Shearwater
September 6th 2003,
in July 1948, RCAF Station Dartmouth, soon to be renamed HMCS Shearwater, hosted
the very first air show and static display of naval aircraft in Canada. The
format of what would become the Shearwater International Air Show or SIAS began
to crystallize in 1981 in a air show that hosted many foring visitors. Growing
to the Nova Scotia International Air Show in the 1990's during this time the
Canadian Army increased their participation and the "dynamic demonstration and
armored fighting vehicle rides made that particular service a major contributor
to the overall success.
This years
show was hampered with the reminisce of a tropical storm on the arrival days.
Therefore it was not possible for the participating aircraft to get in to
Shearwater before Saturday. Witch made Saturdays a unique arrival show when the
fog finally lifted. Followed Sunday by an dynamic air display in front of a
single day record crowd estimated to be in excess of 65,000.
On Sunday the
aerial portion of the show was opened by the Sky Hawks under their distinctive
Canadian flag canopies.
The Canadian
Forces was represented with displays by such diverse aircraft as the CF-18 jet
fighter and the oldest (Sea King) and newest (Cormorant) helicopters in the air
force inventory..
The US Navy
EA3B Prowler put on an exceptional performance and their S3B Viking patrol and
tanker aircraft made for interesting duo. The United States Air Force
demonstration of a KC 135 simulating the air-to-air fuelling of a Navy Prowler
showed the versatility of this USAF force multiplier. Following Ed Shipley putting his F-86 Sabre through its
paces, and the display by the aggressive A-10 Thunderbolt 2, the two hugely
dissimilar aircraft teamed up for the USAF Heritage Flight demonstration.
On the static
the highlight was the EP-3
of the US Navy a plane not often seen on a static display. At the end the Snowbirds arrived at centre stage and proceeded to do
what they do so well
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