Quebec Airshow
We spent an amazing Fathers Day weekend in Quebec City attending the Quebec City Airshow. Adam's Dad flew in from BC on Thursday and we headed out to Quebec on Friday afternoon after various errands. We met Gillian, Raffi, Sofia and Joanne at our hotel and got a good sleep before our early rise the next morning.
Adam heard that it might take us a while to get to the airport in the morning (anyone been to the Abbotsford Airshow?) due to all the traffic, so it was suggested that we get a headstart into town. We left the hotel by 0715 and only really encountered about a 5 car wait while turning into the parking lot for the festivities. We managed to park our truck about 4 rows back from the start of the line and herded ourselves towards the ticket purchase booth with the masses. We ended up waiting in a gaggle-ish line up for about 45 minutes or so before we were allowed onto the grounds.
We decided to split up, with some of us heading to the field beside the runway to secure a spot for the day and others heading off to check out the static displays. After a bit of deliberation we decided to take a spot closest to the fence in order to get a good view of the action. We were only 1 row back from the fence line with an empty field behind us. About an hour later as Joanne returned with coffee and beavertails, it was nearly impossible to navigate through the endless sea of lawnchairs, people and blankets! (That grassy spot eventually filled up.)
We found out yesterday (Tuesday) that there were 110,000 people there on Saturday with us!!! I have NEVER been in such a large crowd. It was a strange feeling not knowing ANY one other than our family. At least at the Abbotsford Airshow, there is a chance that I would probably know a few other attendees.
The day started off with a performance by the SkyHawks Parachute team. They did a great little show with each group sporting Canada flag parachutes accompanied by a secondary flag attached to their legs. There was a US flag, a British flag, a Canadian flag and a Province of Quebec flag which elicited the loudest cheers. The most disappointing part of the show was the fact that nobody sang any of the National anthems or God Save the Queen. Our family even wondered if we'd be kicked out of the Airshow for singing Oh Canada! Isn't that terrible? This is a picture especially for my Mum!
Sofia was about 50% impressed by the action. She had a little play time with Uncle Adam and enjoyed the antics that Calli and Marin continually displayed for her.
The second act was Gene Soucy and his wife Teresa who walks around on the wings of the Grumman "Showcat" bi-plane that Gene flies. What a sight to see! Adam asked me if I'd walk the wings for him, but I'm not sure I'd be up for that! I think Teresa does a great job and I'll just stick to my day job. Here she is hanging upside down on the top wing.
Here they are about 20 feet from the ground. Like the security guys shorts? I guess he heard that high-waisted pants are "in?"
The US Navy Blue Angels were next up and it should be known that they fly my all time favourite fighter aircraft, the F-18 Hornet. It's fast and sleek and really kicks ass (nice terminology) in the skies flying up to 1200mph!
Here is a little clip of a super cool manoeuvre by the Blue Angels.
Following them were the Red Arrows team from England. My brother and I saw the Red Arrows many many years ago on a grassy hillside, with our Grandparents in Seaton, Devon, England. I still remember them putting on a fantastic display and being extremely impressed by them. It was great to see them in Canada and share the experience with Adam after telling him about how cool they were!
After the Red Arrows team made this sweet heart in the sky, the whole crowd started cheering and we heard a few people yell "Vive la Quebec!!" I don't see the correlation, but apparently it was an important sign in the sky!
The crowd followed each act with clapping and a big THUMBS UP for the pilots as they taxied back in. What a sight to see...all these thousands of people silent and holding their thumbs up in the air!
Next came Skip Stewart with his Pitts Special S-2S bi-plane. I have seen this guy before and it never really grows old for me. He is a fantastic aerobatic pilot with a multitude of tricks up his sleeve and he put on an incredible and noisy show.
I was disappointed with the lack of planned entertainment in between the acts. We usually waited anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes for the next show to begin. Calli practiced throwing the ball with everyone and even tried playing hackey sack with herself!
Marin was content to sit and snack.
Sofia took in all the action.
Just before the Thunderbirds started, Adam, Gillian, Marin and I decided to make a quick ice cream and water run to cool everyone off. We wiggled our way through the crowd and into the very long line up and Marin nodded off to sleep. We loaded up the stroller with all the goods and started making our way back when all of a sudden some very large rain drops began smacking us.
Adam lost us along the way and Gillian, Marin and I had nowhere to turn to take cover from the impending storm! We were really rushing to get back to our chairs and our family when I stopped to have a look at Marin in the umbrella stroller (with a sun-shade - and not really a rain cover, as we found out). The poor little peach was crying and shivering in her little t-shirt and skirt, soaking wet and drawing sympathy from the crowds as we passed. I felt terrible, but we had NOTHING with us. I think the Quebecers might have experienced this before as they all picked up their lawnchairs and held them over their heads for cover! Imagine what 110,000 people looked like doing that?
