back. Flair takeoff with the wing wave and the Frozen jet arrival were my highlights lol.
The A10 demo was fairly nice and a few random topside passes or turns had it fully lit by the lower angle sun which made it look awesome!
Snowbirds were all over the place and that was great! People were looking everywhere being wowed.. The CF18 I had hoped it would take off a little sooner as the light got too low. It was also too far and too high away to get the full experience and with the no Pyros this year, was not memorable at all!
Food and bathrooms were alright, food a bit overpriced.. Swag tents were also centrally located too.

[JA Boomer]

The car lineups and marshaling off Mt. Lehman road was indeed horrific! Could of been the timing of the event and how the blues were going up so soon which puzzled me. A few years ago the Brietling team came and they went up during prime time of the evening so why 430pm?! Might of been a factor to all the cars cramming their way into the main entry. I also felt that a single lane of traffic flow between the entry gate to the parking should of been tripled at least! So I missed the blues which sucked and instead just started cursing loudly in my car each time they did their passes and splits thinking I could of been there to take some sick shots.

Here's my suggestion to the organizers: swap the King and Queen street entrances.

For years the Queen street pre-paid entrance was a breeze. In the last 3 years or so it has become very congested, and this year it was insane. This year after the Friday show I switched to the King street entrance for Saturday and Sunday and was able to drive straight onto the airport into a short ticket line.

In this day of age with all of the options to pre-pay for your tickets, it seems to me that most vehicles entering the airshow have got tickets in hand. So make the larger King street entrance the pre-paid entrance and the smaller Queen street entrance the purchasing point.

[Chris Smallenberg]

Could of been the timing of the event and how the blues were going up so soon which puzzled me. A few years ago the Brietling team came and they went up during prime time of the evening so why 430pm?!

The Blue Angels show on Friday was actually only a practice. They only officially flew Saturday and Sunday and it was only through some tricky schedule manipulations that they were able to get the Blues into the show at all. The actual opening ceremony time was still around 5:30 or so which is what it has been in the past. Think of it more as a regular show that started at 5:30 with a Blue Angels practice before that, pushed as late into the afternoon as they could. Keep in mind that other factors are at play too, including airline movements (a sterile block of time of 1 hour is required and the terminal has to be cleared) as well as limitations from the Blues themselves (I think I heard somewhere that one of their requirements is a performance be done by 6:00pm).

I do agree that the early start for them led to gridlock at the gates. Perhaps a solution would be to open the parking earlier to prevent the backups on the roads and then just open the grounds at the regularly posted times. I'm convinced that the gridlock only happens because the lineups build up before the gates open and then it is too late to recover.

Chris

[rhinonavy]

So... Did anyone take any pictures?

[Chris Smallenberg]

So... Did anyone take any pictures?

Getting there!

[Airshow Addict]

So... Did anyone take any pictures?

Working on editing footage!

[Wingnut]

It wasn’t a rumour after all. Major respect for this guy. I hope to have him back in Abby sometime soon, with one of his many beautiful birds. From the Historic Flight Foundation’s fb page:

This post is overdue.

As many followers of HFF know, I was the pilot of a beautifully restored DH 89 Dragon Rapide that crashed shortly after takeoff last Saturday at Abbotsford. The best news is the passengers are home and will be whole again. I was critically injured and required two surgeries, but less than four days later, the doctors at Royal Columbian (BC's trauma hospital) sent me home. From my present perch, I have resumed general ruckus-making via e-mail.

Regarding flying commitments and events for the remainder of the season, HFF will finish strong where it can and modify or substitute where necessary. The web site and Facebook will be the best sources of information. Looking longer term, we will spend the fall and winter presenting some of the best aviation programs available, constructing a second facility at Spokane's Felts Field, and preparing to pathfind in 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

I will focus on healing and a love/hate relationship with a physical therapist. The rules allow me to fly again after I demonstrate pilot skills with a prosthetic lower left leg. Pistorius gave blade runners a bad name. I'm motivated to turn that around.

When you need a good read, pick up one of the biographies of WWII RAF ace Douglas Bader.

Thank you for many expressions of concern. HFF attracts a lovely group. I will see some of you this Saturday at Challenge Air.

John

[JA Boomer]

A few of my favorites:

Blues (98).JPG (128.8 KiB) Viewed 12756 times

Blues (138).JPG (128.98 KiB) Viewed 12756 times

Heritage (8).JPG (78.81 KiB) Viewed 12756 times

Seaking (17).JPG (144.04 KiB) Viewed 12756 times