Snowbirds

Snowbirds are a big thing in Saskatchewan.  Many of you will think of smiling grey haired Canadians basking in the Florida or Arizona sun with a pina colada when you hear the term.  It is true, many Canadian retirees become "snowbirds," or migratory people who head South when the Canadian winter sets in, returning in the spring.

But there are other types of snowbirds in Saskatchewan.  There are the unfortunate little birds who are still living on leafless trees and snowy branches, not sure if they meant to stay or if they missed the migration.  And then there are these Snowbirds.

Photo by Private Mark Young

The Snowbirds are a squadron of the Royal Canadian Airforce, specifically 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.  They are stationed at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (which always comes out as Moooose Jaw in my head).  The Snowbirds have a history dating back to WWII, when 431 Squadron flew with the Commonwealth Forces under RAF Bomber Command from 1942 to the end of the war.  431 Squadron was disbanded in 1945, reformed briefly once in the 50's, and again in the 60's, but it wasn't until 1971 that it really got going as the entity that we know as the Snowbirds today.  The Snowbirds started doing small, local shows for schools and football games at this time.  The distinctive Canadian Red and White on the Tutor aircraft they flew (but mostly white) is said to have inspired the name, which was selected from an elementary school "name the team" project.  In 1975 they were officially authorized to perform as the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Team, and Squadron 431 was officially reactivated in 1978.  They Snowbirds have been flying high ever since.

So what makes the Snowbirds special?  They do close formation flying, and perform absolutely wicked aerial maneuvers.  Rolls, dives, loops -- they are the delight of the crowds they perform for.

Photo by Private Mark Young

Take for example, this little move below.  Ever look out the window of a commercial airliner and see another plane coming from the other direction, separated by about 500 feet in vertical and 1000 ft vertical and though "geez that looked close?"  Well, picture this.



Photo by Master Corporal Robert Bottrill

That takes some serious skill.  Top Gun has nothing on these guys.

no photographer credit came with this photo from wikipedia

I remember seeing the snowbirds perform when I was just a little girl, peering up from a sea of bell bottoms and flouncy polyester shirts.  Yup, sometime in the late 70's or early 80's.  They were amazing to me then, and amazing to me now.  Sometimes if you were lucky, you would see the Snowbirds fly over while you were driving to Moose Jaw.  But it was not something I had seen for a very long time.

The day my Lexi cat passed away, I had to drive her little body up to Moose Jaw as there are no facilities for pets nearby.  It was horrible, and I didn't know how I was supposed to hand over my best friend of 17.5 years to a stranger.  As I got closer to the city, I sent up a little prayer, "please let me know you will take care of my Lexi cat."  A few seconds later I heard the unmistakeable roar of a low flying aircraft, which passed over my car and headed directly down the straight stretch of the road ahead.  I watched it steeply gain altitude for a few hundred feet, loop into a dive, and pull out before heading straight back down the road in my direction.  "Snowbirds!" I thought.  I pulled off to the side of the road, got out of the car, and the pilot tipped his wings at me.  I pulled out the camera and recorded this rather low quality video of them coming back for another pass and a barrel roll.  (feel free to skip the first 20 seconds of build up).  The pilot treated me to 3 back and forth passes in all.

 

I thought a Canadian fighter jet, a CT-114 Tutor, flown by Canada's finest, was an appropriate answer to that little prayer, an suitable honour guard to escort my little fierce and furry besty to the other side.  Still broke my heart....but one more excellent reason of why I love the Snowbirds.