Well, my eighteenth consecutive Abbotsford Air Show has come and gone. It was probably the most disjointed of my Abby experiences for a few reasons: rain, being the first airshow with my daughter (11 months old), and my mom getting sick on Friday. Abby is usually a family vacation for us.
Friday was a good time, had trouble getting in (1+ hour). Toured static and watched the tailhook passes. Left early to get my girl into bed.
Saturday traffic wasn't quite as bad only because I took a different route. Toured static again when the rain slowed things down. My little girl wouldn't keep her ear protection on, and wouldn't let us cover her ears with a blanket (it's harder then it sounds) so the CF-18 was stressful haha. Went home during the Snowbirds when we realized the Thunderbirds were not performing. My little one loved watching all the people, and she did watch some of the flying performances which I wasn't expecting.
Sunday traffic was a breeze. Unfortunately it started to rain early on and my family bailed - my parents only got to see 30 minutes of airshow! I decided to stay and I'm glad I did. I hit static again during the rain, and was rewarded with the CF-18, Thunderbirds, and Snowbirds when the skies opened up in the afternoon. Walked out to the campground where my wife picked me up after the show.
Monday also felt disjointed. Usually 80% of the military aircraft leave between 9-11 AM and it's fairly steady action. This year felt like one takeoff every 30 minutes all morning. I had to leave before the heavies (2 x C-17, C-5, and KC-10) departed. Let me say thank you to those of you who encouraged me to switch from Huntingdon to Clearbrook. Although I missed being able to see what aircraft were getting ready to depart, seeing and photographing the flying instead of takeoff rolls was much better. If you were on Clearbrook I was the fellow in the back of the black Silverado pickup.
Cons: traffic (always seems to be the case now). Deleting the pre-paid entrance was a good decision I think (did anyone drive into the Queens St. entrance this year?), but a better payment and parking system is required. Rain (nothing you can do about it), definitely the wettest Abby I've been too.
Pros: The family club seating was fantastic, everyone thought it was a worthwhile upgrade from our runway seating. Great food options this year, the lines were nuts on Saturday. Rain - I don't usually get to spend as much time trolling the static display as I'd like (because I'm usually obsessed with taking pictures of the flying) but I this year I spent a lot of time talking to aircrew and it was great - even learned a thing or two. Of course did my yearly shopping at the C-5 haha. The Thunderbirds - for finding a way to make it happen on Sunday, and some impressive solo takeoffs Monday.
Pictures forthcoming. Here's the boom operator's station from the KC-135R.
- KC-135 (3).JPG (300.96 KiB) Viewed 16059 times
