I got a pic of the metal plate after security got it out of the grass. I got one of it falling off but it was pretty blurry.

Gives a whole new meaning to remove before flight not remove during flight.

Overall tough shooting conditions, I prefer contrast, bright skies, and clarity, but heck I will take diffused light and haze over work, glad I booked this day off a few months back.

Will be at the show Sunday, look forward to seeing everyone then. Barring torrential downpour I will be taking photos of lauches off Creamery tomorrow, if you see some perma-tan nut standing / sitting on the roof of a silver Audi, say 'hi'.

Apologies that these far away shots are bollocks, haze was bad.

Hi all, new comer here to the site. Just curious, has anyone heard what the latest is on the snowbirds, centenniale or hawk one? I heard the operational pause is over, but do they have enough time to get the planes ready and down to St. Thomas for tomorrows show? Still lots of great acts, just makes a big void in the show. Is a real shame considering all the hard work the show team has put in.

I was shopping during the whole "F-16 pieces of aircraft down" thing but my husband said that as soon as he lifted off from the runway something fluttered down and then more stuff came off when he ripped by. When it landed he noticed that the travel pod was missing its nose section.
At about 3:30 to 4ish we were on our way to St. T and we saw what appeared to be Hawk 1 flying around but when we got there we didn't see it. Could it have landed at London? I guess I'll find out in the morning when it pisses down rain on me.

BTW as of 1630 Snowbirds were NOT at St. Thomas.

Interesting.....I live on the final approach end of the runway in St. Thomas, and around 20:30sh, a jet(s) came in. I wonder what it could have been!

From the Wings and Wheels website regarding the Snowbirds and Hawk One - Good news I'd say:

Operational Pause Lifted
The Operational Pause which affected the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, Golden Centennaire and Hawk One has been lifted.

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouve ... sp?id=3009

The Golden Centennaire has landed in St. Thomas and will participate in a heritage flight with the Century Hornet on Saturday and Sunday.

Work on Hawk One has been completed and it has flown to Ottawa. They will wait for a clearer indication of weather conditions before determining if it will join the heritage flight on Saturday. They do expect to participate on Sunday.

The Snowbirds are not expected to perform on Saturday. Work is being completed on their aircraft and barring any unanticipated circumstances they expect to perform on Sunday. We will have a better understanding of the situation by mid afternoon today and will update as more information becomes available. 2009-06-20

"Flying Tacos"

150 Fighter Wing Faces Uncertain Future

The New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Fighter Wing is facing uncertain times.
The aging F-16s are nearing the end of their lives, and there's no clear new mission in sight.
The Flying Tacos, as they are known, have been part of New Mexico for more than six decades and have played a major role in combat missions around the world.
Now with the military shifting into a changing role for the 21st century, the Tacos hope that change won't leave them behind.
The Tacos are caught between aircraft that are arguably older than some of their pilots and changing budgets and military missions.
It was thought for a time that part of the 1,000-member wing would go to Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico to fly F-22 Raptors.
But that program has been cut back by the Pentagon, and now the wing is exploring other options.
One of the questions being asked right now is whether there room for aircraft with pilots inside them rather than somewhere else.
Manned aircraft are more expensive than drones used in Middle Eastern theaters, but Taco Squad Cmdr. Chris Thompson prefers to fly in the sky rather than on a computer screen.
"Am I comfortable with that?" he asked. "I like being a pilot, and I want to keep flying airplanes. But I have no control over whether that's going to happen or not."
In the end, the men and women at Kirtland feel the Tacos will remain in some form since they're such an integral part of the community.
Allen Tetreauld said, "We've been in combat with many APD officers and firemen who work all over the city and then come out here and do their weekend duty and deploy with us."
The guardsmen express their appreciation for the way the community has rallied around the cause of keeping the Tacos flying in New Mexico.
The squad's commander said right now there's no deadline for making the decision on the fighter wing's future.

http://www.koat.com/news/19532831/detail.html

Good to hear that the Snowbirds are likely to be there Sunday. I hope to be there tomorrow as well (Sunday), I`m definitely looking forward to it.

Ended up going out to YXU today instead of going to the show. It was awesome! The 2 A-10's, 2 F-16's (Tacos), C-17 and Hawk One did some great flybys and touch and goes. I'll post some pictures later. Looks like the weather is going to be great for the show tomorrow.

any confirmation on the snowbirds?? I'll be there tomorrow, can't wait......



Vijay

Supposed to be in to YQS around 2000hrs tonight

4 Snowbirds arrived about 6:00 pm, and I just saw another a few minutes ago flying over the London airport. They will be flying tomorrow.

Paul