New Aero-Kard!

I am very excited to report that Aero-Kards has produced, printed and delivered its first new card in almost two years!

The new Aero-Kard belongs to air show performer Kevin Maher of British Columbia flying the Stearman Kaydet!  The new card will be included in Aero-Kard packs beginning in July, and will be available at air shows across Western Canada. Aero-Kards are back in production!

The 2017 Air Show Season Looks Exciting!

I've returned from the annual International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Convention in Las Vegas. 

It was a great convention this year compared to a few years ago.  You will recall budget cuts prevented the American Armed Forces from participating in any airshows off their own bases.  The American jet teams, the demonstration flights, static displays, and the parachute teams were confined (or as they called it; "sequestered") to their bases.  Air shows across the continent suffered.  Many cancelled their shows altogether.  

Things have been slowly improving, but this next year looks fantastic!

Some Good Air Show News:

• The Fowlers are headin' North!  Ken and Wendy Fowler from Rocky Mountain House are forging ahead with their plans to conduct more than a half dozen full air shows and around 40 fly pasts in Northern Canada to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary!  Most of their audiences have seen lots of bush planes but nothing like the aerobatic craft they'll see this summer!  What a fantastic way to celebrate Canada's birthday!
• The Canada Remembers Air Show in Saskatoon is back!  Brian Swidrovich who is the mover and shaker for that show, is looking to revive that wonderful air show at a new venue!  Stay tuned on this one!
• Demo Hornet to Honor Canada's Birthday!   Every year Canada paints up its CF-18 Demonstration Hornet to honor something.  This year they honored the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, in 2017 they will honor Canada's 150th Birthday.  I saw a proposed design for the bird.  Its mostly red with the stylized maple leaf symbol across the topside!  What a beautiful tribute to our country!  I'm anxious to see it all done up.
• Local Shows are Getting Ready!  Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Springbank, Abbotsford and Edmonton are planning shows this summer along with some smaller ones in the West!   Looks like an awesome air show summer!

At our banquet last Thursday evening we had a very moving tribute to the "Best Stick and Rudder Man who ever Lived;" Bob Hoover.  During the convention we also heard that astronaut John Glenn had passed away.  It was a bit of sadness in an otherwise very upbeat convention.

I know that not many of you are as "plane crazy" as I am, but if you enjoy seeing talented pilots fly amazing maneuvers in equally amazing planes, then this summer of 2017, an airshow is the place to be!  See you there! 

Great 2016 Show at Abbotsford!

Last Wednesday, my doctors gave me the OK to attend the Abbotsford Air Show this past weekend.  I was very pleased.  What a super show! 

The show and the Abbotsford Airport were celebrating the 75th anniversary of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.  That airport was actually built as part of the BCTAP along with hundreds more located mostly across Western Canada.

The Royal Canadian Air Force joined in by painting it's demonstration CF-18 Hornet in that yellow and black color scheme of those old Second World War trainers.  Even the folks from our present training base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, got involved by painting up a couple of the new training aircraft in those same colors from WWII.  They were all in the sky over Abbotsford making for a most memorable show. 

Of course a couple of the highlights for me was the flight of the Snowbirds and Alberta's own Team Rocket!  Ken Fowler from Rock Mountain House and Eric Hansen from Cold Lake make up the team.  They did a night show Friday evening that has no equal, then their exciting day show each day over the weekend thrilled everyone!  It was good to see Ken's son Kyle join the fray as a new upcoming aerobatic pilot in the morning show!  Way to go Kyle!

I missed not seeing Canadian Bud Granley and his son Ross at this year's show.  Obviously scheduling conflicts were preventing them from attending.  Bud has always been a huge part of the Abbotsford show.  Many of us missed him there this year.

Overall it was fantastic show and it leaves me anxiously waiting next year's show; the 54th by my count.  As my website gets its much needed update, I will have a complete write up on the 2016 edition of the Abbotsford Air Show there with some of my photos!

Excellent ICAS Convention this Year!

ICAS is the International Council of Air Shows, and their convention is held every year at the beginning of December in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I've just returned from this year's convention with a renewed sense of excitement and optimism for the 2016 air show season!

The American military is back in a big way, flying at shows on both sides of the border!  They were back in a limited capacity in 2015 but they are planning to go all out in 2016.    Canada's magnificent Snowbirds have a full 2016 schedule planned. 

One of the most exciting bits of news comes from right here in Alberta!  Team Rocket, a two plane aerobatic team from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, announced that they are planning a most ambitious air show tour in 2017!

As you all know, Canada is celebrating its 150th Birthday in 2017.  Air shows are huge spectator draws.  They rate right up there with auto racing, soccer, football, and baseball in the numbers of fans attracted to air shows each year.  But the folks in Canada's far north rarely, if ever, see an air show!  Team Rocket is planning to remedy that in 2017!   They're planning an air show blitz across Canada's North to celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday!  They want to organize full air shows in the bigger centres and almost 40 fly-pasts over the smaller communities!

