After more than 50 years thrilling audiences with their skilled maneuvers in the sky, the Snowbirds are flying their final season with the classic Tutor jet.
The team made a last-minute stop in Saskatoon on Tuesday on their way to Alberta, giving spectators of all ages a chance to meet the team and to see the jets up close.
Spectators, by the hundreds, were gazing upward to catching a glimpse of Canadian aviation history in action.
Many were seeing the iconic team for the very first time.
“Kinda like how fast they can fly for how little they are,” said 10-year-old Jett, there with his siblings.
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“When they flew by, it was amazing to see them all clustered like that,” said Corban Turner.
The team was making a last-minute stop at the Aviation Museum in Saskatoon. They were in the city just long enough for a meet and greet with spectators, to give out some high fives and to sign a few autographs.
Organizer Brian Swidrovich calls it a last-minute brain wave, knowing many might not get another chance to see the classic Tutor jets before they are retired at the end of the season.
“Saskatoon and a lot of Saskatchewan wasn’t on this season’s schedule. And if this, in fact, is the team’s last year, it would be shame if we couldn’t have figured something out,” said Swidrovich.
The aging tutor jets will retire at the end of the season, with the federal government promising to replace these aircraft with a new fleet sometime in the early 2030s.
“I worked on these babies when they first started in 1971 and 72,” said Leonard Zimmer, who was a Snowbirds airframe technician in Moose Jaw back in 1971 when they first took flight. “Just about brought tears to my eyes, watching them come in and do their first fly-past.”
For Zimmer, it was a chance to see them again.
“It just about…. you know. And see their fly-past and knowing that, it’s going to be the end,” added Zimmer.
The Snowbird airshow season runs through October, giving people across North America one last chance to see the team before they come in for their final landing later this year.
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