The 10th annual Whitecourt Airshow was an epic thrill ride from beginning to end

 

Thousands of spectators, hot bright sunshine, and awe-inspiring aircraft of all shapes and sizes made for a fantastic air show at the Whitecourt Airport this past weekend. It was the 10th anniversary for organizers of the local event and a stacked performers list made it that much more special for all involved.

On top of the ever-popular Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds and the CF-18 Demo Team, this year’s show featured the CF Skyhawks Parachute Team, the hilarious Kent Pietsch and his Jelly Belly plane, Brent Handy, and Jerzy Strytz who thrilled everyone with his high intensity aerobatics. New this year, a Griffon CH-146 Helicopter joined in on the fun and performed a skillful routine for the crowd. Making it look easy, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter in all directions including backwards.

One of the coolest parts of the Whitecourt Airshow is how close spectators get to be to the planes especially the Snowbirds who were parked right in front of the viewing area. When the moment came to spark up their engines fans of all ages felt a supreme rush of excitement as the powerful rumble could be felt all over. One by one the snowbirds made their way to the runway just feet away from the crowd which added a whole new level of excitement to an already exciting afternoon.

Aside from watching the skies, attendees had a vast area to walk around and see the countless aircraft on static display including a CH 124 Sea King Search and Rescue helicopter and a massive Hercules which was used as a jumping off point for the Skyhawks team to kick off the show. One of the most popular displays featured the cockpit of a CF-18 jet which allowed everyone to take a seat and see what it’s like to sit where the pilots sit.

There were also plenty of vehicles to see as the local fire departments brought in their trucks and several military trucks were there to see, too. If you were brave enough you could even take a Ferrari for a spin out on the runway and, with no speed limit to abide by, see just how fast you could get up to. Mayor Chichak went for a spin and got up to 260 kilometres an hour! The two-day affair certainly brought out the excitement from start to finish.