What a fantastic plan!  I volunteered to help out wherever I can. Stay tuned for more details coming up.

Overall I found this year's convention full of optimism and excitement.  Now we need to get ready for the spring!  Clear skies!

Home Again!

I have just finished my last air show tour!  This time it was Abbotsford, then Chilliwack, and finally Villeneuve up near Edmonton.  All were super air shows with no accidents or injuries.  Now we have to go through the thousands of photos we took all the shows this summer! 

I'll be updating my website over the next while, with some of the highlights and photographs from a very exciting air show season here in Western Canada.  Stay tuned.

Springbank and Rocky Mountain House Airshows!

Airports cost money.  The larger the airport; the more money it costs.  But airports also provide services not otherwise available in the area, and they attract businesses with money!  In fact it has been shown in studies that airports, overall, are a huge economic boost for the city or town operating them.

Unfortunately airports must remain aloof to the community they serve.  Security measures have been getting ever tighter since September 11, 2001, and keep onlookers away - so the goings on at an airport remains a mystery to most.

In comes the air show!  Airshows provide a perfect venue for folks to visit an airport and get "up close and personal" with planes, pilots, aero mechanics, airport operators and security people.  It's a friendly, exciting, but safe chance to see things not usually visible to most visitors at an airport.

This week I had the privilege of attending air shows at two airports which have realized the importance of an air show to their very existence!  Springbank's show, called Wings Over Springbank, went ahead last weekend.  It was originally the Airdrie Air Show, but relocated back in March to the Springbank Airport west of Calgary.

The second show was the Rocky Mountain House Air Show, at the Rocky Mountain House Airport, on Wednesday evening.

I enjoyed both shows immensely!  Thousands of visitors came it to marvel at the amazing flying performances of both Canadian and American aerobats.

photo courtesy
Amanda Courtman

Canada's magnificent Snowbirds flew for everyone at Springbank, but hail damaged some of their planes so their Rocky Mountain performance was cancelled.  These young pilots are significantly younger than their Canadian built planes!  They fly the nine training jets with precision, professionalism, and dedication, characteristics of RCAF pilots. 

Next time you have the opportunity to visit an air show, take it.  You won't be disappointed.

Here's a shout out to all those dedicated volunteers at both of this week's shows.  They did an awesome job!

Airshow on Discovery Channel!

I am enjoying the new series on the Discovery Channel called Airshow!

Over these past two weeks the hour long program has featured Alberta locations (Airdrie and Rocky Mountain House) and many Canadian air show celebrities.  It's fast paced and shows a bit as to what goes on at an airport hosting an air show.

I know many of the performers featured on the series, and I'm glad to see them show everyone what they go through to give us those few minutes of excitement at an air show.

I highly recommend the show which airs each Monday evening at 8:00 p.m on Discovery Channel.  Tune it in!  It may give you some idea as to why I and so many others are "Plane Crazy"!

Failure is not an Option!

Last week, I attended the annual convention of the International Council of Air Shows, held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

This year, I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Gene Kranz.  Gene was the NASA Flight Director on Apollo 13.  He and his crew managed to safely return the three man crew of Apollo 13 back to Earth, after a disastrous failure of their spaceship.  His leadership is credited with that rescue.   Every challenge (and there were dozens) was faced with a steadfast determination to bring those astronauts home safe.  The phrase, "Failure is not an option!" is credited to Kranz.

I asked him if there was anything that they could have done better in that tense four day rescue.  His answer surprised me.

He said that their communication with the astronauts was not as good as it should have been.  Everyone could hear each other perfectly, but sometimes some things were misunderstood.  His example was the water issue.  The fight team on the ground mentioned to the crew that they were concerned about water aboard the ship.  The astronauts thought that meant they needed to ration water intake, while in reality the concern was about the condensing water on the inside of the spacecraft.  The astronauts were rationing their water intake when, in reality there was lots of water on board. 

Their rationing was not required an had no impact on the successful rescue.  In fact, it made their trip back to earth somewhat less comfortable.

Communication is a volatile thing.  You think you communicated something clearly, and yet the person on the other end completely misunderstood it.  When I'm communicating with others, I'm going to try and remember Gene's example of the water issue on Apollo 13.

Gene said something else that impressed me;  "When overcoming challenges and finding solutions, you have to believe in it, your crew has to believe in it, and then you have to make it happen."

A Friend Lost

I lost a friend, yesterday.  I was shocked to learn that air show pilot and friend Eddie Andreini was killed yesterday at an air show at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California. 

Eddie was an incredible pilot and performer.  He was small in stature but big at heart.  He performed in many different aircraft but he was probably most proud of his recently acquired P-51 Mustang.  During the past three or four year,s he's flown the gleaming P-51 at many air shows to thrill so many. 

