Snowbirds pilots are highly trained artists of the sky

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing at the Flagstaff Regional Airport, located between Killam and Sedgewick on Highway 13, on Wednesday, July 24.

Captain Taylor Evans, Snowbird number nine and lead solo, says that there are nine permanent Snowbird pilots on the team. There’s the team lead, Snowbird number one, the Boss. Snowbirds numbers two and three are the inners, they fly on the left and right wings of the boss. Snowbirds six and seven are the outers, they fly below and behind two and three. Snowbirds four and five fly directly behind the Boss, and Snowbirds eight and nine fly left and right of number two. Evans says all even numbered Snowbirds are on the right-hand side, and all odd-numbered on the left.

Evans has over 2,000 hours as a pilot, and over half of that in high performance jet airplanes. He says pilots who want to fly in the Snowbirds need to have at least 1,000 hours.

Evans says Snowbirds pilots often come from teaching positions.

The team starts their training season in November, flying twice per day, every day throughout the winter. In April, they fly out to Comox, BC, where they spend the entire month in one big rehearsal. “All month long we’re flying, 120-130 flights.”

Evans says the Snowbirds will attend 30 air shows and perform 60 to 65 times in a year. “We usually have a weekend show, practice on Friday, do the show Saturday and Sunday, and maybe a smaller weekday performance in between.”

Evans says the Snowbirds travel with 11 airplanes, where two advance safety pilots travel to the next show, and set up for the other nine. “They are our show’s narrators and safety observers.”

The Snowbirds fly the Canadair CT-114 Tutor, a Canadian-built jet that was used by the Canadian Forces as a basic pilot-training aircraft between 1963 and 2000. The Tutor weighs approximately 7,170 lbs and is powered by a J-85 engine.

He says the Snowbirds’ airplanes are not as loud as say, an F-18 jet, but that they still deliver a big punch of excitement flying overhead.

The pilots, technicians, and advance pilots will be out at the Flagstaff Regional Airport the night before the big show, available to sign autographs and answer questions at a special event scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, from 6 to 8 p.m.