Airshow a high-flying success

By Lethbridge Herald on July 31, 2023.

A mom and her child pose for a photo in front of one of the static displays at the Lethbridge International Airshow. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Dallas Harty choked up on Saturday as he talked to media about the public response to the Lethbridge International Airshow.

Even with  little availability of military aircraft for performances or static displays and the show running for two consecutive years, throngs of people showed up on both days to support the high-flying affair.

Harty, president of the airshow, said Saturday he hadn’t been told what the numbers were but organizers were thrilled with the turnout.

And rightfully so. Crowds packed the grounds on Saturday to watch the opening day of performances, check out the static displays, take a ride in a monster truck or exotic car and to sample some of food and beverage offerings available.

The decision was made to run the show two consecutive years because 2024 is the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force and organizers believed that aircraft of any kind would be mostly be unavailable next year. That anniiversary will be honoured by airshow organizers with an event at the airport, however, involving static displays.

“We definitely weren’t expecting to be here this year but because of a number of reasons, mostly the availability of aircraft next year wasn’t going to be very good because of the 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force celebrations that aircraft – both military and civilian – were going to be few and far between. So we thought the best thing for us was to have a show this year and next summer we’re going to do a tribute to the 100 years of RCAF. We’re just going to have a static display,” he said.

Then in 2025, the normal routine of shows every second year will start again, he said.

“It’s great to be back, we’re just tickled pink with the turnout. It’s absolutely awesome,” added Harty.

Ticket sales “went through the roof” the last couple days before the show, he said.

Traffic to and from the venue went smoothly with little or no backups on the route to the show on either day.

For the air show to operate, there has to be at least a 1,000 foot ceiling for performers to get off the ground, said Hardy. Any significant rain or weather would have put a hold on the show which continued unimpeded both days although a thunderstorm from the southeast blew into Lethbridge late in the afternoon Sunday.

Harty said he was proud of his team which battled a couple of days of heavy wind and rain impacting organizers as they worked to set up the show.

An airshow volunteer on Sunday told The Herald that Saturday’s turnout was heard to be over 10,000 and while Sunday’s weather had blistering sun and heat greeting spectators, the grounds were still packed with onlookers.

And while there were no monster cargo planes for visitors to wander through or any spectacular military jet performances, crowds still had plenty to see and enjoy on the weekend with numerous acts giving jaw-dropping aerial displays.

Saturday’s show opened with a flyby of a CC-150 Polaris from CFB Trenton after opening ceremonies, a rousing way to kick off the affair.

Opening act was a graceful sailplane routine by Manfred Radius who first began flying sailplanes at the age of 17 in Hamburg, Germany. After unhooking from a tow plane Radius gave the crowd a performance they may not have expected.

Tom Larkin, who told media he was impressed with the city in his first visit to Lethbridge, wowed the crowd in his experimental JSX003 kit jet built in a factory in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The show also featured wing-walking performances, a team flying PItts S-2 biplanes and Red Thunder, a two-person team flying Russian Yak-50s.

Also performing was Carol PIlon, who was the first and only woman to walk on a jet propelled aircraft.

Among the static displays were a UH-1 Huey from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. The Huey is a legendary craft and all weekend attracted a big throng of spectators to see and sit inside the craft. 

The RCAF had two training helicopters on hand, as well – one a Bell 206 and the other a Bell 412. The Time Air Historical Society was on hand as was the STARS Air Ambulance which had an Airbus HI145 helicopter and an opportunity for spectators to see how crews do life-saving techniques.

Dave Allison of STARS says  southern Alberta has huge support for the ambulance service. There  are two bases in the province, one in Edmonton and the other in Calgary which serves Alberta from Red Deer south and into eastern B.C.

The furthest the team has gone is Revelstoke but it frequently operates in communities such as Cranbrook.

“The community support is amazing, especially here in southern Alberta,” said Allison.

STARs last year did 73 calls to Lethbridge alone, most of them being inter-facility transports from Chinook Regional Hospital to Calgary.

“Every once in awhile we help out on scene calls as well,” said Allison, those being matters such as highway collisions.

“We do a lot of motor vehicle collisions and hikers in the backcountry – we help out with those as well. The calls are very diverse with us.”

Using a helicopter can be beneficial when a ground ambulance can’t get to a scene such as in the backcountry, he said.

“It’s not uncommon for us to have not just have hiking accidents” but matters involving bears or cougars, he said.

In Calgary, the team is the air roughly seven minutes after it gets a call and is dispatched, Allison said.

Larkin said Lethbridge is the first airshow his team has done in Canada. He’s been doing shows stateside for six years.

“This is the first time Canadians have invited us up. It’s a wonderful place, I love being here in Lethbridge,” Larkin said Saturday.

His plane started off as a subsonic jet that has been modified extensively for airshows. It does 300 mph and pulls 6 Gs, he said.

He said he models his routine after solo routines done by the Snowbirds of American Thunderbirds.

“I do a lot of high speed passes, rolls, multiple rolls, vertical maneouveres, loops.”

Larkin has been a pilot for 41 years, starrtng off in a Cessna. He flew in the U.S. AIr Force, flying F-15s and flew with Canadians in the Gulf War. He now flies for a major airline and also teaches.