2021 Abbotsford International Airshow

Discussion relating to 2021 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
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lukas97
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Post by lukas97 » Sun Aug 08, 2021 6:00 am

One last video before I go get some much needed rest. Tomorrow is the last day of the show! It goes by fast... Enjoy!

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AirshowHawk
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Post by AirshowHawk » Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:43 am

It's been a bittersweet weekend with the weather not cooperating at times and the sad news of the passing of former Abbotsford Airshow president Ron Price, who was near and dear to the hearts of many people close to the show.

The Friday show was a blast and I actually enjoyed the temporary change to a drive-in format. It was executed well and traffic was not an issue at all this year. Saturday was rained out in the morning but thankfully with the hard work of Airshow Boss Trent Stenmark and some cooperating weather, the evening was filled with action and was probably the best show of the weekend. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend today but after hearing from friends and family that were in attendance, I understand the weather did not cooperate at all and the show didn't even start until slightly before it was scheduled to end. Of course, no one can control the weather and there will always be disappointed people who turn back and expect a refund but such is life. The event went on and ended around the typical time it does during past years. The organizers did a great job dealing with the things they had to deal with and always do a great job each year to bring us a pristine show. Looking forward to Thunderbirds in 2022!
Last edited by AirshowHawk on Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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lukas97
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Post by lukas97 » Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:56 am

The Raptor brought the vapor on Sunday! Check out the video below!

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JA Boomer
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Post by JA Boomer » Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:56 am

I was pretty surprised the Airshow didn't delay today's schedule by one or two hours based on the forecast yesterday and this morning.
The weather deteriorated right around 11 AM and neither the warbirds or the T-33 could get to the show (using VFR to get around the storm cells).
The weather continued to not cooperate (low cloud and rain drizzle), and there was a time around 115 when we thought the show would be completely scrubbed.
In the meantime, the CC-150 Polaris had departed and provided an IFR touch and go, and the CH-148 Cyclone performance was canceled.
Then, just before 2 PM, as per usual at Abby, the sun burned through and the clouds thinned out.
Nathan Hammond' Ghostwriter and Jeff Boerboon's Yak110 tested out the skies first. I'm not big on civilian performers, but was snapping pictures like crazy after waiting for four hours, haha.
The F-22, Snowbirds, Super Hornet (w/ A-1 legacy flight), and CF-18 finished the show with an solid two hours of jet power.

F-22: the Raptor's first performance in Abby really showcased its world best maneuverability and fly-by-wire. The two performances I've seen since have watered down some of the gravity defying elements.
Snowbirds: #3 took off and then landed in a hurry, in time to actually swap jets. I don’t think I've seen the Snowbirds swap a jet before, but between 2005-2011 I saw them perform with 8 jets many times. Good on them. Their flying was impeccable, as it has been for many years in a row now. Missed the bursts and the Battle of Britain break.
Super Hornet: during the delay they interviewed someone from the team who reassured the crowd that the Super Hornet would be flying today, despite the weather. Gotta love the Navy.
CF-18: I'm not sure what it is, but the Hornet still puts on an incredibly enjoyable display. I was hoping for some mock pop-up attacks to finish the show however.

At the end of the day, getting to see all the headliners while having the convenience of more space and my truck parked in the front row made this a very enjoyable airshow.
Last edited by JA Boomer on Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Bingofuel
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Post by Bingofuel » Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:19 am

Actually the snowbirds didn't swap jets. #3 landed, the technicians took a look at the issue, and the same jet went back up.

Must've been extremely minor
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JA Boomer
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Post by JA Boomer » Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:05 pm

Bingofuel wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:19 am Actually the snowbirds didn't swap jets. #3 landed, the technicians took a look at the issue, and the same jet went back up.

Must've been extremely minor
I didn't catch that! Makes sense. They performed an extremely short landing to do the check.

Another minor comment: I wish that H2A2 had modified the script for the Super Hornet demo and replaced "our/your" with "America's". I wasn't offended or anything, it's just the context made no sense with the show being in Canada. Small thing, but I'm a detail person.
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Post by RyanS » Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:04 am

JA Boomer wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:05 pm Another minor comment: I wish that H2A2 had modified the script for the Super Hornet demo and replaced "our/your" with "America's". I wasn't offended or anything, it's just the context made no sense with the show being in Canada. Small thing, but I'm a detail person.
As an American, hearing this stuff when I'm in Canada is embarrassing! I wish the jet teams would dial back the chest thumping patriotism just a bit too when outside the states. Context is important.
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AirshowHawk
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Post by AirshowHawk » Tue Aug 10, 2021 7:17 am

RyanS wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:04 am
JA Boomer wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:05 pm Another minor comment: I wish that H2A2 had modified the script for the Super Hornet demo and replaced "our/your" with "America's". I wasn't offended or anything, it's just the context made no sense with the show being in Canada. Small thing, but I'm a detail person.
As an American, hearing this stuff when I'm in Canada is embarrassing! I wish the jet teams would dial back the chest thumping patriotism just a bit too when outside the states. Context is important.
I still remember the commentary in 2015 for the long-anticipated first appearance of the Raptor. On one of the days it got introduced as "Your United States Air Force F-22 Raptor" and the crowd was probably louder than the Raptor for a few moments :D
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AIAS
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Post by AIAS » Wed Aug 11, 2021 4:31 am

Whew! What a weekend. 50+ consecutive days without rain and whatdya know!? Just jumping on here to help explain a bit of what happened Sunday.

To start, we need to go back to Saturday afternoon. The NavCanada YXX forecast indicated weather would NOT clear but Victoria was reporting good weather and a high ceiling. Our Airboss (who is the YXX Tower Manager) believed that the winds should bring YYJ's weather to YXX by showtime - and he was dead-on correct.

Jump forward to Sunday. The forecast indicated that we would be on the cusp of airshow minimums around showtime. Once again, YYJ was reporting much better weather - so were closer airports YVR and YBB - so we were optimistic. For whatever reason, the winds shifted and a bad cell from the South moved in over Abby and just stuck. Airports to the West and South (BLI) continued to report good conditions ALL DAY, which is why there was little to say beyond "we're waiting for it to get here" and don't know why it isn't. Ultimately it did at 2pm and we scrambled everybody.

People have also asked why we didn't communicate that we could extend past our scheduled end time. We didn't know if we could. NAS Whidbey closes early on the weekend and we had to confirm they would stay open to allow the Raptor and Rhino to perform and RTB. We also needed approval to extend our TFR airspace. We received both of these confirmations well after 2pm. To publicize we would extend and then be denied either approval would have only heightened disappointment so we wanted confirmation first.

That's a little glimpse behind the curtain of what managing stubborn weather looks like for a Flying Events Team. For those who stuck it out, thank you! You were rewarded with a pretty incredible 2 hours of flying. There was vapor for days and Cabo flew the Raptor like he was mad at it.
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Post by Airshow Addict » Wed Aug 11, 2021 4:24 pm

What a airshow! Tough conditions but it all worked out and to be honest it made for some very dynamic videos. Here are my F-22 Vapor fest that happened on Sunday and my Golden Hour Super Hornet edit which happened on Saturday. More videos in the works!


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