Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 17, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Strip Bonds maturing 2002 govt guaranteed 7293400 financial subject to change 61310lh Brandon your weekly Southwest Manitoba news digest september for Home delivery Call 7270527 or 7272451 b1 at the Tail of Snowbird 4 fills the window of Snowbird 5 above Portage a Jeff Young keeps a close Eye on the Wing tip of Snow Bird 7 As the team puts on a Small demonstration Over Southern by Keith Morison Brandon Sun bet Here they eleven Canad air it their flawless red and White paint jobs glistening in the Prairie i was walking towards one of the marquee performing acts of the North american airshow the Canadian military 431 air demonstration better known As the having seen the team perform a number of i found myself getting More and More excited As i approached the today was the Day i got my Chance to hop in the empty seat and see the team from their after suiting up and getting strapped into Snowbird waited patiently As the rest of the team got my Jeff hopped in and strapped up in what seemed to blink of an youll be Able to get some great he were right at the Back of the the first precision manoeuvre of the team was checking in on the in less than two planes 1 to 9 counted off Over the radio and the team was ready to Start up their when we were All fired up and ready to the team pulled into a and taxied towards the Young explained to me that the team is the Only one in the world that takes off and lands in formation and that can cause some we were at the Back of the he and if we had any problems on we would just drop out of the pack and land the plane As Best we no i there Are two planes immediately ahead of he and if either of those has a problem were going in i reminded myself of a phrase from the Brief we have not lost anyone on a Media ride As the planes turned on to the runway and prepared for Youngs Point became the plane ahead of Snowbird was Only four feet As the jets applied Power and started to quickly accelerate Down the Snowbird 5 was shaking violently from the Jet blast from Snow Bird but before i knew the formation was the gear was retracted and everything had calmed for a while we travelled in transit the Way the team will Fly when flying to or from a a voice came Over the blurting out a command too Quick for me to recognize what was being the Jet suddenly lurched to one Side and took up residence within a few feet of a tvs for i if t i it i i the Snowbird colors adorn the a Canadian Canad air ct114 Tutor which is also used As he Canadian forces Jet at the snowbirds throw some smoke As they carve their Way through the skies on a Media flight Sun writer Keith Morison found the thrill of Fly ing with the snowbirds one of the highlights of his a couple of the other every now and then a command would bark across the airwaves and like dancers on a stage the pilots would move to their designated after one bark from the Lead the formation Loos ened and now there was a spacious 20 feet or so Between the change came the command Over the suddenly the formation took on an entirely new the show team looked like a football team without a playbook As the passengers were offered their Chance at the the planes veered off in every some went some went some went up and others i heard a slight chuckle from my you want to stay away from being directly behind the other Young cautioned me As the Jet Shook the Jet blast was will do that to As the plane settled Down i or grunted to signal that i then headed right Back through the i heard a slight sigh that before Long i was following the Lead plane at some great no then the Call came to return to formation and the real Pilot took Back the we sped furiously to the Back of the pack where Young used the air brakes to avoid taking Snowbird 4 out of the sky Tail in Only 13 minutes we had made the trip from Portage to we did a Fly past of the Brandon and the formation banked left to As we turned East from behind the i got my bearings and instantly knew where i theres my i said Over the keep Young youre going to get a real Good look at the formation pulled up into a sort of that had us hurtling skyward and Over in an arc to see the and my Rushing Back at the meter on the dash indicated that we were was surprised How difficult my now hearing 10 was to handle and How incredibly heavy the film Felt As i desperately tried to change the stunt was repeated three More times Over the wheat City then the formation headed shortly after leaving the change hands command came Over and the Snow Birds Ballet in the sky again turned into a free form dance i had the Chance to Fly the plane for a much longer stint on the last leg of the and kept the Lead Well in hand through two course the manoeuvres we performed Over Brandon were repeated for Elm Creek and giving both the towns and the nine civil ians a show to the ride came to an end with the teams Trade Mark formation executed with the precision the we rolled Public comes to expect of the As ack along the taxiway 1 realized that the show was and one of the highlights of my career was coming to an the plots and ground Crew for the 431 air demonstration Squadron had treated me to the ride of a i i j y it i j a m Notos by Keith Morison ;