Abottsford

My old mind has gone back to the Centennial show at Abottsford when the Golden Centennaires performed with their small underpowered trainers and stole the show from the Blew Angles with their booming F-4's. The Golden Centennaires put on a show that I will never forget. Their formation work was exquisite with their little airplanes and one of the most impressive manoeuvers was a ten airplane line abreast roll...as if it were one wing. Think about this. The inside position was near stall speed as the outside position was blasting like hell to fly the outside route around the roll. Then all those inside the formation had to hold their position to the guy on their left as they wheeled around in a trim line abreast as if they were one wing going around. They did it perfectly and did everything else as well. They finished their show smoke on with a heart ( for the ladies who were there) and two of their members climbing up in rolls through the middle of the heart . They became the Snowbirds and still fly those little Provost jets. These people are the greatest pilots I have ever seen. They have a minimum fuel budget and tiny airplanes with which they have limited training time and they put on an astonishingly good show. I made friends with one of their solo pilots who also flew in the formation, Jake Miller. I asked him if he ever worried about the guy on his right. His answer , " What guy on my right?" I only know about the guy on my left. I have a contract with him to keep from hitting him."
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I sometimes slip up with Canadian and English aircraft. I should have said Avro Tutor for the Snowbirds and Golden Centennaires.

 

I was there and I agree, it was the best that I have ever seen with ALL the teams from the major countries plus all of the Russian biggies and the Russian aero stuff. I apologize for not recalling the dates of all that stuff. I can't remember what day it was yesterday but I remember the flying. We were set up on the northeast perimeter of the field and some of the teams were coming over us at absolutely minimum altitude. An absolutely great airshow ! A few of the officials even remembered us from the clown act days.
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