We made it to our spot just after the Thunderbirds began their show. And what a show it was!! I was SO impressed. Because it was raining, they did their "low show," with the low cloud cover and it was fast and loud and thrilling! Just as we watched 3 planes fly off to the right after completing a trick, one single plane would come blasting overhead and scare the crap right out of us! It was awesome! Even more so, because I finally saw Adam scared out of his shoes! Haha!
The clouds were incredible after the storm when we were trying to dry out and layering up with warm sweaters etc.
Marin wasn't too thrilled with the loud planes and sat like this, singing songs to herself and nonchalantly throwing out little comments such as "That sure is a loud airplane," in her sing-songy voice.
We then had a quick impressive show from the Canada's CF-18 whipping around the sky.
A little taste of the speed and noise...hardly comparable to the real thing!
The second to last act was a combo of Gene Soucy (without Teresa), Skip Stewart and Les Shockley and the Jet Powered truck. This was combined with a pyro-technics show by Rich Gibson. It was something completely different from the rest of the Airshow and Gene Soucy and Skip Stewart flew their planes through some HUGE billowing smoke clouds. I'm sure it wasn't the most environmentally clean show, but it was pretty "showy."
That jet truck was F-A-S-T! I can imagine the vegetation and the birds inhabiting the airport were choking after this display.
The final act were the Canadian Snowbirds. Our famous national team flying the Tutors. I have a special little spot in my heart for the Snowbirds. They never fail to impress me as the home team.
A lot of people made an early exit, so leaving wasn't as hard as we thought it might be as you can see from the picture below.
I didn't get to explore the static displays this time around which was disappointing, but I was glad to have seen the rest of the show. We were even treated to a number of Air Canada Jazz take offs and landings for their regularly scheduled flights! Adam endured a fair bit of teasing about this.
I got this picture on the way out. It is a B-52 Stratofortress. What a HUGE aircraft. You can read up about it on the link I provided.
We were back into the truck and on our way back to the hotel in no time. We crossed the Pierre LaPorte bridge spanning the St Lawrence River and were amazed at how large this river truly is. Adam flies over it all the time and is always commenting on the size and length of the river.
Calli fell asleep shortly after we drove away, but Marin was in full show mode and graced us with a bit of singing on the way. She is so darn cute.
Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers we know. Our girls are already getting a taste for the airline industry and have voiced interest in getting involved. Calli wants to be a Flight Attendant to serve people drinks and snacks and to wear high heels. Marin was going to be a Pilot, but I think she changed recently to being a teacher. A few more Airshows and we might be able to convert her.
Adam heard that it might take us a while to get to the airport in the morning (anyone been to the Abbotsford Airshow?) due to all the traffic, so it was suggested that we get a headstart into town. We left the hotel by 0715 and only really encountered about a 5 car wait while turning into the parking lot for the festivities. We managed to park our truck about 4 rows back from the start of the line and herded ourselves towards the ticket purchase booth with the masses. We ended up waiting in a gaggle-ish line up for about 45 minutes or so before we were allowed onto the grounds.
We decided to split up, with some of us heading to the field beside the runway to secure a spot for the day and others heading off to check out the static displays. After a bit of deliberation we decided to take a spot closest to the fence in order to get a good view of the action. We were only 1 row back from the fence line with an empty field behind us. About an hour later as Joanne returned with coffee and beavertails, it was nearly impossible to navigate through the endless sea of lawnchairs, people and blankets! (That grassy spot eventually filled up.)
We found out yesterday (Tuesday) that there were 110,000 people there on Saturday with us!!! I have NEVER been in such a large crowd. It was a strange feeling not knowing ANY one other than our family. At least at the Abbotsford Airshow, there is a chance that I would probably know a few other attendees.
The day started off with a performance by the SkyHawks Parachute team. They did a great little show with each group sporting Canada flag parachutes accompanied by a secondary flag attached to their legs. There was a US flag, a British flag, a Canadian flag and a Province of Quebec flag which elicited the loudest cheers. The most disappointing part of the show was the fact that nobody sang any of the National anthems or God Save the Queen. Our family even wondered if we'd be kicked out of the Airshow for singing Oh Canada! Isn't that terrible? This is a picture especially for my Mum!
Sofia was about 50% impressed by the action. She had a little play time with Uncle Adam and enjoyed the antics that Calli and Marin continually displayed for her.
The second act was Gene Soucy and his wife Teresa who walks around on the wings of the Grumman "Showcat" bi-plane that Gene flies. What a sight to see! Adam asked me if I'd walk the wings for him, but I'm not sure I'd be up for that! I think Teresa does a great job and I'll just stick to my day job. Here she is hanging upside down on the top wing.
Here they are about 20 feet from the ground. Like the security guys shorts? I guess he heard that high-waisted pants are "in?"
The US Navy Blue Angels were next up and it should be known that they fly my all time favourite fighter aircraft, the F-18 Hornet. It's fast and sleek and really kicks ass (nice terminology) in the skies flying up to 1200mph!
