With the sun beaming down on an enormous crowd, fun and excitement filled the air as the 59th edition of the Canadian International Air Show took wing August 30-September 1 in a celebration of freedom through the wings of protection that have covered us for over 60 years.

  The Russell Group brought along a Spitfire - truly a site to behold as its mighty Rolls Royce Merlin engine thrashed the air over the waterfront at the Canadian National Exhibition.  Under the skillful hands of Dr. Rick Volker, the Spitfire coupled up with Capt. William "Billy" Mitchell for the all Canadian Heritage Flight - something that the general public had only ever seen from our friends to the south of the United States Air Force.  Cheers and applause rang through the air, as hearts both old and young pounded with excitement and glee at what they were witnessing before them, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.  Along with the CF-18 display was a special visit by 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron from Comox, British Columbia, who brought one of their CP-140 Aurora Sub Hunter birds to the air over Lake Ontario, as well as fan favorite the CF Snowbirds.  Appearing at the end of the show, the Snowbirds kept the audience on the edge of their seats and kids eyes wide with excitement and glee with their beautiful formation flying and opposing solo passes.  The Air Cadets also made a brief appearance, showing how the kids of today train to become the Snowbird pilots of tomorrow.

  With this year also marking the 50th anniversary of NORAD, the United States played a major role in the air show.  The Viper East Demo Team out of Shaw AFB, South Carolina, ripped through the skies with moves like the Falcon Turn into the Sharks Tooth which it completed in such a small air space that many spectators couldn't fathom.  Major George "Dog" Clifford represented the USAF with the precision and power that we know and admire.  Along with Viper East came two T-38 Talons from Columbus AFB, Ohio, and a NYANG C-130 Hercules, both of which made a couple of passes along the show line, displaying their graceful and sleek lines and brute horsepower for all to see.

  A special visit was paid to the show by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the all Canadian Bombardier CL-415 Water Bomber, a plane utilized to douse the many dangerous fires which ravage both the Canadian and US forested lands which we all hold so precious.  The planes were impressive, landing on the waters of Lake Ontario and filling their tanks with over 6,100 liters or 1,600 gallons of water and then proceeding to douse the Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker Samuel Risley which marked show centre.  One of the two CL-415's then proceeded to taxi on the water to within 200ft of the break wall in front of show centre, allowing all to hear the power in its two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF engines.

  The aerobatics were all exceptionally done, with multiple award winners Mike Wiskus, Matt Chapman, and Julie Clark dazzling the audience with smoke, fireworks, positive and negative g's, and enough heart stopping moments to last an entire lifetime!  The Canadian Harvard Team then performed their signature routine in their bright yellow Harvard trainers, a throwback to a time far gone for most spectators.

  Many people were expecting to see the new CC-177 Globemaster III, the Canadian Air Force's latest acquisition, however, due to the urgent need to move people from the Gulf area from Hurricane Gustav, it was retasked to allow us to contribute in the evacuation.  To all the air show viewers out there who are unhappy about not getting a chance to see the plane, please, remember this - we got the planes so that we could do the jobs that we do on a more frequent basis.  Their arrival means a faster deployment of our Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, to areas such as the Gulf and even further when necessary.

  With this year's air show over, we can look forward to quite the spectacle next year as the Canadian Air Force will be celebrating its Centennial Anniversary of Powered Flight and the air show itself will be celebrating 60 years at the Toronto waterfront.  Let's rock the joint out!