Airshow plans aim sky high

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The big plans are in place for the Nova Scotia International Air Show. Now it’s time to get down to the details, says the show’s executive director. “A lot of things have come together on the basics of the staging of the show,” said Colin Stephenson. “The fine detail is what we’re getting down to.”

Stephenson said organizers are working to incorporate as much of the community as possible in the Sept. 12-13 event, whether that’s through promotion, partnership or sponsorship. “We’re very excited about the number of volunteers that have signed up,” he said, adding that anyone interested in getting involved can do so through the show’s website (www.nsairshow.ca). “We’ve been pleasantly surprised both on a national and local level (with sponsorship interest).”

The biggest change between this year’s show and last year’s is the size and scope. In-air displays will last two-and-a-half hours, said Stephenson. Besides that, there will be enough static displays to keep people busy from the time the gates for the show open at 9 a.m. until they close at the end of the day.

The addition of Camp Canada, an interactive display in partnership with the Canadian Forces, will make the show weatherproof.

Along with the nod to the military aspect of flight, Stephenson said there would also be a lot of attention paid to the history of flight. The Back to Baddeck national aircraft tour will provide a glimpse into aviation through the years.

Excitement will also be provided by three aerobatic flyers as well as Team Chaos, which includes the jet truck, an attraction that was a big hit last year. With that will come a pyrotechnics show including a wall of fire.

As always, the show will also be highlighted by performances by a CF-18 Hornet, the Snowbirds and SkyHawks. An added bonus to the Snowbirds performance this year will be the inclusion of the Hawk One F-86 Sabre, a Canadian-built plane used during the early days of the Cold War that will also do a solo performance.

Greg Moulaison, deputy director of the show, said the experience of last year would make for a much smoother show this year. Already they’ve solved the biggest problem of last year’s show. “Traffic problems have all been resolved,” he said. “We’ve redesigned (the traffic pattern). The local RCMP have come on board and we’ve really got that in hand.”