It was a loud tribute to residents of the Comox Valley, as the Snowbirds Air Demonstration team wraps up spring training before their airshow circuit begins in less than two weeks.
“Snowbirds smoke now!” Snowbirds Team Lead Major Denis Bandet commanded in a video posted Sunday night on Facebook of nine Snowbird planes soaring in a line, exiting where they’ve trained since arriving April 4.
“I would like to thank the residents of the Comox Valley for their hospitality these last couple of weeks. We really liked performing the show and hope the kids on the monkey bars had fun.?
One of the pilots during the training at 19 Wing Comox is Comox’s own Capt. Stefan Porteous at the controls for a CF-18 Hornet.
The graduate of Highland Secondary School in Comox has flown missions in Iraq but will spend this summer as a demonstration pilot.
Porteous’ F-18 features a new paint job commemorating Canada’s 60 years in the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which protects North American airspace.
The Snowbirds’ performance schedule starts in Havelock, North Carolina May 5.
The air demonstration team will perform in Nanaimo August 8.
Andy Neal