Eddie was killed in an accident involving an inverted ribbon cut.  He was flying another of his aircraft, a beautiful Stearman, at the time.

My thoughts and prayers go to Eddie's family.  We have certainly lost a great man.

Alberta's Team Rocket

One of North America's premier aerobatic teams is from right here in Alberta!

photo by Ray Courtman

Team Rocket pilots fliy the Harmon Rocket monoplane, an all metal home built monoplane based on the popular Van's Aircraft RV-4. The aircraft's lightweight and huge power gives it tremendous performance on the airshow stage.

To manage these two mighty mites of the air, I introduce to you Ken Fowler and Eric Hansen.  Ken grew up in BC, and joined Canada's military at an early age.  He toured North American airshows as a crew member for the big yellow DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft. I think it was then when he got hooked on airshows and airshow performing.  He is now airport manager at the Rocky Mountain House Airport and one of the pilots of Team Rocket.

Eric Hansen grew up in an aviation family and got his pilot's license at a very early age. He now is a flight instructor in his hometown of Cold Lake, Alberta. He is also a dentist there, and he is the other half of Team Rocket.

Ken and Eric perform very close together and very fast. Many of their maneuvers have them going head-to-head, crossing at airshow center stage!  This, by the way, includes their takeoff, when they begin their takeoff roll from either end of the runway!

Both Rockets look very similar in the sky but up close there are many differences inside and out. The easiest way to tell them apart is that Eric's aircraft has its rudder on the vertical stabilizer [tail] painted in a checkerboard pattern while Ken's aircraft's rudder has the logo of Rocky Mountain House emblazoned on it.

Probably one of the most spectacular performances Ken and Eric do is their night pyro show!  Picture two aircraft performing perfect synchronized aerobatic maneuvers at night with fireworks shooting out from racks mounted under the wings!   To my knowledge this is the only dual nighttime aerobatic show in existence.

As Albertans we all have to be proud of this home-grown talent.  Don't miss a chance to see them fly!

Sean D. Comes to Airdrie

One of the air show industry's most accomplished aerobatic pilots is Sean D. Tucker.  Sean is known for his wild aerobatic maneuvers, and his presence on the air show stage.

photo by Ray Courtman

I had almost given up hope of ever seeing Sean D. in Alberta, but I was pleasantly surprised when the Airdrie Air Show announced that he would be coming to perform there, this past July.  Sean only had one airshow scheduled in Western Canada, and Airdrie was it!

I have known of Sean for many years, and have watched his performances on video.  I had the privilege of attending an airshow safety seminar in Nashville, Tennessee, a few years back. Sean D. Tucker was one of the feature speakers, there.  I was impressed with his ability to perform aerobatic maneuvers that looked incredibly dangerous, but always had a high degree of safety built in.  For every maneuver Sean performs, he has calculated way out if he runs into trouble.

At Airdrie this summer, Sean's performances were impeccable.  Every maneuver was crisp, and in front of the crowd.  His aircraft is a purpose-built biplane, with a huge amount of power and a bright red paint job.  A superior smoke system traces his progress through his complicated routine.  I photographed him each time he flew and I did briefly meet him after the Sunday show.  I never tire of watching a very professional and very skilled pilot perform!

For airshow aficionados - and those who just like to come and watch the occassional air show - Sean D. did not disappoint!

Other commitments made Airdrie my first show of the 2013 season.  What a fantastic start!

Great Air Show Season!

The summer of 2013 turned out to be an excellent airshow summer! It was a "different" kind of year for air shows across North America.

Problems with the American government in Washington DC forced all American military aircraft to stay home! This meant that there were no demonstration aircraft, nor demo teams such as the US Navy's Blue Angels or the US Air Force Thunderbirds, and no visiting American military planes on the static display line. The only jet fighter display was the Canadian CF-18 Hornet Demo Team, and the only military jet aerobatic team performing were the Canadian Snowbirds.

Over the next few days I will be reporting on some of the happenings at air shows across Western Canada.

Despite the lack of American aircraft, Western Canadian airshows in 2013 were some of the best I've seen - ever!  Stay tuned here!

I Know I'm Plane Crazy

This blog was set up to deal with issues and concerns around the Village of Beiseker, however some of you have asked me about my little aviation business.  So, here's the scoop. 

I've been interested in airplanes and aviation for as long as I can remember.  I learned to fly in the late 1970s at the Springbank Airport.  For the last 30+ years I have been attending air shows all around Western Canada and photographing the planes. 

Twelve years ago I set up my small business selling photographs and Aero-Kards.  Aero-Kards are like hockey cards except they feature planes and pilots.  We have almost 200 different cards in print with another 24 coming out in a few weeks!  Our cards are sold at gift shops all around North America!  They are also sold at air shows and on line thru my website.

To find out more visit my website at raycourtman.com.