Here is a little clip of a super cool manoeuvre by the Blue Angels.
Following them were the Red Arrows team from England. My brother and I saw the Red Arrows many many years ago on a grassy hillside, with our Grandparents in Seaton, Devon, England. I still remember them putting on a fantastic display and being extremely impressed by them. It was great to see them in Canada and share the experience with Adam after telling him about how cool they were!
After the Red Arrows team made this sweet heart in the sky, the whole crowd started cheering and we heard a few people yell "Vive la Quebec!!" I don't see the correlation, but apparently it was an important sign in the sky!
The crowd followed each act with clapping and a big THUMBS UP for the pilots as they taxied back in. What a sight to see...all these thousands of people silent and holding their thumbs up in the air!
Next came Skip Stewart with his Pitts Special S-2S bi-plane. I have seen this guy before and it never really grows old for me. He is a fantastic aerobatic pilot with a multitude of tricks up his sleeve and he put on an incredible and noisy show.
I was disappointed with the lack of planned entertainment in between the acts. We usually waited anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes for the next show to begin. Calli practiced throwing the ball with everyone and even tried playing hackey sack with herself!
Marin was content to sit and snack.
Sofia took in all the action.
Just before the Thunderbirds started, Adam, Gillian, Marin and I decided to make a quick ice cream and water run to cool everyone off. We wiggled our way through the crowd and into the very long line up and Marin nodded off to sleep. We loaded up the stroller with all the goods and started making our way back when all of a sudden some very large rain drops began smacking us.
Adam lost us along the way and Gillian, Marin and I had nowhere to turn to take cover from the impending storm! We were really rushing to get back to our chairs and our family when I stopped to have a look at Marin in the umbrella stroller (with a sun-shade - and not really a rain cover, as we found out). The poor little peach was crying and shivering in her little t-shirt and skirt, soaking wet and drawing sympathy from the crowds as we passed. I felt terrible, but we had NOTHING with us. I think the Quebecers might have experienced this before as they all picked up their lawnchairs and held them over their heads for cover! Imagine what 110,000 people looked like doing that?
We made it to our spot just after the Thunderbirds began their show. And what a show it was!! I was SO impressed. Because it was raining, they did their "low show," with the low cloud cover and it was fast and loud and thrilling! Just as we watched 3 planes fly off to the right after completing a trick, one single plane would come blasting overhead and scare the crap right out of us! It was awesome! Even more so, because I finally saw Adam scared out of his shoes! Haha!
The clouds were incredible after the storm when we were trying to dry out and layering up with warm sweaters etc.
Marin wasn't too thrilled with the loud planes and sat like this, singing songs to herself and nonchalantly throwing out little comments such as "That sure is a loud airplane," in her sing-songy voice.
We then had a quick impressive show from the Canada's CF-18 whipping around the sky.
A little taste of the speed and noise...hardly comparable to the real thing!
The second to last act was a combo of Gene Soucy (without Teresa), Skip Stewart and Les Shockley and the Jet Powered truck. This was combined with a pyro-technics show by Rich Gibson. It was something completely different from the rest of the Airshow and Gene Soucy and Skip Stewart flew their planes through some HUGE billowing smoke clouds. I'm sure it wasn't the most environmentally clean show, but it was pretty "showy."
That jet truck was F-A-S-T! I can imagine the vegetation and the birds inhabiting the airport were choking after this display.
The final act were the Canadian Snowbirds. Our famous national team flying the Tutors. I have a special little spot in my heart for the Snowbirds. They never fail to impress me as the home team.
A lot of people made an early exit, so leaving wasn't as hard as we thought it might be as you can see from the picture below.
I didn't get to explore the static displays this time around which was disappointing, but I was glad to have seen the rest of the show. We were even treated to a number of Air Canada Jazz take offs and landings for their regularly scheduled flights! Adam endured a fair bit of teasing about this.I got this picture on the way out. It is a B-52 Stratofortress. What a HUGE aircraft. You can read up about it on the link I provided.
We were back into the truck and on our way back to the hotel in no time. We crossed the Pierre LaPorte bridge spanning the St Lawrence River and were amazed at how large this river truly is. Adam flies over it all the time and is always commenting on the size and length of the river.
Calli fell asleep shortly after we drove away, but Marin was in full show mode and graced us with a bit of singing on the way. She is so darn cute.Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers we know. Our girls are already getting a taste for the airline industry and have voiced interest in getting involved. Calli wants to be a Flight Attendant to serve people drinks and snacks and to wear high heels. Marin was going to be a Pilot, but I think she changed recently to being a teacher. A few more Airshows and we might be able to convert her.
Comments
Love Marins version of songs, she is definitely unique!
I also l-o-v-e the photos of Calli in her gown. I can just see her 12 years from now graduating from high school! So sweet!